Fantastic Finish Between River Lions and Blackjacks
Ottawa had the edge in a tight start and later built a big lead with a 14-0 run to end the quarter. Ryan Ejim and Trae Bell-Haynes kept trying to close the double digit gap for the River Lions, but John Berhanemesked caught fire and kept burning through to the midpoint of the second quarter, where the Blackjacks led by fifteen.
Kassius Robertson finished the first half hitting seven points in succession, which reduced Niagara's arrears to ten at half-time, and between him and Bell-Haynes they made it a three-point game after five minutes played in the third.
Munis Tutu tried to keep the advantage with Ottawa but he or no one else could prevent Robertson from giving the River Lions their first lead of game with a minute left in the third. Lloyd Pandi restored the Blackjack lead with an and-one layup, leaving just one point separating the teams as they headed into the fourth quarter.
The start of this game was one sided, but the end was anything but. That same one point stood between the teams throughout the fourth quarter, neither able to break away any further than that.
Niagara then broke the pattern and hit five points in a row, getting themselves closer to the win, but Ottawa got even closer in their response: an 8-0 run, which brought them a point away from the target score.
With the game on the line, Trae Bell-Haynes tied the scores by completing an and-one play, then on the other end caught a rebound of a missed jumper from Tutu, then converted it into the game-winning shot for Niagara.
Berhanemesked led Ottawa with 18 points while Tutu and Pandi both excelled off the bench, finishing with a respective 12 and 15 points. Trae Bell-Haynes capped off his winning performance with 15 points, but the stand out was Kassius Robertson, leading all on the floor with 28 points in the 81-79 Niagara victory.
The River Lions snapped their losing streak with this win, putting them just behind Ottawa in the league ladder. Sat above all else though have been the Edmonton Stingers, who had their fifth win in a row later in the day, 85-71 against the Guelph Nighthawks.
