River Lions defeat BlackJacks 109-97, close CEBL regular season undefeated at home

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. — The Niagara River Lions celebrated Fan Appreciation Night at the Meridian Centre on Saturday with a 109-97 victory over the visiting Ottawa BlackJacks.

The River Lions, who finished the regular season with a 10-0 home record and a 14-6 overall mark for first place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Eastern Conference, also earned home court advantage for the August 4 Eastern Semifinal, where they will play the winner of the play-in game between the Scarborough Shooting Stars and the BlackJacks on August 2.

The Montreal Alliance, which will host the CEBL Championship from August 9 to 11, will be in the Eastern Finals as the host team, while the Vancouver Bandits will be in the Western Finals after finishing first in the Western Conference.

Jahvon Blair led the River Lions with 23 points on Saturday, while Khalil Ahmad had 22 points and Nathan Cayo contributed 17.

Tyrrel Tate was the BlackJacks’ best player with 22 points, while Shamar Givance and Keevan Veinot each scored 20.

The River Lions led 56-52 at halftime and outscored the BlackJacks 29-24 in the third quarter.

THROW-IN: The Vancouver Bandits (14-5) close out their regular season on Sunday with a matchup against host Montreal Alliance (5-14). And the Calgary Surge visit the Scarborough Shooting Stars in a battle of 11-8 teams. The regular season concludes on Monday with a pair of games: the Brampton Honey Badgers (6-13) visit the BlackJacks, while the Winnipeg Sea Bears (9-10) visit the Edmonton Stingers (12-7). … Laval-based French rapper Shreez will perform during the Western Conference finals on Aug. 9 at Verdun Auditorium.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2024.

The Canadian Press