Honey Badgers looking to end losing streak at home against BlackJacks
Matthew Winick
The Hamilton Honey Badgers (6-3) will look to snap out of a two-game losing streak as they take on the Ottawa BlackJacks on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. ET at the FirstOntario Centre, where the team is welcoming back fans for the first time since 2019.
After starting off the season by going 6-1, a couple slip-ups have pushed the Honey Badgers down to third in the CEBL standings. Hamilton suffered a tight 71-68 loss on Saturday to the Niagara River Lions just days after being blown out 99-63 at the hands of the then-undefeated Edmonton Stingers.
Meanwhile, the BlackJacks are coming off an ultimate high, being the team to ruin Edmonton’s perfect season with an impressive 79-74 victory in their first game with fans in the stands on Saturday. With their newfound momentum, the team will now look to head to Hamilton and knock off another one of the CEBL’s best squads.
New Additions
Both the BlackJacks and Honey Badgers made significant transactions on Tuesday.
Ottawa’s major splash came by signing former CEBL champion Negus Webster-Chan. The 6-foot-7 guard played with the Saskatchewan Rattlers since the league’s inaugural season back in 2019 and suited up in four games earlier this year for the Rattlers.
Webster-Chan’s elite shooting ability will give the BlackJacks a key floor spacer on the court, and his experience and IQ will fit right in with the oldest squad in the CEBL.
Not to be outdone, the Honey Badgers added guard depth of their own, courtesy of Wednesday’s opponent. The team announced that they’ve signed former BlackJacks guard Kyle Johnson after he suited up in four games for Ottawa this season. Johnson played for Fraser Valley last year as well, and looks to be a steady, physical presence at the guard position for his new club.
Offensive Consistency
When analyzing Hamilton’s recent two-game slide, the lack of offense that was shown earlier in the season stands out as a big reason for the struggles. After averaging 89.2 points per game over its 6-1 start, the team has averaged only 65.5 a night since, shooting just 36.8% from the field.
A consistent, start-to-finish offensive performance against the BlackJacks could be the key towards putting the Honey Badgers’ recent cold stretch behind them.
Luckily, Ottawa sports one of the league’s lowest ranked defenses, with the team allowing at least 84 points in all but two contests this season. Should Hamilton take advantage of Ottawa’s defensive unit, a better result could be in store on Wednesday.
Does History Repeat Itself?
It shouldn’t be too difficult to envision these two squads matching up against each other, as they did battle at TD Place in Ottawa on July 1st, with Hamilton coming out on top 99-92 led by star Lindell Wigginton’s 33 points.
Both teams were red-hot from deep in the game, with each draining 14 three-pointers, while shooting over 38% from the land beyond.
A tougher, hard-fought game may be in store given recent performances by Hamilton and Ottawa, but if history says anything, Wednesday’s contest will be a tight one the whole way through.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 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 typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube