The Ottawa BlackJacks clinched the playoffs in a game (and season) that came down to the wire. In their final game of the regular season out in Edmonton, it was simple. Win or go home. The BlackJacks came out strong, creating a deficit of as many as 10 points heading into the halftime break. Javonte Smart was leading the offence, in typical fashion, heading into the quarter break with 18 points. “He’s our engine; he brings energy on both sides of the basketball,” said Head Coach Justin Mazzulla at the halftime sideline interview with reporter Sarah Ryan. Smart finished with his fifth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 assists. Coming out of the halftime break, the BlackJacks certainly revved their engine, turning the deficit against Edmonton into as many as 18 points. But when it came to Target Score Time, the BlackJacks seemed to coast a little bit, and the Stingers were able to tie it up, despite the BlackJacks going into Target Score Time with a 10-point lead. The Target Score was 96, and they were back to square one, tied at 87. The Stingers were looking to end the BlackJacks' season, but Ottawa knew they could make it to the finish line. Sitting at 94 points for a couple more possessions than they probably would’ve liked, the BlackJacks couldn’t seem to get anything to fall. But then here comes Isaih Moore with a layup to take the win against his former team, and bring his current team straight to the playoffs. The BlackJacks will now head to Brampton for the first round of playoffs, Thursday at 7 p.m. A win there means they’d have the possibility of hosting an Eastern finals game. But first, they have to tackle a monster they have yet to slay this season. “It’s tough to beat a team [five] times, and so we’re gonna just give them our best shot,” said Mazzulla. The BlackJacks faced the Brampton Honey Badgers four times in the regular season, and Brampton took every one of those games. So now, with an Eastern Conference finals spot on the line, the BlackJacks look to do what they haven’t been able to do all season long. But first, it’s important to reflect on what the BlackJacks overcame to make the playoffs. Coming off a five-game losing streak before facing Edmonton, and another five-game losing streak previously in the season, the BlackJacks now sit in third in the Eastern Conference. The wins that mattered really mattered because when it came down to differentials between the Niagara River Lions and the Montreal Alliance, the BlackJacks were able to take that win, despite all three teams sitting at a 10-14 record. “Quite the journey,” said Mazzulla. “We were faced with a lot of ups and downs, more downs on the back stretch.” “I didn't want the guys to experience six losses in a row,” continued Mazzulla. Mazzulla credits the final playoff push to the togetherness and the care that the team has for each other. If the BlackJacks beat Brampton, they will face either the number-one-seeded Scarborough Shooting Stars or the number-four-seeded Niagara River Lions, depending on who wins that Thursday night game in Scarborough. And if the River Lions can somehow upset the currently 19-4 Shooting Stars, they would travel to Ottawa, and the BlackJacks would host their second playoff game, Saturday at 1 p.m. Join us on social media Instagram: ottawablackjacks X: Ott_BlackJacks Facebook: OttawaBlackJacks TikTok: ottawablackjacks For further information, please contact: Alex Forbes Brand and Creative Manager Ottawa BlackJacks Professional Basketball Club aforbes@theblackjacks.ca

The Ottawa BlackJacks head on the road to Winnipeg as they get ready to play their second last game of the regular season. Currently placed in fifth in the Eastern Conference and in a tight race to clinch the playoffs, a win tonight for the BlackJacks is crucial for moving up into a playoff spot. Seeding would be dependent on the Niagara River Lions game against the Calgary Surge. The Smart vs Allen battle Javonte Smart will be the key to winning tonight’s game. He’s set to face the current league leader for points in a single game, points per game and total points this season, Teddy Allen. The battle for top-scorer in the league has been a consistent battle between Smart, Allen and Niagara’s Khalil Ahmed. The same names could be mentioned in the race for CEBL MVP. Allen and Ahmed already have that trophy in their case, so the battle for Smart’s first piece of recognition from the league won’t be easily fought. Smart is currently second in the league for total points this season with 476, just under Allen, who has 644. Where Smart outshines Allen is beyond the arc. Smart is currently third in the league for total three-point shots on the season with 72, compared to Allen climbing to overtake him with 70. But Smart easily wins the consistency battle from deep, sitting in fourth place in the league at 3.6 three-pointers per game, compared to Allen’s 3.2 in eighth place. If Smart can stay consistent in Winnipeg from the outside perimeter, the BlackJacks have a good chance of shutting Allen down. The block party Another place where the BlackJacks shine is at the rim. Alex Fudge and Christian Rohlehr are high on the scale of blocks per game, averaging 1.7 and 1.5 per game, making them third