The Edmonton Stingers (7-0) led from start to finish, topping the Hamilton Honey Badgers (6-2), 99-63, on Thursday night at the FirstOntario Centre. With the win, the reigning CEBL Champions have completed half of their 14-game schedule and are still undefeated on the season.

“We were expecting to be this good, but at the same time we’re not trying to be our best right now,” said head coach Jermaine Small. “We know August 18, that’s when we have to be at our best.”

Hamilton started the game with a smaller lineup tonight, and Edmonton used its height early on to build a nine-point lead after one quarter. Short, quick passes down low allowed for a pair of uncontested dunks for Edmonton’s forwards. The Stingers’ front court of Brady Skeens, Marlon Johnson, and Jordan Baker combined to score the team’s first 14 points using their strong interior presence to outscore Hamilton 14-6 in the paint to start the game.

The Stingers went on a 18-8 run to open the third quarter, and recorded their largest lead of the game, 30 points, in this frame. Aggressive on ball pressure from Edmonton led to 19 Hamilton turnovers, which the team converted into 31 points. Edmonton totaled 12 steals on the night, and two-time CEBL Player of the Year Xavier Moon registered eight of them.

“Xavier’s taking his defense just as seriously as his offence and he’s becoming a complete player,” said head coach Jermaine Small. “It’s encouraging to see and I’m happy to see him grow.”

Moon nearly broke his own CEBL record of 21 points in a single quarter, scoring 20 of his 34 points in the third frame tonight. The six-foot-two guard continued to do what he does best, draining pull-up jumpers and facilitating for his teammates. Marlon Johnson added mid-range buckets on back-to-back possessions to help Edmonton open up a 23-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Johnson finished with a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) while Edmonton’s other front court force, Jordan Baker tallied 13 points.

“We’re not satisfied,” said Moon. “We won last year in the bubble, and there was a lot of chatter going on about that. So we’re definitely not satisfied and we have a lot of work to do.”
 

Lindell Wigginton led a very balanced Honey Badgers offence once again, scoring 12 points on the night. A bright spot for Hamilton in the loss was U SPORTS player Thomas Kennedy, who provided the Honey Badgers with a boost of the bench, converting physical play inside into baskets for his team. The Windsor Lancers forward had an emphatic put-back after a missed free-throw to help energize his team. Kennedy finished with 11 points on 71 per cent shooting.

“Thomas has been great, for a guy who’s 20 years old, playing professional basketball, it’s not easy,” said Hamilton Head Coach Ryan Schmidt. “He comes in, works hard, is a willing learner, a great teammate and very unselfish. When his number was called tonight he came in, and his value showed pretty quickly.”

The Honey Badgers were able to build momentum before half-time and cut the Stingers’ double-digit lead down to two at one point in the second quarter. A strong defensive effort to start the frame kept Edmonton scoreless through its first five possessions while Hamilton guards Lindell Wigginton and Trevon Duval finished at the rim or were able to draw fouls and earn points at the free throw line. The Honey Badgers had won six consecutive contests coming into tonight’s matchup, with the team’s only loss of the season coming at the hands of the Edmonton Stingers.

“That was a game that we needed,” said Schmidt. “There was no arrogance but I think we just started coasting a little bit. A team like that they come in they’re the defending champions and have veteran experience, they came in and punched us in the mouth.”

The Honey Badgers will look to get back into the win column against the Niagara River Lions, (3-3) on July 17 at 7:00 p.m. ET at the Meridian Centre.

Edmonton will continue its road trip with a visit to the nation’s capital to take on the Ottawa BlackJacks (2-5) at TD Place on July 17 at 4:00 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.