Growlers and BlackJacks Clash in Search for First Victory

The Newfoundland Growlers (0-1) host the Ottawa BlackJacks (0-3) on June 5 at 1:30 pm ET/3 pm NT. Both teams are looking for their first win of the season and for the Growlers, their first win in franchise history. The Growlers and BlackJacks sit at the bottom of the CEBL standings. 

The Growlers lost their season and home opener to the Edmonton Stingers 89-74 on June 3. Newfoundland kept the game close in the first half against the defending champions, trailing 18-13 after the first quarter and 43-35 at halftime. Newfoundland playing the Stingers close in the second half but Edmonton pulled away in the end. 

Newfoundland guards Jahvon Blair (22 points, six rebounds), Brandon Sampson (20 points, three rebounds) and Shaquille Keith (14 points, seven rebounds) had strong performances. The Growlers received bench production from guard Allan Griffin (seven rebounds, five assists, three steals) and Khalil Whitney (nine points, three rebounds). 

Growlers head coach Patrick Ewing Jr. made his debut as a CEBL head coach after being the lead assistant coach with the BlackJacks last season. His team has areas to get better. The Stingers had more rebounds (41-35), assists (25-16) and shot better from the field (55 to 38 per cent) and three (47 to 32 per cent).

Newfoundland has areas to build off with offensive rebounding (12) and steals (eight), paint scoring (30 of 74 points) and points off turnovers (14 points off 16 turnovers). Look for Blair, Sampson and Keith to be involved in initiating the offence. Team captain Junior Cadogan brings leadership and previous CEBL experience with the BlackJacks. He had two points and one assist in 10 minutes of action against Edmonton. 

The BlackJacks will have a new head coach as University of Ottawa men’s head coach James Derouin replaces Charles Dube-Brais after three games. Derouin is the team’s Director of Basketball Strategy and Analytics. 

Ottawa’s most recent loss came to the Scarborough Shooting Stars, where they were outscored 55-41 in the second half, losing 98-81. They are positives to build around. Forward Deng Adel is second in the league, averaging 24.7 points, while centre Chad Posthumus is second in rebounds, averaging 11.7. Guard Walt Lemon Jr. (averaging 16.7 points, 4.7 assists) and University of Ottawa forward Maxime Boursiquot (nine points, 2.3 steals) are also significant contributors. 

The BlackJacks are high in several offensive categories including points (fourth in CEBL), assists (second), three-point percentage (second) and field goal percentage (third). However, they haven’t been able to close out games, losing a lead in the opener to the Fraser Valley Bandits and being outscored 27-21 in the fourth quarter against the Montréal Alliance. 

One of these teams will notch their first win on Sunday. The game marks the first of two straight road games for Ottawa, who play the Guelph Nighthawks afterwards. The Growlers will also hit the road with two road games after this one. 

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ and on CEBL Mobile the official app of the CEBL for iOS and Android devices. Games are also available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.