It rained triples in Edmonton on Tuesday. The Stingers used a flurry of three-pointers to snap a two-game skid and beat the Ottawa BlackJacks 93-74 on Tuesday at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. Edmonton improved to 3-5 with the win, while Ottawa fell to 2-5. Scottie Lindsey led the way for the Stingers with a breakout 23-point performance, including 18 by halftime. He added nine rebounds and five steals. In all, the Stingers shot 50 per cent from beyond the arc after entering the game fourth leaguewide at 34 per cent. “You put yourself in a great position to win basketball games, but I think it was the quality of our shots. We’d struggled a little bit with too much isolation in the last couple, so it was great to see us get to the paint, share the basketball and get open looks for each other,” Stingers head coach Jordan Baker said. Edmonton entered Target Score Time up 83-69 after a 13-3 run, and its strong shooting continued with the clock stopped. Mason Bourcier scored his first points as a Stinger with a three-pointer to get things going, Lindsey knocked one down to put Edmonton within three, and the Stingers salted away the win after layups from Sean East II and Keon Ambrose-Hylton. “Guys executed, guys played hard, we had lots of contributions top to bottom. So we’re certainly happy but we’re not satisfied,” Baker said. East II finished the game with 20 points and six assists, while Ambrose-Hylton added 13 points and eight rebounds and Elijah Miller contributed 12 points off the bench. Miller, of Rexdale, Ont., said it was a “great win.” “It’s gonna take time during the season, but as the games go on we’re definitely starting to click,” he said. Lindsey, the 29-year-old Illinois native, came to Edmonton after a year with Winnipeg last season in which he shot 42.1 per cent from the field en route to 13.5 points per game. But while he was still at 13 per game as a Stinger to start this season, his field-goal percentage had slumped to 30.4. Lindsey busted out of that slump in a big way on Tuesday. “When he lets the game come to him, he’s pretty damn good offensively. We try to put him in some spots, but he did a good job moving away from the ball and we found him early and often. And when he gets going, he really gets going,” Baker said. For Ottawa, meanwhile, the loss marked its third straight as it remains fourth in the Eastern Conference. Justin Jackson came off the bench to lead the BlackJacks with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Meshack Lufile (11 points) and Christian Rohlehr (10 points) were the only other scorers in double digits. Head coach Dave DeAveiro said his team kept things close through three quarters but struggled to close — an emerging trend during the losing streak. He added that the BlackJacks need “mental toughness” to snap out of it. “I find when things are not going our way, that’s when we’re not at our best,” DeAveiro said. Ottawa captain Tyrrel Tate notched nine points and five rebounds. He said the team is still learning each other’s tendencies while awaiting some players who have yet to debut. “We’re just trying to build some chemistry within the guys we have now. I think we’ve grown in a lot of areas but we still have a lot of growing room to go so just learn from this, watch the film, get ready to take care of business when we get back home,” Tate said. The BlackJacks’ Miyrne Thomas appeared to injure his shoulder during the third quarter and did not return. The Stingers led 25-23 after the first quarter on the strength of five-for-eight shooting from three-point range. Edmonton’s lead ballooned to 50-44 by halftime as the threes kept falling. In the third quarter, the Stingers finally gained some separation, but a late run by the BlackJacks cut Edmonton’s lead to just four points entering the final frame. Yet the Stingers responded, built a double-digit lead and cruised through Target Score Time. Now, Edmonton sports fans will turn their focus to the Stanley Cup Final, where the hope is that the Oilers make like the Stingers and earn a bounce-back victory of their own. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600598 Up Next Both teams face the Niagara River Lions in their next game — the Stingers visit Niagara on Friday, while the BlackJacks host the reigning champions on Sunday. Next CEBL Action The 500th game in league history, including playoffs, takes place Wednesday when the Winnipeg Sea Bears host the Montreal Alliance. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . Interact with us on social media: Instagram: ottawablackjacks X: Ott_BlackJacks Facebook: OttawaBlackJacks TikTok: ottawablackjacks

