SURGING SCARBOROUGH SHOOTING STARS HOST RED-HOT EDMONTON

One three-game winning streak is set to end tonight, as the Scarborough Shooting Stars (4-4) (-154) wrap up their home stand at 7:30 pm ET against the Edmonton Stingers (4-3) (+114).

The game will also be available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

After disappointing starts to the season for both teams, the Shooting Stars and Stingers are firing on all cylinders as of late.

Scarborough, who won just one of their first five games, have rebounded by winning three straight games—starting with a 104-72 blowout in Montréal against the Alliance on June 11.

After a one-week hiatus from gameplay, the Shooting Stars returned home on June 18 in a 20-point rout of the Brampton Honey Badgers. They then followed that win with a nail-biting 85-83 victory against the Ottawa BlackJacks on Tuesday night on national television.

Reigning U SPORTS Player of the Year Thomas Kennedy notched a season-high 22 points and his third double-double of the year in that game. Kennedy is averaging 10.3 points and nearly 8 rebounds per game.

A focus on defence has been a key for Scarborough in their win streak. After giving up 90 or more points in each of their four losses, the Shooting Stars held both Montréal and Brampton to under 73 points. Although Ottawa managed 83 points on Tuesday, it was still 10 points fewer than the total they gave up in each of their four losses.

Individually, guard Cat Barber ranks third in the league in points per game (22.3) and total assists on the season (41). Barber is also playing the second most average minutes per game at a hair over 33 per contest, and has made the second most three pointers in the CEBL this year (22).

On the flip side, Edmonton has rebounded from a 1-3 start by also winning their last three games.

Similarly, to Scarborough, Edmonton used a 10-day break to gain familiarly and commit to playing sound defence.

After dropping two of their first three games, the Stingers had 10 days off before returning to game action on June 10—a six-point loss to the BlackJacks. However, the Stingers then followed that up with an impressive 97-68 road victory over the Winnipeg Sea Bears, and a pair of wins over Saskatchewan and Montréal.

Edmonton has not yielded more than 74 points since that June 10 game against Ottawa.

Offensively, expect contributions from multiple figures. The Stingers have four players who are averaging 13 points or more per game—including newcomers Aher Uguak and Isiah Osborne who have scored a total of 52 points each throughout the first four games.

In tonight’s matchup, the team that can turn defensive into offence more efficiently may have the edge.

As a team, Scarborough and Edmonton rank in the top three in steals per game: The Shooting Stars rank first (9.6) and the Stingers sit in third (8.6). And both squads are coming off games where they were proficient in scoring off giveaways. Scarborough scored 25 points off turnovers on Tuesday, while Edmonton racked up 21 against the Alliance on Saturday.

The game also has big implications for the top of each conference.

With a win, Scarborough would tie Brampton atop the eastern conference standings. Meanwhile, if Edmonton is victorious, they will move to within half a game of the western conference-leading Winnipeg Sea Bears.

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 percent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.