The Hamilton Honey Badgers (6-1) erased a 17-point second-half deficit to shock the Niagara River Lions (3-3) by a score of 78-76 on Sunday afternoon at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton.

The Honey Badgers fell behind 10-0 to start the game, and never gained the lead until a contested JV Mukama three-pointer gave them a 77-76 lead late in the Elam Ending session. With the target score set at 78, star guard Lindell Wigginton hit a clutch free throw to steal the victory from the River Lions.

Wigginton, the CEBL’s leading scorer coming into the contest, led the way with a game-high 25 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. His shot making ability was huge for the Honey Badgers down the stretch, hitting clutch jumpers and getting himself to the free throw line to manufacture points.

Mukama was also huge late in the game for Hamilton, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including three massive shots from deep. All told, Wigginton and Mukama combined to score 18 points in the final frame.

The triumphant comeback pushes Hamilton’s current winning streak to a league-high six games. They came out victorious despite missing starter Trevon Duval, who went down with an injury in Friday’s win over the Guelph Nighthawks.

Jubilation for the Honey Badgers means heartbreak for the River Lions after blowing a game in which they led almost the entire way. Niagara’s energy was present all afternoon – grabbing 22 offensive rebounds and forcing Hamilton into 22 turnovers. On the flip side though, the team only shot 35% from the field, including an abysmal 4-29 (13%) from beyond the arc.

Those poor percentages led to the River Lions coming up just short despite taking 27 more field goals than the Honey Badgers. Considering none of Hamilton’s turnovers came in the fourth quarter, Niagara simply ran out of gas.

Xavier Sneed led the way for Niagara with 20 points, however it took him 22 shot attempts to reach his scoring total. Daniel Waldin-Mullings also had a strong all-around game for the River Lions, dropping 13 points along with six rebounds, four assists, four steals and a block.

Offense remains a concern for Niagara, ranking second last in points per game after Sunday’s off-shooting day. With so many crucial offensive pieces missing from its roster, the team must find different ways to put the ball in the basket moving forward.

The squad’s first shot at getting back in the win column doesn’t come until Saturday, with a rematch against the Honey Badgers set for 7:00 p.m. ET at home in the Meridian Centre.

Hamilton has one extremely crucial game to come before that contest as it takes on the CEBL’s lone undefeated squad, the Edmonton Stingers. The battle between the top two teams in the league standings will take place on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. ET back at the FirstOntario Centre.

All CEBL games will be 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