The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Edmonton Stingers tonight at 9 p.m. ET in their seventh game this season. Ottawa enters this matchup with a less-than-ideal record of 2-4. Their last two games have both been losses to the Vancouver Bandits and Calgary Surge respectively. Although back-to-back losses are a difficult thing to swallow, the BlackJacks should be proud of their play in both games. Both the Bandits and the Surge are top teams in the league, holding current records of 7-1 and 6-2 respectively. The BlackJacks were within reach of beating both teams–the game was tied in the fourth quarter against Calgary, and they even held the lead during the fourth against Vancouver. Making these games exciting is something the BlackJacks should be proud of, especially considering how long they’ve been away from home. This game against Edmonton will be the sixth straight road game for the BlackJacks (including their matchup against Montreal which was postponed at halftime due to technical issues). The last time the team even practiced at home was June 4–nearly a week prior to tonight’s game. Playing in an away environment for one game is hard enough–the visiting crowd can get in a team’s head, any time zone changes (which there are from Ottawa to Western Canada), an unfamiliar living accommodation like a hotel, and many more factors can heavily influence a team’s performance on the road. Combine all of those factors into six straight games, and there’s a massive impact on players. BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro emphasized the difficulty of a long road trip for the team. “We’re really going to have to be aware of these guys and their bodies, how tired they are, and making sure that they’re getting all of the rest that they need. It’s a tough stretch.” The time away from home wasn’t the only thing affecting the BlackJacks, though–they were also missing some important players. The team’s starting center Isaih Moore has been day-to-day with an injury since their second game of the season. Furthermore, the team is without multiple CEBL veterans who are busy finishing up their spring seasons overseas. Recognizable league names such as Keevan Veinot, Tevin Brown, Zane Waterman, and Nikola Djogo are all signed to the roster but are yet to join the BlackJacks. So with a long road trip on their plates and a plethora of important players missing, Ottawa should be impressed with their competitiveness against two strong teams in Vancouver and Calgary. That competitiveness should translate well against the Stingers, who have a much less intimidating record of just 2-5. Coming off of a 22-point loss to the Montreal Alliance, the Stingers have yet to beat a team with a record better than their own this season. Although the Stingers are still absolutely capable of putting up a fight (they lost to the Surge by just two earlier this year), taking on a team with a worse record than their own will be a breath of fresh air for a BlackJacks team dealing with a long trip on the road and some important players missing. The Stingers are also a great match for the BlackJacks in terms of playing style, which will be an additional help for Ottawa to gain back some winning momentum. Edmonton is the worst defensive team in the CEBL, giving up 95.1 points per-game to their opponents. As Ottawa scores the fourth-most points per-game in the league with 88.7, signs are pointing in the direction of a high-scoring night for the BlackJacks. A lot of that scoring for Ottawa comes from the bench. Against Calgary, three different players had nine points off of the pine including guard Rudi Williams and forwards Justin Jackson and Christian Rohlehr. Those players led the BlackJacks’ bench unit and made a massive impact. The starters weren’t able to hold off the Surge’s scoring–each one finished the game with a +/- of -13 or lower. The bench players, meanwhile, had a lowest +/- of just -3 and a highest of +7. Those on-off numbers are incredibly telling of just how deep and talented the BlackJacks’ team already is. And they’ll need to continue to impress, as the Stingers’ top bench scorer Aaron Rhooms is a difficult challenge to face. Rhooms has averaged 9.0 points per-game in just 12.5 minutes per-game this season, shooting a blistering hot 55.6% from the field. His scoring leads the Stingers’ bench, so slowing him down will be a necessity for the BlackJacks’ bench if they want to