Hill, Ahmad find rhythm as River Lions romp past Alliance

The River Lions earned a statement win on School Day in Niagara.

Khalil Ahmad led Niagara with 21 points in a 93-82 victory over the Montreal Alliance in a Friday matinee at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont.

Defending champion Niagara padded its lead atop the Eastern Conference by moving to 7-3 on the season, while the Alliance fell to 4-4 with their fourth straight loss.

Player of the Game Eddie Ekiyor said the hundreds of screaming students provided a jolt to the River Lions for the 11 a.m. ET start.

“I knew it this morning. Everyone thinks they’re gonna be tired — not me. (It) turns the energy up and you saw it with our team today. We played hard,” Ekiyor told sideline reporter J.J. Evason after the game.

The River Lions led 84-70 when the clock was stopped for Target Score Time.

But it was Montreal who began the closing stage of the game firing on all cylinders as the Alliance cut their deficit to just eight points.

That’s when the River Lions put the ball in the hands of the ‘Clutch King’ Khalil Ahmad. After a timeout from head coach Victor Raso, Ahmad drove and drew two free throws, making both.

During the next time down the court, Ahmad rose up from the wing for a game-winning three-pointer.

Raso said he was impressed by his team’s performance.

“I thought it was the first time that we played with an intensity level that is required to win a championship. That's the first time we put a game together start to finish, especially on the defensive end,” he said.

Facing his former team for the first time, CEBL all-time leading scorer Ahmed Hill enjoyed a breakout first half with 14 points to pace Niagara.

Hill, the 29-year-old from Fort Valley, Ga., is competing in his fifth CEBL season after spending two years apiece with the Guelph Nighthawks and Alliance.

He had struggled by his standards during his first nine games as a River Lion, averaging just 10.4 points.

But that all changed during the first 20 minutes of Friday’s game. He went scoreless in the second half but finished with 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and a team-high plus-16.

“Just me being aggressive. They talked about it the past a couple of games, so, you know, I just come out, try and set the tone,” Hill said.

Raso said he saw positive signs from Hill despite the lack of shot-making down the stretch.

“We saw the Ahmed Hill tonight that I expect to see the rest (of the season). His pace and his aggressiveness were awesome. … What I love about him is that he didn't make shots tonight, but he was still really good,” Raso said.

Ahmad, the team’s leading scorer for the season, also had five assists and four rebounds while making nine of 11 attempts from the free-throw line.

Ekiyor provided a boost off the bench with 10 points and six rebounds on perfect three-for-three shooting from the field and from the stripe.

Canadian point guard Jahvon Blair put up 18 points and four rebounds.

“We've showed glimpses of being awesome offensively, awesome defensively, and then the other side of it. And today, our intensity was never questioned on the defensive side. We played really hard,” Raso said.

Meanwhile, the Alliance are headed in the wrong direction after their blistering 4-0 start to the season.

Head coach Jermaine Small said his team may not have been ready for the early start.

“They were more physical in the first half. I thought we were better in the second half, and I just thought, 11 a.m. game and we just played Wednesday. I thought ... because they were waiting, we didn't have a game this week, they just had a bit more gas than us,” he said.

Diminutive guard Tavion Dunn-Martin matched Ahmad with a game-high 21 points for the Alliance to go with four rebounds and four assists.

Canadian Malcolm Duvivier contributed 12 points on the strength of four three-pointers and Quincy Guerrier posted an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double.

Small said teams are starting to target the Alliance after their early hot streak.

“I think at the beginning, no one knew what to expect from us, and now everyone's throwing their best shot at us. So it's one of those things. … I’m not worried. It's just, every game's a process, every possession is a process,” Small said.

Alliance forward Michael Diggins Jr., left the game during Target Score Time, appearing to favour his arm.

The River Lions raced out to a 25-13 lead after the first quarter. Montreal got within three points during the second frame, but Niagara bounced back to take an 51-36 advantage into halftime.

Niagara then extended its lead to 74-55 heading into the fourth quarter.

But while the Alliance provided a slight scare in Target Score Time, the River Lions emerged victorious.

Box Score

https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600603

Up Next

Both teams are back in action Sunday when Niagara visits the Scarborough Shooting Stars while Montreal returns home to host the Saskatchewan Rattlers.

Next CEBL Action

For the second time in CEBL history, all 10 teams will play on the same day on Sunday, with Niagara-Scarborough at 2 p.m. ET and Winnipeg-Edmonton at 6 p.m. ET bookending the coast-to-coast action. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games.