The Edmonton Stingers ended their road trip with a win as they beat the Guelph Nighthawks 101-95 on June 25. Edmonton pulled away late in a close, high scoring game to move to 6-4, the same record as Guelph.

Guelph’s AJ Lawson was back in lineup after missing the past few games due to being at Dallas Mavericks mini-camp. Meanwhile, the Stingers went with a forward-heavy starting five but were without leading rebounder Jordan Baker.

Edmonton’s Marlon Johnson scored inside while Ahmed Hill hits a three in response in the early moments. AJ Hess hit a three to give Guelph a 6-4 edge. The Nighthawks ran in transition in the first as Cat Barber scored an end-to-end layup and hit the ensuing free throw.

Both team continued the fast pace as rookie Somto Dimanochie scored four points to give the Stingers a 16-11 lead. Lawson showed his ability to get to the rim in transition as well as the first quarter ended tied at 19.

Edmonton attacked Guelph’s zone defence with ball movement as Brody Clarke finished a floater, Dickerson dunked off an alley-oop and Jahmal Jones nailed a transition three to lead 26-24.

The visitors kept on scoring inside to extend their lead to 41-33 after a basket from Johnson. The Nighthawks trimmed the deficit as Barber got to the basket numerous times. Edmonton led 49-48 at halftime.

The Nighthawks shot six for 12 from deep in the first and picked up that hot shooting in the third quarter as Hess hit a three and a step back jumper to give Guelph a 55-51 advantage. Lawson kept attacking inside as well.

Adika Peter-McNeilly provided a spark off the bench for the Stingers by running the offence and getting to the rim. He scored a layup and a step back three to tie the game at 67. Dickerson hit a jumper to put Edmonton up 79-76 after three quarters.

The score remained close with the Stingers carrying a 92-87 lead into the Elam Ending after Clarke sunk two free throws.

Lawson scored in transition to open Elam time and then made a block at the rim. Johnson hit his first three of the game to respond. The Stingers answered Guelph’s baskets to win after a Johnson dunk.

Johnson (20 points, six rebounds, five assists), Clarke (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Peter-McNeilly (20 points, four rebounds, five assists) all had big performances. The Stingers out-scored the Nighthawks 56-40 in the paint and 34-16 in bench points.

Stingers head coach Jermaine Small called it “a very good team effort” at the end of a long road trip. He called this game part of a season-long process of improvement, including finishing out quarters and games better,

Clarke said the team’s defence could have been better. “It’s funny because typically, we’re the opposite,” he added. “We have a hard time on offence and we’re usually clicking a little bit better defensively…it wasn’t great but it got us a couple of key stops down the stretch which gave us a little bit of a cushion which we were able to capitalize.”

Guelph shot strong from three (58 per cent) but had 21 turnovers to Edmonton’s 10. They shot 67 per cent from the free throw line compared to Edmonton’s 88 per cent.

Lawson had a big game in his return with 29 points and eight rebounds while Barber added 18 points, five rebounds and three assists. Forwards Hess, TJ Lall and Julian Roche held their own against Edmonton’s front line.

Lawson said they played hard and he was proud of how they kept fighting. He also mentioned how he’s recognized his own leadership role.

“Just try to be a leader, try to help my team,” he noted. “Right now, they’re looking at me as one of the leaders of the team. Just keep embracing that, keep playing hard and be who I am – a positive person, give energy and keep doing that and that’ll help our team win for sure.”

The Nighthawks go on the road to face the Hamilton Honey Badgers on June 30, one of three straight road games. The Stingers return to Edmonton to host the Newfoundland Growlers on June 30.

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