Matthew Winick

The Edmonton Stingers (8-1) weren’t in the losing column for long, as an efficient offensive performance led them to a 97-84 victory over the Guelph Nighthawks (2-6) on Monday night in front of almost 1,000 fans at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph.

After dropping their first contest of the season on Saturday to the Ottawa BlackJacks, the Stingers bounced back in a major way against the Nighthawks, holding a lead for the entirety of the second half, and pulling away once the Elam Ending hit. 

Edmonton made do with its opportunities offensively all night, resulting in a clean 25 assists to only six turnovers. The squad also pulled down 16 offensive rebounds. By not wasting possessions with turnovers and gaining extra ones on the glass, the Stingers finished the game attempting 21 more field goal attempts than the Nighthawks. 

“They trust each other. It’s a selfless group,” said Stingers’ head coach Jermaine Small after the game, “They get just as much satisfaction getting an assist as they do scoring.”

The Stingers were led by big man Jordan Baker, who dropped a team-high 19 points to go along with 12 rebounds and seven assists. Veteran guard Adika Peter-McNeilly was also huge in the victory, adding 14 points and five dimes. Combined, two of Edmonton’s most senior players dished out 12 assists and coughed up zero turnovers.  As team leaders, their ability to provide a strong voice to the rest of the team is invaluable.

“I think it goes back to our first few years, we’ve brought the same core back,” said Peter-McNeilly, “We know each other’s games so well, so we know when to be in the right spots, and we’re confident in each other that we’re going to make the shot.”

“(Jordan and Adika) both lead by example, they’re also like coaches on the floor,” said Small, “Those guys, their IQ and the trust they have in their team, it really shows on the court.”

The loss for the Nighthawks was a disappointing one, especially considering how well the team shot from the floor. Guelph hit 46% of its shots and made 10 of its 23 three-pointers

(43%). The biggest difference was on the interior, where Edmonton’s jumbo front line gave the Nighthawks problems all night. Not only was Guelph outrebounded 16-8 on the offensive glass, but it was also outscored in the paint 50-28.

“Our defensive rebounding was the difference tonight, I’m not a mathematician but if you give a team 21 extra shots, they’re going to have a pretty high probability of winning the game,” said Nighthawks’ head coach Charles Kissi, “We gave up 16 offensive rebounds and to me it was all the difference in the world.”

Import guard Ahmed Hill was on fire in the loss, scoring a season and game-high 25 points. Hill fed off the energy of the unleashed Guelph fans, scoring three straight and-one baskets in the fourth quarter behind a roaring crowd.

“The crowd was tremendous, I just want to say thank you to all the fans that came out tonight,” said Hill, “Y’all brought great energy and hopefully we see you at the next game.”

The Sleeman Centre faithful won’t have to wait long for their next chance to watch the Nighthawks, as Guelph is next in action at home on Thursday against the 0-8  Saskatchewan Rattlers at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Edmonton will have to wait a little longer for its next contest, as the Stingers take on the Fraser Valley Bandits on Sunday afternoo n at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. local time. The game will be the first of a four-game mini-series between the Stingers and Bandits.

All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service  CEBL+,   cbcsports.ca , the free  CBC Gem  streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.

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