The Guelph Nighthawks and Edmonton Stingers look to rebound from losses when they face off in Guelph on June 25 at 2 pm ET.

The Stingers are finishing a four-game road trip, having lost twice and won once. Edmonton fell 92-84 to the Ottawa BlackJacks on June 23. Edmonton fell behind by over 20 points in that game before mounting a comeback to cut it to a one-score game in Elam time. However, it wasn’t enough as Ottawa closed the game out on a run.

An encouraging thing to take from that game is their scoring depth. All five starters scored double-figure points while guard Adika Peter-McNeilly added 12 points, four rebounds and two steals off the bench. Captain Jordan Baker had another strong performance with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Baker currently leads the CEBL with an average of 11.1 rebounds.

Edmonton’s strength comes from taking advantage of their size and sharing the basketball. Baker and fellow forwards Marlon Johnson, Brody Clarke and Aher Uguak are formidable on both ends of the floor. Newcomer guard Demarco Dickerson has already made a notable impact in scoring and running the offence in two games so far. Dickerson notched 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists against the BlackJacks.

The Stingers lead the CEBL in average assists (20.3) but will need to pare that with better three-point shooting. Edmonton is ninth in the CEBL in three-point percentage at 31.3 per cent. Against Ottawa, they shot 29 per cent with Clarke and Uguak hitting a team-high two three-pointers each.

The Nighthawks saw their five-game winning streak come to an end against the Fraser Valley Bandits on June 21. Guelph won against the league-leading Hamilton Honey Badgers for the first-time ever on June 19. Against Hamilton, they won without Cat Barber and AJ Lawson as guard Ahmed Hill led the team with 23 points while guard Sean Miller-Moore had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Barber had a team-high 22 points in his return versus the Bandits. Meanwhile, Hill (19 points, two steals), TJ Lall (15 points, 13 rebounds) and AJ Hess (20 points, eight rebounds) contributed as well. However, they only got four points from their bench (from guard Clayton Henry) compared to Fraser Valley’s 22.

Barber is fifth in league scoring (averaging 20.2) and assists (4.9) while Lall is second in average blocks (1.6). The Nighthawks are second overall in average blocks as well (4.0).

A key to the game will be how well Guelph’s stingy interior defence holds up against Dickerson and Edmonton’s forwards. The Nighthawks will look to build off their recent winning streak while the Stingers will look to win the rebounding battle and shoot well from three.

The Stingers (5-5) have a chance to pull into a tie with the Nighthawks (6-4) with a victory. Guelph has done well at home with a 5-2 record. Edmonton will have three of their next four games at home once this road trip ends.

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ and on CEBL Mobile the official app of the CEBL for iOS and Android devices. Games are also 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 .