Montreal Alliance forward Kevin Osawe’s thunderous dunk brought down Verdun Auditorium. Not only did the jam help Montreal secure its convincing 103-83 victory over the Brampton Honey Badgers, it also secured the final playoff berth in the East for the Alliance and eliminated Brampton from playoff contention. Montreal had built a seven-point lead at halftime, but came out of the locker room swinging. They dominated the third quarter, 34-15, and never looked back. “We knew it was an important game,” said Osawe after the game. “Everybody was locked in from top to bottom.” Everything clicked for Montreal in the third quarter. “The biggest thing for me was that they looked like they were having fun tonight, and doing it together,” said Montreal head coach Jermaine Small. They took full advantage of Koby McEwen’s diminutiveness. Quincy Guerrier (17 points) and Michael Diggins attacked him in the post. All of Montreal’s third quarter field goals were inside the paint minus one mid-range jumper and one three-pointer. Osawe, who had a game-high 26 points on an incredible 10-for-14 shooting, got crucial baskets during this turning point. He built a 14-point lead and after forcing a timeout, he pumpfaked Bryson Williams from the top of the arc, met McEwen in the air, absorbed contact and scored in the restricted area. He was playing on a different stratospheric level. “I think it’s confidence and belief. I think it’s coming a lot from his teammates [who] are really trusting him in situations to score the ball. When he’s active and when he’s good, it’s hard for us to lose, so I’m glad he had a big game tonight and it was perfect timing,” said Small. Tavian Dunn-Martin (22 points) scaled back from three-point shooting in the third frame, and focused on paint twos and dishing out assists for his teammates. Defensively, they kept frustrating Quinndary Weatherspoon, and drew an offensive foul from him. Guerrier baited McEwen into his fourth foul and sent him to the bench, forcing Brampton to rely on Weatherspoon. Montreal even forced a shot-clock violation right after a Brampton timeout. Montreal led by as much as 31 points at the start of the fourth quarter, so closing out the game was easy for the hometown team. It was an extra special night for Malcolm Duvivier, who clinched a playoff spot in his 100th CEBL game. Winnipeg’s Alex Campbell is the only other CEBL player to cross the century mark in games played for their career. Brampton relied on its stars in the first half, but there were contributions from Ali Sow (11 points), Wheza Panzo (14 points on four-for-nine three-point shooting) and Bryson Williams (10 points) in the second half. Weatherspoon scored 19 of his total 25 points in the first half. He bullied smaller and thinner players, and dropped a beautiful floater over Nathan Tshimanga. All his baskets were either in the paint or at the free throw line. Koby McEwen (19 points) kept his team in the game in the second quarter, scoring at all three levels – hitting a three, an elbow jumper, and making three shots at the rim. He finished the game on seven-for-13 shooting. It was also Brampton assistant coach Thomas Cory’s first time serving as a head coach in the CEBL, as he filled in for Sheldon Cassimy, who missed the game due to a prior commitment. He paused to think about what the night meant to him. “Thankful,” he said. “I appreciate the guys. The team. They were all professional with me all week. I thought they responded well to me in practice and they respected me as the head coach.” He continued to pour out his admiration for the CEBL. “I love the league, top to bottom. I think it’s a great experience for U SPORTS coaches, U SPORTS players, scorekeepers, managers, photographers. I think there’s just an amazing opportunity for anyone who loves basketball in the country. Just thankful is the biggest thing I can say.” Montreal still has two games at home and two on the road to work out their kinks before playoffs. Box score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600647 Up next for both teams The Montreal Alliance (8-12) host the Calgary Surge (13-7) at Verdun Auditorium on Monday, August 4. The Brampton Honey Badgers (5-17) play their second last game against the Winnipeg Sea Bears (8-11) at Canada Life Centre on Friday, August 8. ### About the Brampton Honey Badgers One of the original franchises of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the 2022 CEBL Champion Brampton Honey Badgers proudly call the CAA Centre home. The Brampton front office and basketball operations department bring NBA, NBA G League, national team, NCAA and major international pro league experience to the franchise. With a vision of promoting Brampton grassroots basketball and local businesses through community and corporate engagement, the Honey Badgers will leverage the explosion of basketball as a vehicle for innovation and change. For more information visit honeybadgers.ca . About the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) 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 73% of its rosters being Canadian and more than 10 players with NBA game experience in 2025. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. More than 20 players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by Tonybet, TSN, TSN+, RDS , Game+ and Next Level Sports & Entertainment . More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , LinkedIn , Facebook & YouTube . Media Contact: Elias Eldridge - Account Executive & Communications Specialist Brampton Honey Badgers eeldridge@honeybadgers.ca

