Ottawa BlackJacks take win over Scarborough before final regular season home game
The Ottawa BlackJacks took a 102-89 win over the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Saturday.
The win brought the BlackJacks back to third place in the Eastern Conference standings, as the back-and-forth race for the playoffs continues.
Scarborough is the only team in the Eastern Conference to have clinched a spot in the playoffs, with a 15-4 season. The BlackJacks, the Niagara River Lions, the Brampton Honey Badgers and the Montreal Alliance are all fighting for the final three spots.
Until Saturday’s game, the Shooting Stars were undefeated at home. But when the BlackJacks came to the Toronto Pan Am Centre, that streak was broken.
The BlackJacks also gave the Shooting Stars their second loss back on June 24, on home turf. Now that the teams have faced off three times, Ottawa has taken two of them.
The Shooting Stars will come back to face Ottawa at home on Wednesday, as their final matchup of the regular season. If the BlackJacks can take that game and make the series against the consistently number-one-seeded team 3-1, the energy going into the final stretch before playoffs will be unmatched.
In the game against Scarborough, young star Wilson Dubinsky had his best game of the season and finished with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“I've always known I could do this. I just had the opportunity,” said Dubinsky.
Another duo that has been shining together is Javonte Smart and Isaih Moore. The two both played on the 2025 team together, and since Moore joined the BlackJacks this year, both their stats have skyrocketed.
At Scarborough on Saturday, Moore finished with his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and five blocks. He shot down two big three-point shots and averaged 60 per cent from three.
Smart countered with 29 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Smart is the franchise record-holder for points in a single game and has averaged 31 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists over the last three games. When it comes to the race for MVP, he should definitely be in the conversation.
Justin Harmon made it back from the NBA Summer League, just in time for the game on Saturday. After a red-eye flight and a race to make it on time, he finished the game with nine points, four rebounds and two assists.
He, alongside fellow Salt Lake City Star player Matthew Cleveland, have both made it back from the Summer League for the BlackJacks' final regular season game at home.
Scarborough preview
Scarborough takes the trip down the 401 to face Ottawa the final time in the regular season on Wednesday.
After a 2-1 series, the Shooting Stars will be looking to tie the series up, while Ottawa looks to call the series a win.
Scarborough player Frank Mitchell currently leads the league in double-double games with 10 of 19 games played. He also leads the league in total rebounds with 198.
When comparing the two teams’ statistics, the BlackJacks lead in field goals and three-point percentage. The BlackJacks are averaging 48.6 per cent from the field and 35.1 per cent from three. This compares to the Shooting Stars 44.3 per cent from the field and 33.5 per cent from three.
Where Scarborough shines, and Ottawa will be looking to clean up is the rebounding game. Scarborough averages 43.1 rebounds per game, while the BlackJacks average 39.2.
Looking towards playoffs
The battle against the number-one-seeded team and the fight for a playoff spot is far from over. Ottawa will play four games on the road before the final playoff seeds are decided.
If Ottawa can beat out Brampton for the number-two seed, the BlackJacks will host a playoff game against the number-three-seed. If they finish as the number-three or four seed, they will play on the road for the conference semi-finals. The first playoff game is Thursday, August 6.