maintain their impact. Rhooms is a player for Coach DeAveiro at Toronto Metropolitan University, so DeAveiro knows what his BlackJacks team is going up against: “Aaron is a prolific scorer. He’s shown in the minutes that he’s played this year that he’s able to score at this level.” Despite the connection, though, DeAveiro isn’t focused on his student-athlete as the main threat on this Stingers team. “I’m happy and I’m proud of Aaron,” he remarked, “but we’re not playing Aaron. We’re playing the Edmonton Stingers, so he’s just another piece of the puzzle that we’ll have to prepare for.” And DeAveiro may be correct. Although Rhooms is a talented scorer, Edmonton has an even more talented player in their starting lineup that could give Ottawa some trouble. Guard Sean East II leads the Stingers in points per-game with 24.6, a number which also ranks third in the entire CEBL. His ability to score efficiently directly impacts Edmonton’s chances at winning. In the last two games that they played against Vancouver, Edmonton lost one by 30 and one by just nine. East II scored just 16 when they lost by 30, but exploded for 27 when they lost by nine. A statistic like that is more than enough proof for the BlackJacks that stopping East II is the BlackJacks’ most important factor in winning the game tonight. A likely one-on-one matchup for the BlackJacks to throw at East II would be one of forwards Miryne Thomas or Deng Adel. The two have taken turns guarding the opposing team’s best players, especially when they’re tall guards–which is a mold that the 6-3 East II fits into. Adel is more focused on a team effort to stop East II’s scoring, though. “I think [the priority] is just team defense,” said Adel, “making sure everybody is in gaps, making sure you’re not allowing guys to be left on an island by themselves…I think we’re going to hold our own in that aspect.” With Adel or Thomas guarding East II, and the overall team defense of the BlackJacks focusing on stopping East II’s scoring, The Stinger’s offense should be slowed to a halt. Combine that with Ottawa’s high scoring against Edmonton’s poor defense, and it creates a recipe for success for the BlackJacks tonight. Interact with us on social media: Instagram: ottawablackjacks X: Ott_BlackJacks Facebook: OttawaBlackJacks TikTok: ottawablackjacks

The Calgary Surge came out hot Sunday afternoon, and despite some pushback from the opposition, were able to hold off the Ottawa BlackJacks and lay claim to a 107-93 victory. Shots were falling for the Surge from the jump as they got off to a 15-4 lead before the first timeout, led by Sean Miller-Moore scoring nine of his game-high 28 points during the stretch. Neither team had trouble finding the bottom of the basket, as Calgary shot 15-of-20 from the field in the first quarter, while Ottawa was 9-of-13. The big difference early was the Surge putting pressure on the BlackJacks ball carrier and forcing seven turnovers whilst committing none of their own. “I thought we came out with our defensive identity from the start,” Calgary head coach Kaleb Canales said after the win. “I think guys were locked into the defensive end. We know we’re going to play a good team every night, teams are going to go on runs and comeback. I thought we sustained our defense for the majority of the game.” Trailing 35-23 after the first quarter, the BlackJacks went on a 19-5 run of their own to open the second and take a 42-40 lead before the Surge pushed back to take a 54-52 lead into halftime. The bench played a major role in the comeback, outing the Surge 18-4 in that department. Rudi Williams, Justin Jackson and Christian Rohlehr all chipped in with nine points off the bench. Tyrell Tate had 13 points and Matt Coleman III had 11 while Deng Adel led the way with 24 points, four rebounds and six assists, but also accounted for seven of Ottawa’s 19 turnovers. “I thought Calgary came out and made every shot,” BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro said post game. “Defensively they made us turn the ball over and we gave them points off of turnovers. I thought in the first quarter we played into Calgary’s hand a little bit, and in the second quarter we got better and took care of the ball a lot better.” “It’s critical,” he said of his team’s stellar bench play. “Especially when you’re on a road trip like this where you play three games in five days, our bench has to step up like that have in the last two games… I thought Justin Jackson was good today. I thought he played well today, coming back and playing against his old team he was a little motivated to play well, but he’s been strong for us.” With the Surge missing key pieces in Khyri Thomas and Stefan Jankovic due to injuries and Osayi Osifo away from the team to attend camp with the Dallas Mavericks, the core of the team stepped up in a big way. On top of Miller-Moore’s performance, Jameer Nelson Jr. finished with 24 points, six assists and five steals on 9-of-12 shooting, while Greg Brown III had 25 points and six rebounds, including 21 in the second half. Olumide Adelodun led the way for the Surge’s bench, scoring 15 of 17 points from a second unit that saw the professional debuts of Javonte Brown and Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow. “I thought (Gilgeous-Glasgow and Brown) were huge,” Canales said. “Even D.J (Jackson)’s minutes there. We coach it and we teach it that everyone has to be ready. I know it sounds like a cliché, but the season’s long and guys get banged up and guys have to step up, and it speaks to their work.” Despite coming into the game ninth in the league in free throw percentage and dead last in three-point percentage, the Surge shot 29-of-38 from the line and 10-for-28 from beyond the arc. 37 of the team’s 53 second-half points came from either the charity stripe or the three-point line, making their improvements in the areas critical to pull out a win. Team captain Sean Miller-Moore said keeping his own composure was key to setting the tone for his team to have an impactful second half. “I know it starts with me,” he said. “I’m very passionate when I play, I’m very emotional. So sometimes I just try to stay even keel because once I show that on my sleeve, it kind of affects the team. Coach always preaches staying poised, playing our game even when it’s (Target Time), fourth quarter, second quarter. It’s a game of runs, so teams are going to go on runs, but you just have to stay solid.” The win pushed the Surge to 3-0 all-time against the BlackJacks since relocating to Calgary. Ottawa fell to 1-3 on the road this season. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600590 Up Next The Calgary Surge have a week off before their five-game homestand continues against the Scarborough Shooting Stars on June 15. The Ottawa BlackJacks stay in Alberta as they’ll face the Edmonton Stingers on June 10. Next CEBL Action The undefeated Montreal Alliance travel to Scarborough to face the Shooting Stars in the first of four meetings between the teams this season. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . Interact with us on social media: Instagram: ottawablackjacks X: Ott_BlackJacks Facebook: OttawaBlackJacks TikTok: ottawablackjacks

A full schedule of CEBL play wrapped up on the West Coast as the Vancouver Bandits hosted the Ottawa BlackJacks in a high-stakes cross-conference clash. The Bandits returned to the win column with a 95-81 victory over the BlackJacks at the Langley Events Centre, improving to 6-1 and reclaiming the top spot in the West after suffering their first loss of the season last weekend. Led by Mitch Creek, who finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, the Australian import maintained his consistent level of play despite a tight back-and-forth with the Eastern Conference visitors. “We understand that teams might be able to stay with us for three quarters,” Creek commented on playing a complete game as a team. “When we got to the fourth quarter, we really turned it up. We had each other’s backs, and we had that groove, confidence and swagger to come back… That’s the basketball we know we play and we’re excited to carry that momentum forward.” While it didn’t show on the score sheet, Kyle Mangas offered a steadying force throughout the night. He created opportunities from the back court with two steals, one block and a team-leading seven defensive rebounds. “Kyle didn’t have a great game offensively, but he’s so calm and confident,” said Bandits head coach Kyle Julius on the American import. “He’s so resilient and he makes a few plays in the end that going in the fourth quarter, his steadiness and maturity makes a big difference.” Despite the loss, Ottawa (2-3) did not go down without a fight as their bench contributed 42 points in the game. Quarterbacked by Christian Rohlehr, who neared a double-double of 11 points and nine rebounds. “They made that push for us,” said Rohlehr about the BlackJacks’ bench contributions. “They give the guys confidence and make us fight. We believe that we can get away with a win but we just couldn’t execute all the way.” Justin