Balanced attack helps River Lions hand Shooting Stars first loss of season

On a night when Niagara’s Khalil Ahmad achieved a rare individual feat, it took a team effort to eke out a victory.

Ahmad scored 17 points to cross the 1,000-point barrier for his career, five other River Lions scored in double digits and Niagara beat the Scarborough Shooting Stars 98-94 on Friday at the Meridian Centre.

Niagara improved to 4-2 with the win, while Scarborough suffered its first loss of the season to fall to 3-1.

River Lions head coach Victor Raso said his team “gutted out” the victory.

“We got tough down the stretch. We got stops when we need it. We made big plays. We're finding ways to win. And, you know, we've won four really close games. So we got work to do regardless, but I like our team's toughness and grit,” Raso said.

The River Lions led 89-84 when the clock stopped for Target Score Time.

And while the Shooting Stars got within one, the River Lions mostly controlled the closing stretch.

In the end, it was Nathan Cayo — the Canadian who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds — who established post position for a turnaround game-winner off the glass.

Shooting Stars head coach Michael De Giorgio said he was “proud” of his team’s fight.

“We had a couple good looks that we just missed, and sometimes in this league, you've got to be able to take advantage of those looks when you get them. And they made plays. That's a good team on the other side, but that was a good physical war from both teams,” he said.

Niagara’s previous game was a nail-biting loss one week ago against the Saskatchewan Rattlers which snapped a 15-game regular-season home winning streak.

The game also marked Ahmad’s first of the season, and he exploded for 36 points. Yet Niagara still suffered the defeat, and to make matters even worse, both Guillaume Boucard and Ron Curry sustained injuries that prevented them from playing against the Shooting Stars.

But Niagara’s depth stepped up in their absence.

Bench big Gatluak James nearly achieved his first professional double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Fellow centre Elijah Lufile had 14 points and five rebounds. Ahmed Hill showed flashes of a breakout with 14 points and six boards.

And captain Kimbal Mackenzie, one game after being out with injury, scored 10 of his 13 points in the first quarter to spark Niagara to an early lead, then turned into a distributor with a career-high nine assists.

“Kimbal has been our best player since the year started. He's just a really good basketball player. Like, he's just good. He's tough. He can shoot it, he makes plays, he gets us into things, he's competitive, he's leader, he's a coach on the floor. He's playing the best basketball he's ever played,” Raso said.

Mackenzie said he was just happy for his team to pull out the win — and that he simply tries to stay ready no matter the situation.

“I'm always ready to play whatever that may be, starting, coming off the bench, not playing. I'll be ready to go,” he said.

Ahmad became the fourth player in league history to surpass 1,000 regular-season points, joining teammate Hill, Scarborough’s Cat Barber and Winnipeg’s Alex Campbell.

He also added eight assists and four rebounds in the victory.

“Special, special, special talent, even better guy,” Mackenzie said. “I've had the pleasure of getting to know him over the past couple of years, and just a pleasure to be around, plays the game in such a free-flowing way.”

Scarborough was led by Donovan Williams, the league’s second-leading scorer behind Ahmad, who had 29 points and seven assists but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

“He's doing a really good job being efficient. I hold him accountable to the things that he's doing. We watch film, we do all that kind of stuff, so just we're trying to make him better at the same time as having team success. So there'll be some good teaching clips from tonight that we can use going into that game tomorrow,” De Giorgio said.

Williams poured in 17 of his points during a third quarter in which he was near-unstoppable. He credited Steph Curry for teaching him the mindset to stay focused during those types of runs.

“He talked to me a lot about flow state. So when you work so tirelessly on shots, whether you're making it, whether you miss … you're just playing. You're not worried about the refs, you're not worried about fouls, defence, whatever it is, you’re just out there doing what you love,” Williams said.

Jayden Coke, of Richmond Hill, Ont., was a force off the bench for the Shooting Stars, contributing 18 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.

David Walker (12 points) and Jaden Campbell (11 points) also reached double digits.

“We needed a little bit more energy to start the game, but other than that, that's a good team on the other side. And we came in here, we held our own, and took them down to the wire,” De Giorgio said.

Scarborough’s Barber (reconditioning) and Hason Ward (NBA tryout) were both absent.

Led by Mackenzie’s early surge, the River Lions raced to a 17-5 lead and held a 26-18 advantage after the first quarter. The Shooting Stars fought back in the second frame, using an 18-8 run to gain their first lead of the game. But Niagara responded with an 11-1 run of its own and led 55-47 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Williams caught fire, helping stake the Shooting Stars to a 75-71 lead entering the final frame.

The fourth quarter then went back and forth before Niagara sent the crowd home happy.