Final standings (6): Niagara (15-5); Edmonton (14-6); Saskatchewan (11-9); Hamilton (10-10); Guelph (6-14); Fraser Valley (4-16)
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Fraser Valley Bandits: Joel Friesen (Abbotsford/Fraser Valley), Marek Klassen (Abbotsford/Point Loma Nazarene), Tyrrel Tate (Calgary/Fayetteville State), Levon Kendall (Vancouver/Pittsburg), Clint Robinson (Montego Bay, Jamaica/Chicago-Illinois), Jamal Ray (Texarkana, Texas/LSU Shreveport), Rans Brempong (Thornhill/Western Carolina), Chris Mclaughlin (Oakville/Victoria), Sukhjot Bains (Surrey/Fraser Valley), Jelan Kendrick (College Park, Georgia/U.N.L.V.), N’Kosi Kedar Salam (Toronto/U.B.C.), Drew Urquhart (Vancouver/Vermont), Kevin Bercy (Kanata, St. Francis Xavier), Glenn Ruby (Vancouver/Langara), Ethan DaSilva (Calgary/Trinity Western), coach/general manager Peter Guarasci, assistant Virgil Hill, assistant Kyle Graves, assistant & video coordinator Avneet Brar, strength & conditioning Yoshia Burton, manager of operations E.J. Rabanes, therapist Katia Sanon, physiotherapist Kosta Ikonomou
Guelph Nighthawks: Olu Famutimi (Toronto/Arkansas), Myles Charvis (Toronto/Ryerson), Johneil Simpson (Toronto/Brock); Malcolm Glanville (Toronto/Guelph), Emanual Shepherd (Toronto/Southern U), Connor Wood (Guelph/Carleton), Tyrell Corbin (South Carolina/CS Bakersfield), Meshack Lufile (Scarborough/Cape Breton), Joel Kindred (Raleigh, NC/St. Augustine U), Abednego Lufile (Burlington/Arkansas Tech), Jermel Kennedy (Malton/Lander State U), Michale Kyser (Victoria, Texas/Louisiana U), Kimball Mackenzie (Oakville/Bucknell), Chadrack Lufile (Burlington/Wichita State), coach/general manager Charles Kissi, assistant & video coordinator Juan Nune, assistant Steve Cuevas, assistant John Hood, assistant Brad Taylor, physician Margo Mountjoy, physician Stephen Gawron, dentist Nicole Cool, strength & conditioning mananger Josh Ford, strength & conditioning coach Mac James, physiotherapist Craig Dixon, physiotherapist Julia Hochstein, therapist Zak Peppard, psychiatrist Carla Edwards
In the semis, held in Saskatoon, the 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Rattlers edged the 2nd-seeded Edmonton Stingers 85-83. Player of the game Marlon Johnson notched three buckets in the paint, along with a trey, in the final two minutes as the Rattlers rallied late from a double-digit deficit. “I just locked in on defense, man. I’m kind of mad that I didn’t get Defensive Player of the Year, so that took a toll on me so I just locked in,” said Johnson. “It’s a great atmosphere, especially with the fans. We really enjoy your fans and that’s why we’re so engaged with them. We talk to them, we give them high fives, so it played a big part of it.” Rattlers coach and general manager Greg Jockims said “I thought we played hard in the first-half but we weren’t playing with that competitive advantage. Everybody plays hard but you have to take it to the next level and compete and that’s not only physically, but your mind has to be engaged in terms of trying to disrupt what they’re trying to do, and that’s what we did – we got disruptive and got out in transition.” The Rattlers led 20-17 after one quarter as the Stingers missed their first eight shots. The Stingers opened the second quarter with a 16-2 run and led 49-41 at the half. The momentum shifted with 50 seconds remaining in the third quarter, when Grandy Glaze was charged with an unsportsmanlike foul, bringing down Negus Webster-Chan, who split a pair of subsequent free throws and brought the Stingers to within five at 64-57. Stinger Jordan Baker picked up his fourth foul with a second remaining in the quarter. The Rattlers took the lead at the 7:21 mark when Shaquille Keith drove coast-to-coast for an and-one. Johnson buried the Stingers with a trey that gave Saskatchewan an 84-80 lead with 52 seconds left in the game. A late trey by Xavier Moon with 32 seconds left trimmed the margin to 85-83 but the Stingers were unable to advance the ball past half-court on the game’s final possession and a late turnover sealed an eventual win for the Rattlers. Stingers coach Jermaine Smalls said “I think the home crowd definitely gave them a boost, for sure. … It was a beautiful game to watch and I think those kinds of games show you the parity in the league because whether you’re second, or third, or first, or the fourth seed, there’s a lot of parity in this league and I’m glad that we gave the fans a good game. But it just shows that whenever it comes down to it, the game’s about inches and if you have a bit of slippage, teams make you pay.” Marlon Johnson paced the Rattlers with 17 on 4-5 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 8 boards. Shaquille Keith added 15 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Shane Osayande notched 13 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Alex Campbell scored 10 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Ryan Ejim added 10 on 5-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 6 boards. Negus Webster-Chan notched 8 on 1-6 from the floor, 