and fifth in the league. But just behind them on the list is Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. for the Sea Bears. The third-year veteran is currently seventh in the league for total blocks per game with 1.3. But when it comes to total blocks, the battle is a hard-fought one. Fudge has held on to the number-one spot since early in the season and now has a total of 36 blocks on the season. Shortly behind him is Tilmon Jr. with 29 blocks on the season. Rohlehr counts in shortly behind the two of them, with 25 total. Since the BlackJacks have struggled to find their defensive rebounding guy for the entire season, they have started to depend on guys like Fudge and Rohlehr for their rim protection from blocks, rather than rebounds. Once they smack it out, a BlackJack is usually there to retrieve it and force a turnover. This late in the season, they’ll want to continue with the game plan they’ve been executing, so they’ll most likely be continuing to trade d-boards for blocks. The BlackJacks clean-up crew One place where the BlackJacks could take advantage of the Sea Bears is their tendency to play messy basketball. The team is currently averaging 12.9 turnovers per game, and Allen leads the league in total turnovers with 70. They are also averaging 18.7 team fouls per game, and Tilmon Jr. is third in the league for total fouls with 69. If the BlackJacks can bring the mop and bucket and clean up the mess the Sea Bears make, that will be an important step to their western road trip win. The BlackJacks are currently last in the league for steals per game, only averaging 6.2. This could be the next step they’d need to bring their game to the next level and look playoff-ready. The steal game will most likely be led by Smart and Justin Harmon, who are averaging 1.2 and 1.1 steals per game. They’ll be facing Xavier Moon from the Sea Bears, who is currently second in the league for steals per game, averaging two. The race for a playoff spot continues in the West Once the BlackJacks are done in Manitoba, they head deeper into Western Canada to face the Edmonton Stingers on Sunday night. This will be their last game of the season. If the BlackJacks fall to Winnipeg, the playoff dream will not be lost. They can take a win against Edmonton and clinch a fourth-place spot (If Niagara beats Calgary). The Stingers are currently fourth in the Western Conference, also having a 9-13 record on the season. They are sitting comfortably in a playoff spot, though, as Calgary is guaranteed not to clinch. The Western Conference playoff push was rather uneventful, but the competition out there is still no joke.

The Ottawa BlackJacks played what could be their final home game of the season last night. The game against the Scarborough Shooting Stars was a back-and-forth battle, ultimately taken by Scarborough. The 113-106 loss was dominated by third-year veteran Isaih Moore, who returned to Ottawa halfway through the season. In his seventh game with the BlackJacks this season, he is averaging 15.7 points, 9.1 rebounds and two assists per game. Last night, Moore finished with 24 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. He shot 76 per cent from the field and 90 per cent from two, only missing one close-range shot the entire game. “[I’m] happy, but not satisfied without the win,” said Moore about his play last night. “Got to put [this game] behind us, but these next 2 games are really important,” said Moore. For the final regular-season home game at The Arena at TD Place, the BlackJacks’ theme of the game was fan appreciation. Moore, who has been with the BlackJacks since his rookie season in 2024, says the Ottawa fans mean a lot to him. “There's no place like Ottawa, no place like our fans, no home like ours,” said Moore. Moore even said that Ottawa fans will text him on Instagram during his G League season to make sure he’s doing well and to check in if he’ll be returning to Ottawa. And most importantly, they’ll tell him they miss his dunks. “To hear the roar from the fans, I know I must look crazy. To me, it just feels like another dunk,” said Moore on his poster-worthy shots. For Head Coach Justin Mazzulla, Fan Appreciation Night meant a lot to him personally. In his first professional head coach position, he said the fans in Ottawa really accepted him, and he tries to give back to them after every game by going to the logo and clapping for them with the whole team. The crowd last night was especially loud. “I think today was amazing to be in an environment that everyone stood up and clapped and chanted ‘Blackjacks,’” said Mazzulla on the energy in TD Place. “And that's going to carry us into this next round where we want to get the home-court advantage in the playoffs.” The BlackJacks head on the road for four games to finish their regular season. Currently sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference, wins in the away column will be crucial to bring them to second place and host a playoff game. First, they will head to Montreal to play the Alliance on Friday, and then head across the province for their final match-up with the Niagara River Lions on Sunday. In these final Eastern Conference meet-ups, wins are essential to keeping their playoff position.