Jackson also made a key impact off the bench, scoring 12 points off the bench, shooting 4-for-6 and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. “Our bench has been really good for us,” BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro commented on the full roster involvement. “They come in and they pick up defensively. They run their offense. They don’t try to do too much and just try to be solid.” The first half saw both teams trade momentum. The Bandits pulled ahead early with a 21-12 lead in the first quarter, but the BlackJacks stormed back in the second, outscoring the home team 23-17 to cut Vancouver’s lead to just 38-35 going into halftime. Ottawa’s second half comeback was heavily backed by their bench scoring with a combined 18 points before halftime and strong defense with 11 rebounds while generating a plus-6 to close the first 20 minutes of the game. The second half remained tight. Jackson’s hot streak—including three consecutive threes—kept the BlackJacks within one point entering the final frame, trailing just 65-64. But the final momentum shift went in the way of Vancouver. The Bandits immediately responded to their first sight of losing their lead they managed to maintain throughout the game. Opening the final frame with a 10-2 run in preparation for Target Score Time, they outpaced the BlackJacks. With less than three minutes left on the clock before time was stopped, the Bandits threw down the final gauntlet, bringing the score up to 86-74, setting Target Score to 95 points. From there, Tyrese Samuel and Curtis Hollis took over, dropping four and five points, respectively to secure the win and send the BlackJacks back on the road. For Julius and his roster, Friday night was an opportunity to put their training and preparation to the test. Starting the 2025 season with dominant wins over their opponents, they found themselves needing to shift and remind themselves that no win will come easily. Their 95-80 loss to the Calgary Surge was a reality check. “In Calgary, we found ourselves a step slow. We were lethargic, didn’t have a scout, didn’t have a shootaround—we were put in the trenches,” Creek reflected on their loss and how the Bandits returned to form for tonight, “We found ourselves going back and reteaching the basics, fundamentals, floor spacing—things that people overlook seven games into a season.” These resets, even throughout the game with so called “anger time-outs” (according to Julius) were reminders for the Bandits to regain their fight and play harder. As for Ottawa, the road ahead is tough as they try to return to a .500 record. “We’re going through rough patches,” DeAveiro admitted. “We haven’t responded the way we wanted to so we’ll go back and watch the tape to figure out ways we can manage those situations better… The big thing is staying together and probably keep relying on our bench to get us through tough situations like that.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600611 Up Next Vancouver has a short turnaround as they immediately head back out on the road, visiting the 2-4 Saskatchewan Rattlers for a Sunday afternoon matinee. Ottawa takes their Western Conference road trip to Calgary with a quick stop visiting the 5-2 Surge. Next CEBL Action The 1-5 Winnipeg Sea Bears and 3-1 Scarborough Shooting Stars continue the weekend of CEBL action on Saturday after both teams played Friday night. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . 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The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) take on the Vancouver Bandits tonight, May 6 at 10 p.m. ET. This matchup is the last of a league-record five games being played today–for the first time ever, every single team in the CEBL will see action on the court on the same day. The other games include (in order of occurrence) the Niagara River Lions vs. the Scarborough Shooting Stars, the Brampton Honey Badgers vs. the Winnipeg Sea Bears, the Montreal Alliance vs. the Edmonton Stingers and the Calgary Surge vs. the Saskatchewan Rattlers. After those four games go down–the fourth of which tips off at 9:30 p.m. ET, the grand finale of the night will be the BlackJacks and Bandits facing off. The CEBL made sure to save the best game for last: both the Bandits and the BlackJacks ranked in the top three of the league’s start-of-season power rankings according to a member of CEBL Media. Ottawa proved that high ranking correct in their last game with a win against the Winnipeg Sea Bears. After a rocky 1-2 start, BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro was optimistic about the team’s performance against Winnipeg: “I thought we did a lot of good things in some areas and grew up as a team in that game.” Veteran guard Tyrrel Tate felt that the team gained an extra boost of confidence moving forward: “It definitely helped our confidence…seeing us get a win on the road.” The BlackJacks have since traveled to Vancouver with that newly gained confidence to start what will be three games in five days, all away from Ottawa–those matchups include tonight’s game, and games against the Surge and the Stingers next Sunday and Tuesday respectively. “We’re really going to have to be aware of [our] guys and their bodies–how tired they are,” said DeAveiro, “It’s a tough stretch. We’re playing three really good teams, too.” The Bandits very well may be the best of those really good teams as they’ve started this season firing on all cylinders. With a record of 5-1 through their first six games, Vancouver has the highest +/- in the league with 112–sixty points larger than the second place Surge, who they took their only loss of the season to on June 1. The Bandits’ early season dominance has come largely from their incredible scoring ability. The team tops the league in points per game (101.2), field goals made per game (37.5), and three point percentage (35.9%). A large part of their high scoring comes from three players who all sit in top 10 leaguewide in points per game: Australian forward Mitch Creek (23.5), the sharpshooting Kyle Mangas (21.8), and the gargantuan Tyrese Samuel (19.0). Creek’s all-around game fits perfectly with Mangas’ shooting touch from the perimeter, and Samuel’s dominance at the rim. Despite the Bandit’s impressive scoring talent, though, the BlackJacks have a serious chance of winning this game. The biggest key factor in that outcome is momentum. While the BlackJacks are coming off of their win against the Sea Bears, the Bandits head into this game fresh off of their first loss of the season to the Calgary Surge. That loss impacted Vancouver in more ways than just adding a “1” to the end of their record. Calgary were considered to be their biggest challengers in the Western Conference, which emphasized the importance of the matchup. The Surge didn’t make the game close at all, though, handing Vancouver their first loss, 95-80. Coming off of such an impactful loss is bound to hurt the ego more than a regular game. The Bandits’ spirits are down for the first time all season, and with the BlackJacks riding the high of their recent win, the momentum for this game sits in favour of Ottawa. Another thing to note that gives the BlackJacks an advantage in this one is their ability to score. They sit at third in the CEBL in points per game, (91.0), just two spots behind the Bandits. The only team in between them? The Surge. The fact that the Bandits’ only loss came to another high-scoring team shows that they have a weakness for teams who can put the ball in the basket. As well as scoring, Ottawa can also match Vancouver’s three-point shooting percentage. Similarly to their points per game rankings, Vancouver sits in first in the league (35.9%) and Ottawa at third (34.8%). That ability to knock down three-point shots will be an additional help to nullify the advantage Vancouver gains from their high scoring. If the BlackJacks can put together a few stops, their scoring and shooting efficiency will do the rest of the talking. “We know what we’re capable of on offense so it’s about who can get the most stops, really,” said Tate. Those stops will be most important around the rim–an area that Ottawa has struggled to defend in recent games due to their starting center, Isaih Moore missing the team’s last two games due to injury. Moore is still day-to-day, which means the BlackJack’s backup bigs, Meshack Lufile and Christian Rohlehr, will still be imperative in getting defensive stops. “We have the two-headed monster–we’ve got [Rohlehr] and [Lufile],” said DeAveiro, “they do a really good job of wearing the other team’s main guy down.” The “two-headed monster” was impressive against the Sea Bears, holding the team to just 73 points–seven under their season average. Winnipeg’s starting center, Kyle Filewich, finished with just two points in the game. Rohlehr, meanwhile, came off of the bench to score 10 points on 4/4 shooting from the field, along with five offensive rebounds and three blocks. Rohlehr and Lufile will be extra necessary to slow down Samuel, who leads the CEBL in rebounds per game with 10.7. Lufile and Rohlehr’s large frames will match up well against the 6-10, 239-pound behemoth. Despite the absence of Moore, the BlackJacks have two big men to get some stops on the interior. With enough of those stops, Ottawa will be able to use their scoring ability to snag a win tonight against one of the best teams in the entire CEBL. Interact with us on social media: Instagram: ottawablackjacks X: Ott_BlackJacks Facebook: OttawaBlackJacks TikTok: ottawablackjacks

