The Hamilton Honey Badgers (5-1) used strong second half to pull out a tough 85-76 victory over the Guelph Nighthawks (0-4) on Friday night.

After trailing by as much as nine early in the second half, the Honey Badgers rallied with a combination of strong defence, timely three-pointers and contributions from multiple players.

“The biggest thing is we’ve got guys who can score, that’s what stood out to me the most,” Honey Badgers’ head coach Ryan Schmidt said after the game, “We don’t have to rely on one guy… our talent level stepped up and we just made plays.”

Lindell Wigginton - coming into the game as the CEBL’s second leading scorer at 25.2 points per game, dropped a cool 23 on efficient 8-13 shooting for Hamilton. Wigginton also contributed eight assists, a steal and a block as he continues his pursuit of the CEBL’s Canadian of the Year.

“This is what I do, I don’t know another way to put it. That’s what I came here for,” said Wigginton, “My teammates, my coaches, they always give me the confidence to play my game and that’s what I’ve got to go out and do every night.”

Keevan Veinot, one of Hamilton’s U Sports designated players was also highly effective for the Honey Badgers in the win, dropping a career-high 21 points after setting his previous career mark last time out in his first game as a starter. Now a staple in the starting five, Veinot has carved a role as an important piece in Hamilton’s rotation.

“(Keevan) has been great in the starting five,” said Schmidt, “I always try to find a way to play him more… He’s a very very high IQ player and obviously very talented.”

“I definitely felt more comfortable,” said Veinot, “A big thing for me was being more aggressive, more confident… I think the results are sort of speaking for themselves.”

For Guelph, a third straight loss to the Honey Badgers and a fourth straight defeat overall puts them near the bottom of the CEBL standings at 0-4. While head coach Charles Kissi and the Nighthawks certainly have some work to do to climb the standings, the team is not yet concerned about their poor start.

“This league is only seven teams, so I told the guys, if a tiger is chasing seven of you, how fast do you have to run? At this point, it’s just faster than last,” said Kissi, “We’re playing for August right now. We’re focussed on winning a championship and it doesn’t have to come in the first four games of our season.”

Cat Barber led the way for the Nighthawks in defeat, dropping a game-high 25 points on 10-20 from the field. Ahmed Hill was also impressive for Guelph with 21, while import big man Chad Brown was effective in game one with 11 points and 18 rebounds.

Guelph will look to finally pick up its first win of the season as they host the Ottawa BlackJacks on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Meanwhile, the Honey Badgers look to extend their five-game winning streak as they take on the Niagara River Lions at home on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET.

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