Reigning CEBL champs Scarborough Shooting Stars defeat Niagara River Lions in star-studded home opener.

Written on June 2, 2024 by: Paddy Benner

An enthusiastic crowd filled the seats of the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, ahead of Saturday Night’s home opener for the Scarborough Shooting Stars. The night marks a proud moment for the organization, as fans celebrate the 2023 CEBL championship banner ceremony. The team also rewarded fans with a hard-fought 95-87 victory, Scarborough picking up another significant win, moving their record to .500% (2-2)

Key performances by Kadre Gray and Tevian Jones pushed Scarborough through to their second win of the season. Gray had a team-high 18 points and 10 assists, as well as being extremely efficient, shooting 66% from three, and 58% from the field. “That's the standard here, and that was also a big part of why I joined here… Seeing that banner go up today, it was also like, you know what, I want to be a part of bringing one too. So I'm locked in, I'm locked in for this season,” said Gray, the Stars’ captain. 

Tevian Jones added 13 points in the winning effort, shooting 75% from three. One of which was the game-winning shot. “It's a great feeling always to hit the game-winning shot and put the team in a winning position. So that was good. I just trust my teammates and be able to execute at the end,” said Jones.

Coming into Scarborough on Saturday, the Niagara River Lions already faced an uphill battle. The Shooting Stars coming off their three-game road trip - with a record of 1-2, leading into Saturday. Losing a close two games against Winnipeg and Vancouver, then winning an important game in Calgary on Wednesday, was very encouraging moving forward into their matchup against the River Lions. 

“The target score ending is a whole different monster… You saw it in our first two losses. We were up, not big, but we were up going in at Winnipeg, tied in Vancouver. Lost both of those. Now we're starting to figure it out a little bit. We're starting to figure out what plays work, what combo of players out there make the most sense,” said head coach Devan Blair, following Saturday's win.

The target score is one of a few unique rules of the CEBL. In the fourth quarter, a nine-point target is given to the leading team after the game clock has been shut off. To end the game, either team just needs to reach the target.

“It's coaching a completely different game. When for some reason that clock turns off, you’ve just got to figure out how to win, and I thought our guys did a really good job of that tonight, and I'm really proud of them,” Blair added.

Scarborough's talented roster looks to improve further, bringing back key players from last year’s championship team, Cat Barber and Kalif Young. The two have yet to play this season; Young is out with an injury and Barber remains overseas, finishing his playoff run with FC Porto of the LBP. Expect more of the same, in terms of closing out victories. Barber remains the CEBL all-time leading scorer, averaging 20 points in 2023. The pair also logged the most minutes on the roster last season, providing dependable options for the team moving forward.

Understandably an important night for Scarborough, kicked off with an appearance from Canadian actor Shamier Anderson. Expectations for an energetic atmosphere didn’t disappoint, as Anderson gave his opening remarks to the crowd. Rumours even swirled around the building that Drake was in attendance. “They have this winning culture where it's like, everything that they do is revolved around winning… We do everything five star, we put expectations on the organization to be five stars and that way it trickles down to the players and everybody else,” said Stars forward Jackson Rowe, following Friday’s practice.  

One of three remaining players from last year's championship team, Danilo Djuricic was extremely effective in his five minutes of play, registering five points on Saturday.  “Scarborough is full of blue-collar people, people that work very hard… My Dad immigrated from Montenegro 35 years or so ago. My family, my Mom has the same background, hard-working people. So, growing up like that, coming to Scarborough is something that I'm very, very, familiar with and something I value a lot,” said Djuricic, ahead of Saturday night’s matchup.

Scarborough is back on the road against cross-town rivals, Brampton Honey Badgers this Sunday, June 9th. A few days of much-needed rest and preparation hopes to push Scarborough back into the winning column as the season begins to ramp up.