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Scarborough Shooting Stars Hope to Stay Streaking as They Face Ottawa BlackJacks
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The game will be nationally televised live on TSN 1/4 as TSN’s CEBL game of the week and will also be available for streaming on TSN+.
It will be the second of three regular season matchups between the two teams, with the BlackJacks (4-3) having taken the first contest in a 93-82 victory. What ended up being a wire-to-wire victory for Ottawa, had the makings of a closer contest with all things considered.
Scarborough (3-4) forced Ottawa into a season-high 26 turnovers, scored more baskets inside, had a more productive bench, and dominated on second chance points. Even getting season-high scoring performances from Cat Barber and Kameron Chatman who put up 30 and 26 points respectively.
How did the BlackJacks still come out with the win? A likely explanation comes from their lights-out performance from beyond the arch. The team shot 60 per cent from deep, knocking down 17 triples in the process.
It may be difficult to replicate such an efficient shooting night from distance, but Ottawa currently leads the league in three-point percentage at 38.6, so they have the talent to make it happen in this rematch.
They also finished the game +11 on rebounds against a Shooting Stars team that has struggled on the defensive glass all season. Scarborough currently ranks last in defensive rebounding at 25.6 per game, and their best rebounder in Kalif Young averages just seven boards a contest. In contrast, Ottawa has two of the CEBL’s top 10 rebounders in Zena Edosomwan and Deng Adel who will look to make the most of the matchup.
Speaking of Adel, the forward was not present when these teams first faced-off as he was still finishing up his commitments overseas. The University of Louisville product is currently averaging 12.3 points, eight rebounds, and 6.3 assists and will look to bolster an offense that already found success against Scarborough last time out.
Ottawa looked strong as they went into their last fixture having won three out of four but ended up losing 93-82 to the Niagara River Lions – and snapping their perfect home record in the process. The lone bright spot was Jackson Rowe, fresh off receiving a Free Agent camp invitation from the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, the forward dropped 19 points and seven rebounds on 50 per cent shooting.
His team however struggled all around as they shot a dismal 25 per cent from three while committing 18 turnovers in the loss. After that game, BlackJacks head coach James Derouin spoke on how his team has struggled handling the ball all season (15.6 TOPG) and how they “definitely got to be tighter…against a team that good you’re not going to get away with that.”
That loss marked Ottawa’s third straight game with double-digit turnovers – the team now averages the third-most in the league and will hope to correct that as they try and get back in the win column.
On the other side the Shooting Stars are coming into the game in the midst of their first win streak this season. Scarborough handily beat the reigning champion Brampton Honey Badgers 93-73 to get their second of back-to-back wins. It was Young who led the way for Scarborough via his season-high 22 points and 11 rebounds – the forward’s first double-double of the 2023 campaign.
Another bright spot for the team was the addition of Kyree Walker who debuted with the club the same day he signed, and notched an efficient 10 points on 50 per cent shooting. He’ll be a welcomed addition to help fill the void of Jalen Harris and his 17 points per game, as the guard’s availability remains uncertain.
Similar to when they faced the BlackJacks and lost, the Shooting Stars forced more than 20 turnovers out of the Honey Badgers last Sunday, even turning them into 23 points. Unlike that loss, Scarborough was able to limit Brampton’s efficiency from the field (39 per cent), something they struggled with against Ottawa (55 per cent) the last time out.
The team has seemingly found a rhythm defensively, limiting their opponents to just 72.5 points per game during this win streak – while also leading the league with 9.4 steals a game.
A big part of that defensive identity has been the play of Thomas Kennedy, who put up two blocks and five steals in the win against the Honey Badgers. The OUA MVP will look to make an impact and continue what has already been an impressive defensive campaign. He is currently the only player in the CEBL to be in the top 10 for both average blocks and average steals – something he’ll look to continue as the Shooting Stars try and win their third straight.
Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices.
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