The Hamilton Honey Badgers (1-1) and Guelph Nighthawks (1-1) are looking to return to the win column as the Nighthawks travel to face the Honey Badgers on June 2 at 7 pm ET. In their now fourth season together, Guelph has never beaten Hamilton, having lost all nine meetings.

Both teams had big home victories to open the season. Guelph won 89-80 against the Scarborough Shooting Stars before falling 95-84 to the Niagara River Lions. Hamilton opened with an 80-72 win over the Montréal Alliance before losing 71-70 at home to the Fraser Valley Bandits.

The Nighthawks have positives so far this season. They lead the CEBL in steals (averaging 8.5) and are second in points (averaging 86.5) and field goal percentage (46.5 per cent).

Cat Barber and AJ Lawson have been catalysts offensively as their two leading scorers. Guard Ahmed Hill also averages 15.5 points and 2.5 assists as well as a league-best 2.5 steals. Guelph won the turnover battle against the Shooting Stars (15-5) and (23-19) against the River Lions.

One area for improvement is rebounding as Guelph is currently last in the league, averaging 27 rebounds. The Nighthawks were outrebounded 44-27 against Niagara. Forward Julian Roche leads the team averaging 8.5 boards but no other player averages more than four.

Another area for improvement is bench production. Guelph’s bench has been outscored in both games. Against Scarborough, they pulled away during the Elam Ending for the win. Against Niagara, they were outscored 49-35 in the second and third quarters.

Hamilton led for most of the game against Montréal and had an opportunity to close out the game against Fraser Valley in Elam time. The Honey Badgers have pushed the pace both games and average 19 points off turnovers.

Guard Caleb Agada has scored off the fast break and from half-court sets. The Burlington native averages 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He also scored the game winner against Montréal. Newcomers Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. and Christian Vital are establishing themselves. Tilmon Jr. has scored down low (averaging team-high 14.5 points, 63 per cent shooting) while Vital has shot well from three (team-high 44 per cent).

While Agada, Tilmon Jr, Lawson, Barber and Hill figure to have an impact, this game could also come down to their teammates. Hamilton guard Koby McEwan has been a sparkplug off the bench (averaging 8.5 points) while Guelph forward Madut Akec has also made an impact with his scoring and rebounding.

The Honey Badgers and Nighthawks are close together in the CEBL standings. For Hamilton, this game is the last of the three-game homestand before their next two games on the road. Guelph is starting a two-game road streak, facing Montréal on June 5.

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 .