CEBL Highlight Games: Niagara vs Saskatchewan, 5/9/19
The Niagara River Lions and the Saskatchewan Rattlers made history in Saskatoon as they faced off in the inaugural game of the Canadian Elite Basketball League - and the resulting game got the league underway in style.
These teams were yet to see any competitive action and though they both were stocked full of recognisable talent, there was not much real indication what play would be like until they tipped off both the game and a whole new avenue of basketball in Canada.
Negus Webster-Chan would be the first-ever scorer in the CEBL and followed that up by giving Saskatchewan an early six-point lead. Ryan Anderson mounted an early campaign to give the lead to the River Lions, but his attempts were halted by Tavrion Dawson on the other end.
Niagara tied the scores three times to begin the second quarter, after which Dawson and Marlon Johnson combined to put the Rattlers up by seven. Guillaume Boucard would then get the River Lions to within one point as time ran down in the first half, but Alex Campbell responded with four unanswered points and Dawson added one last basket to make the half-time scores 51-45 in Saskatchewan's favour.
Bruce Massey began the second half by giving a double-digit lead to the Rattlers, only for Dorian Pinson to hit twice in succession to cut the gap to three, which then went down to one after a hook shot from Sam Muldrow.
Two layups in a row from Trey Bell-Haynes gave Niagra their first lead of the game, to which Johnson responded with six in a row for Saskatchewan, which gave them the lead back and Massey and Michael Linklater hit for the Rattlers to end the third quarter ahead by 72 points to 70.
The teams were deadlocked to begin the fourth quarter until Boucard found his stride from close range and the River Lions were up by three and later led the Rattlers by ten points ahead of the last 2:30 of regulation.
Dawson, Campbell and Johnson all combined to make it a one-possession game in the last minute, but with Saskatchewan's last two shot attempts falling short, it was so close but so far for the hosts.
A painful first loss for the franchise at home did have some consolation: Tavrion Dawson recorded a double-double of 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Rattlers, who saw four of their five starters finish in double digits.
Boucard was a rebound short of a double-double, capturing 19 points in the game, while Trey Bell-Haynes had 18 for the Niagara River Lions as they won the first-ever CEBL game and in thrilling fashion, with the final scoreline 99 to 97 in their favour.
Picture: Liam Richards