Despite a slow start for the Ottawa Blackjacks, they went on a 21-2 run in the second quarter and never looked back, winning 88-73 against the Sea Bears on Saturday night. Ottawa’s Deng Adel (team-high 20 points) hit key shots throughout the game. In the first quarter, he hit a triple to inch within three points, and in the second, he hit a pair of threes to give Ottawa a seven-point and 10-point lead, respectively. In the third, he had a huge block on Terry Roberts, which helped Ottawa maintain an eight-point lead, and he exploited a mismatch down low for two easy points. Ottawa, however, relied on contributions from the rest of the team unlike Winnipeg’soverreliance on the one-two punch of Tevian Jones (game-high 32 points) and Jaylin Williams (16 points). Ottawa shot 5-for-19 from downtown in the first half, but instantly hit two threes in the second half. Ottawa relied on big man Meshak Lufile when scoring deep inside the paint and Deng’s mid-range forced a timeout. In the fourth quarter, Christian Rohlehr’s dunk gave them a seven-point buffer, and Rohlehr had a huge impact off the bench today, pouring in 10 points down low. “I thought our bench did a tremendous job today, stepping up and settling us down when things got a little chaotic,” said Ottawa’s head coach Dave DeAveiro. “We don’t get a win without our bench tonight.” The Jaylin Williams-Tevin Jones one-two punch kept Ottawa on their toes throughout the game. Williams’ block on Deng in the third quarter fueled a transition lay-up to Jones, and Winnipeg inched within two points. In the fourth, Jones ripped down a defensive rebound, took the ball coast-to-coast, and regained possession of the ball on a baseline out of bounds play. That led to Solomon Young’s left corner triple that made it a two-point game. 8,374 fans came to Canada Life Centre tonight, hoping to see the Sea Bears get their second victory of the season. History repeated itself as Winnipeg has never led against Ottawa going into halftime, and for the first time, Winnipeg have lost three-straight home games. But Winnipeg’s star Jones says he and his team remain unphased, keeping the vibes high in the locker room. “I think we’re doing a good job of that. I’m a winner personally and I think the rest of the guys are winners as well,” Jones said calmly. “We all wanna win.” Canada Life Centre will host the Championship Weekend this year, and the spirited effort by Winnipeg gives fans lots to be hopeful for. Terry Roberts came alive in the third quarter despite issues with his hip, and Taylor complimented him on his tremendous effort throughout 34 minutes. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600589 Up next for both teams Winnipeg (1-4) will head to the CAA Centre on Friday, June 6 to play against the Brampton Honey Badgers (0-5). Ottawa will continue to travel further west to play the undefeated Vancouver Bandits (5-0) on Friday, June 6th at Langley Events Centre. Next CEBL action The Vancouver Bandits will host the Calgary Surge (4-1) tomorrow at Langley Events Centre. Vancouver has a perfect 5-0 record, and Calgary will be looking to be the first team to topple their undefeated record. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . Interact with us on social media: Instagram: ottawablackjacks X: Ott_BlackJacks Facebook: OttawaBlackJacks TikTok: ottawablackjacks

The Ottawa BlackJacks are in Winnipeg tonight to play the fourth game of their Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) against the Winnipeg Sea Bears at 8:30 p.m. ET. The BlackJacks enter this matchup with a 1-2 record with the win coming from a dominant performance against the Brampton Honey Badgers, and the two losses from two thrilling but heartbreaking endings against the Niagara River Lions and the Scarborough Shooting Stars. That loss to the Shooting Stars was the BlackJacks’ most recent game, going down on Tuesday morning. The trip to Scarborough was the beginning of a massive road trip for the team, as they play all of the CEBL’s West Coast teams over the next few weeks and won’t play at home back