A game between the two teams on opposite ends of the conference standings came down to the last shot, but it was the East-leading Niagara River Lions that were able to emerge victorious in their seventh straight game. Trailing by as many as 23 points in the second quarter, Niagara leaned on the CEBL’s all-time leading scorer in Ahmed Hill to get them back into the game and lead them to the 86-84 win over the Brampton Honey Badgers. Hill posted a team-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting for the River Lions, while Khalil Ahmad had 22 points. Eddie Ekiyor had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Nathan Cayo scored nine points to go with eight rebounds and five assists in the win. “Once he started going, we made sure we were getting him the looks,” River Lions head coach Victor Raso said of his star player. “That’s Ahmed Hill. That’s the all-time leading scorer in the CEBL and we have him coming off our bench. He’s a phenomenal teammate and we knew there was a Med game coming, because there hasn’t been a Med game yet, and that was it today.” Niagara became just the fourth team to string together seven consecutive wins, the third longest streak in the history of the CEBL. Today’s victory also secured the River Lions a top-3 seed in the conference, ensuring – at worst – they’ll play host in a playoff game as they continue to vie for the conference’s automatic spot at Championship Weekend. “You have to approach every game the same, whether we clinch it in our next win or it gets clinched in the next loss before that, it doesn’t matter,” Raso added. “There’s a long time before championship weekend, and our task is a very difficult one: becoming the most improved team from now until championship weekend.” Brampton got off to a hot start, scoring the game’s first five points as part of a 20-9 run to start the game. Weatherspoon made his mark early, scoring nine points in the opening frame. But the biggest difference was made on the defensive end, with the home squad holding the opposition to 33-percent shooting and owning a 16-6 rebounding edge in the quarter. An 18-7 run to start the second quarter made it look like the game would soon be completely out of hand, but a timeout by the River Lions sparked a 16-5 run of their own, with Ahmad and Cayo combining to score 12 of those points and evening things up in the quarter to cut the lead back down to 12. With Brampton up 61-48 late in the third quarter, it was an 11-4 Niagara run – with every River Lion point being scored by Hill – that brought them back into the game. “I just wanted to be aggressive, my teammates wanted me to be aggressive, so I just wanted to find my shot. I hit two in a row, so I shot another one to get a good look,” Hill said of the stretch. “We love each other, we have fun playing with each other, but we also got on each other,” he said of his team’s recent success. “When you’re playing like ---, we tell each other and when we’re playing great, we tell each other – it’s the accountability.” The Honey Badgers led 77-76 heading into Target Time, but unfortunately for the home crowd, Hill saw it as an opportunity to take over again. He scored eight of his team’s 10 points in the decisive period, including the game-winning three-point shot. One of the determining factors in the game was Quinndary Weatherspoon’s foul trouble. The team’s leading scorer coming into the game, he had 19 points in the first half before being limited to the bench for the majority of the second half. He ended up with a game-high 28 points, while Ali Sow filled in admirably in his role to contribute 12 points off the bench. Bryson Williams had eight points and 11 rebounds, and Prince Oduro had six points and 12 boards. “I thought we had that one and we let it slip,” Oduro said. “There were some unfortunate events: (Weatherspoon)’s foul troubles, me getting hurt. Stuff like that is really out of our control, but we can do a better job of focusing on what we can control.” The loss was Brampton’s eighth in their last nine games after they snapped a seven-game losing streak last time out. With their positioning in the standings, they have to win out their remaining three games and hope for some help from the teams above them in order to make the playoffs. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600655 Up next for both teams The Brampton Honey Badgers start a three-game road trip to finish out their season against the Montreal Alliance on August 1. The Niagara River Lions will play their final home game of the season against the Ottawa BlackJacks on July 31. Next CEBL action The Scarborough Shooting Stars take on the Ottawa BlackJacks on July 29 in a game pivotal to both teams playoffs hopes, streaming live on CEBL+ and TSN+. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . ### About the Brampton Honey Badgers One of the original franchises of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the 2022 CEBL Champion Brampton Honey Badgers proudly call the CAA Centre home. The Brampton front office and basketball operations department bring NBA, NBA G League, national team, NCAA and major international pro league experience to the franchise. With a vision of promoting Brampton grassroots basketball and local businesses through community and corporate engagement, the Honey Badgers will leverage the explosion of basketball as a vehicle for innovation and change. For more information visit honeybadgers.ca . About the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) 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 73% of its rosters being Canadian and more than 10 players with NBA game experience in 2025. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. More than 20 players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by Tonybet, TSN, TSN+, RDS , Game+ and Next Level Sports & Entertainment . More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , LinkedIn , Facebook & YouTube . Media Contact: Elias Eldridge - Account Executive & Communications Specialist Brampton Honey Badgers eeldridge@honeybadgers.ca