Stingers Steal The Win Over Ottawa, Return to CEBL Title Game
A steal by Marlon Johnson Jr. led to a fast-break dunk by CEBL Sixth Man of the Year Adika Peter-McNeilly to seal the win, as the Edmonton Stingers defeated the Ottawa BlackJacks, 94-87, in the second CEBL semifinal and earned a chance to repeat as league champions.
In front of a rowdy hometown crowd, three-time CEBL MVP Xavier Moon led all scorers with 22 points to go along with a team-high eight assists and two steals, as chants of “MVP” rang out throughout Expo Centre during the closing moments of the game.
Teammate Marlon Johnson registered 20 points and a team-best five rebounds.
The 16 steals by the Stingers set the CEBL playoff record. It was indicative of their play right from the opening tip. Edmonton scored 27 points from forcing a postseason record 25 Ottawa turnovers. Jordan Baker set the new playoff mark for steals by a player with six, surpassing teammate Xavier Moon, who made five steals in the first ever CEBL postseason game back in 2019. Baker finished with 11 points and seven assists before fouling out in Elam Ending time.
"All season, it's been kind of like the same kind of theme that we bend, but don't break, said CEBL Coach of Year Jermaine Small. “Once again, I think our experience from winning last year, I think that it just carried over and our guys want to stay composed, poised and stay confident."
Despite the high scoring game, it was defence that made the difference in the outcome.
"We were talking about deflections,” continued Small. “We were talking about tips. I tell them that we need to be aggressive on defence. Let's score off our defense. You know, because obviously, we have some guys that can put up points, but we focus a lot on scoring from our defense, and we did that well tonight."
With the addition of Edmonton native Chad Posthumus, who stepped into the centre position for the BlackJacks in their quarterfinal win over Hamilton, teammate Nick Ward was able to move over to the power forward position, the same role he played when he led the Michigan State Spartans to the NCAA Final Four. Ward led all Ottawa players with 17 points in Friday night’s semifinal contest, while grabbing seven rebounds and three steals. For his part, Posthumus registered another double-double with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. The BlackJacks owned the boards, but it didn’t result in the win. Ottawa outrebounded the Stingers 42-24, however were outscored in the paint 42-38.
The Stingers led by as many as 10 points in the first half but the BlackJacks would not accept defeat. They clawed their way back in the third quarter, outscoring Edmonton 23-14 in the frame and took a 68-65 lead heading into the final quarter after a thunderous dunk by Posthumus brought the Ottawa bench to its feet.
The fans were treated to an entertaining fourth quarter with the lead changing hands 13 times. A pair of free throws by Moon brought the score to 85-84 at the final media time out, and an Elam Ending target score of 94.
Ward was called on a questionable charge that gave him five fouls and an exit from the game. A Peter-McNeilly triple on the next possession put Edmonton up 88-84 and they never relinquished the lead again.
“You’ve got to give the credit to them (Edmonton),” said BlackJacks Head Coach Charles Dube-Brais. “It was a hard-fought game. We had the pieces, and despite Covid protocols hitting us, self isolation for players and being separated except for the last 24 hours, I just want to tip my hat off to them. They came through, they fought hard. They believed from the beginning to the end."
The BlackJacks equalled their semifinal finish from last season.
The Edmonton Stingers will look to be the first repeat champions in CEBL history as they tip off against the second-seeded Niagara River Lions on Sunday. Coverage begins live on CBC TV at 4 p.m. Eastern, 2 p.m. Mountain Time.
Championship Weekend Schedule
Semifinals: Friday, August 20, 2021
(2) Niagara River Lions 84, (4) Fraser Valley 82
(1) Edmonton Stingers 94, (6) Ottawa BlackJacks 87
Championship Game: Sunday, August 22, 2021
(2) Niagara River Lions vs. (1) Edmonton Stingers (4 p.m. ET, 2 p.m. MT)
All CEBL games are 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.