The Scarborough Shooting Stars defeated the Ottawa Redblacks by a score of 105-91 at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre on Thursday night.
Donovan Williams, playing in his first career CEBL game, started off the attack for Scarborough with a layup, and it was clear that the team was controlling the perimeter in the offensive end. Javon Masters, a product of the Univeristy of New Brunswick (U SPORTS) provided dynamic looks in transition, including a read that led to an alley-oop finish by Isaih Moore to cut the Blackjack’s deficit to 3 with 5:16 remaining in the opening quarter.
“A lot of it was me getting my bearings back out, I’ve been off since the end of the G League season, and I had the injury,” said Williams.
Tevian Jones electrified the crowd to finish off an alley-oop after Ottawa’s Tyrell Tatte missed on his triple-chance offensive rebound attempt. After finishing the first quarter with a 23-19 lead, the Blackjacks went on a 5-0 run to begin the second, which led to Devan Blair calling a timeout.
“When I called the timeout, I said I was gonna lose it,” laughed Blair. “When I got to the huddle, Kalif (Young) was already policing them.”
Young had a standout performance in this game, totaling 8 offensive rebounds, and 9 assists. This was his first home game of the season after coming back from injury.
“The biggest thing that I wanted to do was try and make an impact,” said Young
The Shooting Stars went on a 7-0 run, which prompted Ottawa Head Coach James Derouin to call a timeout of his own. Kadre Gray took the message to heart and delivered it on the court following the timeout. His 7 assists led him to the 300th of his career, a personal milestone for the Toronto native.
“These last 6 games, everyone has taken a step in the right direction,” said Gray.
Gray acknowledged that working with Young out of the pick and roll has been fun since joining the team in the offseason.
“Playing with another big player (Young) that is a great passer himself takes a lot of the toll off of me,” said Gray. “I can just pass him the ball and let him make the decisions.
Scarborough led 76-63 after three quarters, when they fouled out as a team, and the physicality of the game began to pick up. Holding a 13-point lead, the target score time was activated and the first team to reach 105 points would be victorious.
The team thrives in its three-point shooting, and it’s clear with their offseason acquisitions of Jaden Campbell, Jackson Rowe, and Williams, that this is the direction they planned to go.
“The easiest way to look at it is the 31 assists from tonight,” said Blair. “We have a lot of G League guys on the roster, so they have been playing this style. It is very analytics-driven, and I believe in that style as well. I don’t care if we shoot the most three-pointers in the league, but I want us to shoot the best shots in the league”
The team is currently on a 4-game winning streak since dropping their opening two games, which is not surprising for the coaching staff and players.
“The coach in me says we should have only lost one game,” said Blair. “Sometimes you need those early losses to refocus your group, and we are starting to find our groove.”
Scarborough Shooting Stars’ next game: AT Montréal Alliance (2-4) at 4:00ET. You can watch all the action free on CEBL+