The 6-1 Hamilton Honey Badgers host the 0-6 Newfoundland Growlers looking for their first win at 7 p..m. ET at FirstOntario Centre on Thursday.

This is the second time this season that these two teams are matching up. On June 12, the Honey Badgers came away with a 80-68 victory over the Growlers in St. John’s. In that game, Jeremiah Tilmon Jr led the scoring for the Honey Badgers with 17 points while Shaquille Keith led the Growlers with 21 points. The Honey Badgers got the ball inside to Tilmon and used the ball handling skills of Kyle Johnson around the rim.

Hamilton’s 38 points in the paint won the matchup around the rim and their 33 bench points beat Newfoundland who had 14. The Honey Badgers defence fuelled their lead and they held the Growlers to 40 per cent shooting. The Honey Badgers got rebounding from all five starters and four players off of the bench as they won the rebounding battle 39-33.

The Growlers cut their deficit in half in the fourth quarter, and a majority of their scoring came from Brandon Sampson and Keith, two players who stepped up in their most recent close loss to the Guelph Nighthawks. The continued scoring of Sampson and attack of Keith is two bright spots that will need to continue in their rematch with the Honey Badgers. Sampson scored 20 points in their 89-82 loss to the Nighthawks and was a consistent spark for the Growlers who took advantage of steals and rebounds to get out in transition.

Sampson will be matched up with Hamilton’s U SPORTS talent, Michael Okafor, and Jamal Reynolds. Next to him at the guard position, Jahvon Blair will have a matchup with the Honey Badgers perimeter players in Caleb Agada and Koby Mcewen. Blair scored 15 points when these two teams matched up last on 54 per cent shooting while his matchup in Agada scored seven points but contributed nine assists facilitating the offence.

While the guards facilitate and create opportunities, Keith and the Growlers forwards will have a matchup with Tilmon and Zane Waterman. Hamilton ran the ball through the paint in their win over Newfoundland. Whether it was drive and kick or using the paint as the primary spot to run their movement, Tilmon played a big part in their game, scoring 17 points. For Newfoundland, Keith got to the line consistently against Guelph, especially in the second half.

His physicality got the Growlers opportunities, while his shooting took care of chances he got for himself, like it did in their game against Hamilton. Keith scored 21 points in their home game against Hamilton, and 18 points in their game against Guelph. He shot seven free throws against Hamilton and eight against Guelph, and the attack and ability to draw fouls helped his team push back when their deficit got into double digits.

Hamilton has the best record in the CEBL at 6-1, and has won five straight. The Growlers are looking for some momentum and their first win.

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ , and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Games will also be available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca , the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball. The CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , LinkedIn , Facebook & YouTube .