5-8 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Chad Posthumus added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 8 boards. Jelane Pryce scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 4 boards. Maurice Jones added 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc, while Cole Anderson was scoreless. Saskatchewan hit 27-65 (.410) overall, 21-41 (.510) from the floor, 6-24 from the line and 25-35 (.710) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 23 turnovers, 8 steals, 2 blocks and 17 fouls. Grandy Glaze paced the Stingers with 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Travis Daniels added 16 on 2-6 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 13 boards. Jordan Baker notched 13 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Xavier Moon scored 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. Adika Peter-McNeilly added 12 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Mamadou Gueye added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Kenneth Otieno scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Akeem Ellis added 3 on 0-2 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 5 boards, while Zac Overwater and Narcisse Ambanza were scoreless. The Stingers hit 31-79 (.390) overall, 20-45 (.440) from the floor, 11-34 (.320) from the arc and 10-14 (.710) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 20 turnovers, 13 steals, 2 blocks and 25 fouls.
In the other semi, the 4th-seeded Hamilton Honey Badgers edged the top-seeded Niagara River Lions 104-103. Player of the game Xavier Rathan-Mayes said “I can attribute it (the win) to the guys and the character on this team. The guys did a great job of welcoming me to the system and understanding what I do and just allowing me to be myself. We have big-time guys. Denzel, Ricky and all those guys – they’re big time. Them and the coaching staff put me in a great position just to be successful. I just try to go out here every day and play at a high level and I was able to do that tonight and we were able to come away with a big time win.” Hamilton took an early 17-10 lead on a jumper by Sampson Carter. Nem Mitrovic countered with a trey and Trae-Bell Hayes a floater as Niagara rallied to knot the score at 34 after one quarter. The Honey Badgers opened the second frame with an 8-2 run capped by a Murphy Burnatowski trey. The River Lions countered with a 7-0 run led by Guillaume Boucard and Mitrovic. Hamilton led 55-54 at the half. The teams traded runs in the third quarter, after which Niagara led 75-74. Neither team led by than four in the final frame. With 35 seconds left, Honey Badgers star Ricky Tarrant Jr. fouled out. With the game on the line, two missed free throws by Trae Bell-Haynes and a 1-2 effort from the line by Yohanny Dalembert allowed Hamilton to pull out the win. River Lions coach Victor Raso said his troops are “a great group of guys – they really are. Top to bottom, we have stand-up citizens and great teammates. I think it’s exactly what embodies Canadian professional athletes and it’s awesome. You don’t get necessarily what you deserve, and those guys deserve the entire world.” Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced Hamilton with 28 on 6-13 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 8 boards, 11 assists and 2 steals. Ricky Tarrant Jr added 2 2on 3-6 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Demetrius Denzel-Dyson notched 21 on 3-5 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 3 boards. Sampson Carter scored 16 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 8 boards. Murphy Burnatowski added 6 on 1-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Joe Rocca scored 6 on 2-3 from the arc. Mike Fraser added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 13 boards, while Connor Gilmore, Javon Masters and Keanau Post were scoreless. Hamilton hit 37-79 (.460) overall, 19-41 (.460) from the floor, 18-38 (.470) from the arc and 12-19 (.630) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 10 turnovers, 5 steals and 26 fouls. Ryan Anderson paced Niagara with 26 on 1-2 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 12-12 from the line, 8 boards and 2 assists. Guillaume Payen-Boucard added 2 1on 7-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 9 boards. Trae Bell-Haynes notched 14 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Yohanny Dalembert added 13 on 4-7 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 11 boards. Nem Mitrovic scored 12 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 4-5 from the line. Dorian Pinson notched 10 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Alex Johnson added 5 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Samuel Muldrow scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards, while Tyler Brown and Filip Vujadinovic were scoreless. Niagara hit 30-71 (.420) overall, 20-40 from the floor, 10-31 (.320) from the arc and 33-40 (.820) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 14 turnovers, 8 steals, 3 blocks and 18 fouls.
In the final, the 3rd-seeded Saskatchewan Rattlers clipped the 4th-seeded Hamilton Honey Badgers 94-83. Thirty-six-year-old Saskatchewan native Michael Linklater, inserted into the line-up to replace injured Maurice Jones, said the title was “really meaningful and I’m extremely grateful for these guys. These guys, I can’t say enough about them and how great they are – clutch shots, clutch plays, staying together through the ups and downs throughout the entire season. It’s just been an amazing experience and I’m grateful.” Nine of 10 Rattler players were Canadians, exceeding the minimum 7 requirement. “I think a point to make is this last game we had one import player playing and it’s a three-import league,” said Rattlers coach and general manager Greg Jockims. “I think that’s credit to the Canadian game in terms of how well our star players are Canadian players.” The Rattlers dominated the boards. The Honey Badgers led 23-21 after one quarter but the Rattlers quickly took control therafter. Honey Badgers coach Chantal Valle said “kudos to Saskatchewan, they completely outmuscled us and outrebounded us, said Vallée postgame. “We didn’t respond super well to the physicality. We couldn’t make our shots and they played a fantastic game. They just wanted it, went hard physically for it.” The game drew 3,119 fans to the SaskTel Centre. Linklater said “if you look at the support that the league has had, the fan support here in Saskatoon specifically, I see growth. I see growth for the league. There was a lot of people that were skeptical at first. Anything new, people are skeptical about it. So, I think now that people see that it’s legit, that there’s solid content, there’s players in here that are phenomenal, and I think that it’s just going to grow from here and it’s around to stay.” CEBL Commission and CEO Mike Morreale said “we saw a tremendous game today. You couldn’t have written a better script. I’m just so happy for the players, for the coaches – I’m happy for basketball in Canada. I wave a Canadian flag every single day. That’s what I do, and I’m proud of it, and I’m proud of the imports and the guys that have come in here and have adopted to the way we want to do things. I will continue to raise the bar for this product and for this game because I think that it’s important that we do so, that we support basketball at all levels. It will take time. But we will ride this wave, we will enjoy it (Championship Weekend), we will continue to invest in this product and in this league.” Championship MVP Alex Campbell paced the Rattlers with 20 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 11 boards and 2 assists. Negus Webster-Chan added 17 on 1-3 from the floor, 5-11 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Shaquille Keith notched 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 assists. Shane Osayande scored 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 9 boards. Ryan Ejim added 13 on 4-7 from the floor, 5-10 from the line, 12 boards and 4 assists. Marlon Johnson notched 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 10 boards and 2 steals. Michael Linklater added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2-4 from the line. Chad Posthumus scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 2 boards. Jelane Pryce added 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 2 assists, while Cole Anderson was scoreless. Saskatchewan hit 32-76 (.420) overall, 25-51 (.490) from the floor, 7-25 (.280) from the arc and 23-34 (.670) from the line, while garnering 62 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 17 turnovers, 4 steals, 1 block and 19 fouls. Xavier Rathan-Mayes paced Hamilton with 24 on 4-10 from the floor, 4-13 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 11 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Ricky Tarrant Jr added 21 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Murphy Burnatowski notched 15 on 1-2 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 assists. Demetrius Denzel-Dyson scored 9 on 2-2 from the floor, 0-8 from the arc and 5-6 from the line, Keanau Post added 6 on 3-4 from the floor and 4 boards. Sampson Carter scored 5 on 1-1 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Mike Fraser added 3 on 1-1 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards, while Joe Rocca, Matt Marshall and Connor Gilmore were scoreless. Hamilton hit 27-74 (.360) overall, 17-33 (.510) from the floor, 10-41 (.240) from the arc and 19-24 (.790) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 13 turnovers, 8 steals, 1 block and 26 fouls.