at TD Place until Sunday, June 15. A long trip on the road is definitely not something the team would like to see in their schedule: last season, the BlackJacks finished with a record of just 3-7 in away games. Losing to Scarborough on Tuesday to bring their record under .500 hasn’t made the start of this season any better, either. That loss to Scarborough was by one point, 86-87. The game winner in target score time for the Shooting Stars came from a ridiculous fadeaway mid-range jump shot from Yuri Collins–starting the road trip losing in that way is bound to be a major energy drainer for Ottawa. BlackJacks Head Coach David DeAveiro noted that coming so close to a win hurt the team’s morale: “That Scarborough game was a tough game.” But what goes down must come up, and DeAveiro believes that, too: “We’re going to keep getting better, and better, and better as we go along. New coach, new players, new teammates. Things don’t happen just like that.” An important first step to improving the team’s success for DeAveiro is raising their urgency. Both of Ottawa’s losses have come in tight target score endings: the one-point loss to Scarborough, and the loss to Niagara came on a blown 17-point deficit. “We’ve been in two tight games that we lost in Elam,” said DeAveiro, “we didn’t have the urgency.” That sense of urgency comes from playing with a purpose, and giving the game 100% effort through every minute–the team did a much better job of that in its preparation for this game against the Sea Bears. “We were locked in today, and more focused than we have been,” said DeAveiro when asked about the team’s urgency after their last practice. That practice included a ton of high-effort defensive reps with loud on-court communication between players, and frequent pauses in gameplay by DeAveiro to inspire the team. Forward Meshack Lufile reciprocated DeAveiro’s emphasis on effort: “The coaches challenged us. They wanted us to be better.” Lufile’s role on the team specifically will require extra effort, as the status of the team’s usual starting centre, Isaih Moore, is still unknown. Moore went down in the team’s second game of the year against the Honey Badgers, and has been labelled day-to-day since. “Hopefully we can get him for next week, but he’s still day-to-day,” said DeAveiro, “we don’t know.” Moore led the BlackJacks in rebounding during the 2024 season with 8.3–he’d no doubt be on pace to do it again if not for this injury. Lufile has been averaging 4.7 rebounds per game this year, doing what he can to fill the team’s Moore-shaped hole. “Next man up mentality,” said Lufile when asked whether he takes pride in substituting as the team’s go-to rebounder. His abilities will be extra necessary in tonight’s matchup, as the Sea Bears are one of the better rebounding teams in the CEBL so far this season. They rank fourth in rebounds per-game with 41.8, and more importantly, second in offensive rebounds per-game with 13.8. Those offensive rebounds make the Sea Bears lethal as a scoring threat in the paint. The team has a whopping four players averaging at least two offensive rebounds per game–the only team in the league with a higher number than that is the Montreal Alliance. The BlackJacks began play against the Alliance last weekend during the CEBL Summer Classic at IGA Stadium however the game was cancelled at halftime due to unsafe floor conditions with Montreal holding a 52-29 lead before the stoppage. That dominance from the Alliance came largely from the paint, where their five players averaging two-plus offensive rebounds per-game were able to generate easy offense at the rim. The Sea Bears have similar offensive rebounding ability to the Alliance, which could provide trouble for the BlackJacks tonight. With strengths come weaknesses, however, and Winnipeg has both. Despite being an incredibly strong offensive rebounding team, they are the worst team in the CEBL in three-point percentage at 25%. This lack of outside scoring means that the BlackJacks can afford to put all of their newfound urgency into stopping the Sea Bears’ scoring inside–it’s safer to let them shoot. Winnipeg is also the second-lowest scoring team in the league this year, with just 82.0 points per game. That lack of scoring will put less pressure on Ottawa’s defense, which has been their weak point in past years. If things go according to plan for the BlackJacks in tonight’s game, their newfound sense of urgency will help them stop the Sea Bears’ impressive rebounding abilities, and win them their second game of the season.