River Lions looking to secure tops in the Eastern Conference as they host the Honey Badgers

The red hot Niagara River Lions (12-5) will be looking to officially clinch tops in the Eastern Conference as they host the Brampton Honey Badgers (6-10) on Wednesday.

The game tips off at 7 p.m. ET from Meridian Centre, with live coverage offered on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+, Courtside 1891 (outside of North America) and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. The game will also be televised on TSN and available on NLSE in the United States.

Winners of five straight and sporting a perfect 8-0 record at home, it looks like the stars are aligned for Niagara to celebrate what has been a blessed 2024 campaign with an Eastern Conference-clinching victory over Brampton.

Led by a stingy defence and the dynamic backcourt duo of Jahvon Blair and 2022 CEBL Player of the Year Khalil Ahmad, the River Lions have looked like the class of the CEBL down the stretch of the regular season. They will be looking to make another statement Wednesday by securing the top spot in the East and, with Montreal getting the automatic bye to Championship Weekend, the rights to host the Eastern Conference Semifinal.

In their way is a Brampton team that’s been trending in the opposite direction of late. After holding onto the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference for the majority of the season, the Honey Badgers’ grip on that final playoff spot was wrested away by the Ottawa BlackJacks who had been on their tail all season long.

Losers of two straight now and sporting a dismal 1-6 record, coming in against the best home team in the league, things aren’t looking great for the Badgers, particularly when you consider the fact that Ottawa holds a game in hand over them.

Brampton’s struggled offensively this season, averaging just 83.9 points per game on 43.9 per cent shooting from the floor. And with an average defence supporting this tepid offensive attack, things have been difficult for the Honey Badgers. With that said, they still have found ways to win this season and they aren’t completely out of it yet.

A win Wednesday would get Brampton right back into third in the East, and there’s still the possibility that Scarborough could drop off and finish with a record identical to the Badgers’.

With the way Niagara has been playing lately and the consistency that the defending champs have shown this season, the probability of both these scenarios is looking rather low, but you can never say never.

Milestone watch

• Brampton’s Prince Oduro, of Toronto, Ont., needs four rebounds to reach 250 for his career, regular season only.
• Brampton’s Prince Oduro, of Toronto, Ont., needs three blocked shots to reach 50 for his career, regular season and playoffs.
• Niagara’s Khalil Ahmad needs four steals to reach 100 his career, regular season and playoffs (would be the first player in CEBL history to record 100 steals).
• Niagara’s Nathan Cayo needs two steals to reach 50 for his career, regular season only and regular season and playoffs.

2024 season series

This is the third and final encounter of the season between these two sides. The last time Niagara and Brampton played was way back at the beginning of the season on May 24 and May 30. The Honey Badgers took that season-opening contest on May 24, with stalwart defence, winning 74-67, but Niagara ended up routing them the second time they saw them 103-60, and never really looked back from there.

- CEBL -

About the CEBL

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 73% of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.