The co-bronze medalist Niagara River Lions: Trae Bell-Haynes (Toronto/U of Vermont); Alex Johnson (Toronto/North Carolina State); Dorian Pinson (Greenville, South Carolina/Lincoln Memorial); Ryan Anderson (Seattle, Washington/Nebraska); Tyler Brown (Hamilton/Brock); Fil Vujadinovic (Burlington/Ryerson); Yohanny Dalembert (Port-au-Prince Ouest, Haiti/James Madison); Samuel Muldrow (Florence, South Carolina/U of South Carolina); Nem Mitrovic (Toronto/Portland); Gilbert Gyamfi (Brampton/John Brown U); Guillaume Payen-Boucard (Montreal/Carleton); Kregg Jones (St. George, Barbados/CS Bakersfield); Tyrone Watson (Hamilton/New Mexiso State); coach/general manager Victor Raso; assistant Jeff Joseph; assistant Doyle Anthony; assistant Mick Bett; player development David McCulloch; strength & conditioning Jeff Aldham; strength & conditioning Nick Tamburri, therapist Kelsie Stunden; mental skills coach Mahsa Durbano; dentist Kevin Boyce; physician Mike Torrigan; chiropractor Mark Lessey; director of operations Noah Rodrique
The co-bronze medalist Edmonton Stingers: Mamadou Gueye (Quebec City/Alberta); Xavier Moon (Goodwater, Alabama/Morehead State); Narcisse Ambanza (Toronto/Winnipeg); Jordan Baker (Edmonton/U of Alberta); Mathieu Kamba (Calgary/Central Arkansas); Akeem Ellis (Brooklyn, NY/Coppin State); Denzel James (Edmonton/MacEwan); Adika Peter-McNeilly (Scarborough/Ryerson); Brody Clarke (Toronto/U of Alberta); Zac Overwater (Didsbury/Lethbridge); Grandy Glaze (Toronto/Grand Canyon State); Kenny Otieno (Calgary/U of Alberta); Travis Daniels (Tuscaloosa, Alabama/Mississippi State); Ashton Smith (Scarborough/Indiana U-Pennsylvania); coach/general manager Jermaine Small; coach Barnaby Craddock (left midseason); assistant George Hoyt; assistant Kent Johnson; assistant/video-coordinator Brandon Brock); director of personnel Steve Sir; manager Zale Smordin; director of operations Brennan Mahon; therapist Kellen Antoniuk; physiotherapist Craig Wilson; physiotherapist Raj Dhillon; student kinesiologist Justin Requier
The runner-up Hamilton Honey Badgers: Ricky Tarrant Jr (Pleasant Grove, Alabama/Memphis); Javon Masters (Kitchener/U of New Brunswick); Matt Marshall (Burlington/Brock); Duane Notice (Woodbridge/U of South Carolina); Connor Gilmore (Etobicoke/McMaster); Sampson Carter (Baton Rouge, Louisiana/Massachusetts); Mike Fraser (Ottawa/Oklahoma Baptist); Demetrius Denzel-Dyson (Covington, Tennessee/Samford); Xavier Rathan-Mayes (Scarborough/Florida State); Murphy Burnatowski (Kitchener/Colgate); Joe Rocca (Sarnia/Carleton); MiKyle McIntosh (Pickering/U of Oregon); Keanau Post (Victoria/U of Illinois); Marcus Jones (Brantford/Gannon); Thomas Kennedy (Windsor/Windsor); coach and general manager Chantal Vallee; assistant Kenold Knight; assistant/player development Yinon Rietti; assistant/video coordinator Will Rooney; assistant/player development Lucas Reindler; director of operations/manager Ben Wiebe [suspended players Caleb Agada (Ottawa/U of Ottawa); Adam Presutti (Oakville/U of Ottawa); Justin Edwards (Toronto/Kansas State); Erik Nissen (Quispamsis/Acadia); Cliff Clinscale (Queens, NY/DePaul); Kevin Zabo (Montreal/Kent State)]
The champion Saskatchewan Rattlers: Michael Linklater (Saskatoon/U of Saskatchewan); Maurice Jones (Saginaw, Michigan/Northwood); Alex Campbell (Brampton/Windsor); Marlon Johnson (Chicago, Illinois/New Mexico); Shaquille Keith (Toronto/Cape Breton); Ryan Ejim (Brampton/Carleton); Jelane Pryce (Innisfil/U of Winnipeg); Chad Posthumus (Winnipeg/Morehead State); Cole Anderson (Saskatoon/U of Saskatchewan); Shane Osayande (Toronto/U of Saskatchewan); Lawrence Moore (Chicago, Illinois/U of Saskatchewan); Negus Webster-Chan (Scarborough/U of Hawaii); Evan Ostertag (Saskatoon/U of Saskatchewan); Chan De Ciman (Regina/U of Saskatchewan); coach/general manager Greg Jockims