The Brampton Honey Badgers Fell to Real Esteli 99-93 on Tuesday at the CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario

After losing the opening quarter 33-18, the Honey Badgers outscored Nicaragua's Real Esteli 75-66 over the final three quarters and were within four points in the final seconds of the game before running out of time to complete the comeback.

“I think a huge part of it is we’ve had turnover in our roster and the guys are getting used to playing with each other,” Honey Badgers head coach Sheldon Cassimy said after the loss.

Brampton had an all-Canadian roster for Tuesday’s game, their first of two in this third window of group play in this year’s BCLA championship tournament.

“This is really the first time this group has played together and it took a little bit of time for us to fully gel and see what was working with our lineup,” Cassimy continued. “We had a good effort in the third and it carried over to the fourth and I think we’ll be able to put together a good full game coming up against Libertadores.”

Jezreel De Jesus led all scorers with 25 points for Real Esteli, while Thomas Robinson added 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists and Davon Jefferson added 20 points and eight rebounds as all five starters finished in double figures.

Jahvon Henry-Blair led Brampton with 24 points and Elijah Lufile scored 15 points in his CEBL/BCLA debut, while also finishing with a game-high 10 rebounds. Murphy Burnatowski scored 12 points and Sean Miller-Moore and Kemy Osse added 11 points apiece.

Real Esteli led by 16 at the half, but things began to turn in the third where Brampton-native Henry-Blair scored 11 of his 25 points as the Honey Badgers roster began to find a groove.

Brampton opened the third strong, first with a jumper from Henry-Blair and then a three-pointer for Burnatowski to get within 13 points. After free throws from Robinson, Burnatowski stepped in to take a charge and then Chad Posthumus scored on an offensive putback. On the other end, Posthumus blocked an attempt from Real Esteli’s Emmanuel Andujar and then got the ball ahead to Henry-Blair for a stepback three that forced Real Esteli into a timeout with the lead trimmed to single digits, 61-52.

Henry-Blair picked up where he left off after the timeout, connecting on his second three, this time trimming the deficit to just six points. A third three-pointer from Henry-Blair brought Brampton within five with 5:20 remaining in the third. After a floater from Miller-Moore, Brampton was within four, 66-62, with 4:32 remaining in the quarter. Real Esteli made up some ground at the free throw line, extending their lead back to 11 before Osse hit a three and then slammed home a thunderous dunk in transition to keep Brampton within single digits, 78-69, after three.

“Just got hot,” Henry-Blair said of his third-quarter effort. “[Wanted to] help my team try to win the game. Staying composed and playing my game.”

The offence slowed for both teams to start the fourth as free throws from Henry-Blair brought Brampton within nine before a bucket from Robinson inside. Posthumus scored inside for Brampton, and then Osse connected on another three to make it an eight-point game, 87-79 with 5:43 remaining. Real Esteli called timeout after a second three in the quarter for Burnatowski trimmed the deficit to six with 3:49 remaining.

Out of the timeout, Osse stole the ball from De Jesus and Henry-Blair found Miller-Moore for an alley-oop slam. After a steal from Burnatowski and more free throws from Henry-Blair, the Honey Badgers were within four, 95-91 with 1:13 to go. Needing to get points on the board, Real Esteli came through at the line where they connected on 4-of-5 free throws in the final minute to keep a comeback just out of reach for the Honey Badgers.

Despite the loss, Brampton showed improvement throughout the game.

“I think we’re just enjoying being together,” Cassimy said. “The group gets along well and we’re confident. We think we’re going to be able to put forth a good game and hopefully get a W [on Thursday against Libertadores].”

Thursday’s game against Mexico’s Libertadores will be at 8pm ET at the CAA Centre. Fans can also watch the game across Canada on NBATV Canada.