River Lions rebound with solid effort
The Niagara River Lions rebounded from a tough loss Sunday to turn in one of their best efforts of the season Wednesday night in Montreal.
The River Lions topped the expansion Alliance 76-64 to improve to 5-3 in Canadian Elite Basketball League action at the Verdun Auditorium.
Niagara head coach Victor Raso loved the how the team came together at both ends of the court.
“The defensive effort and the togetherness in a hostile environment — this team gets a lot of support from their fans and was undefeated at home — we were very good,” Raso said. “We were together.”
The River Lions have had a penchant for not being able to close out games this season but this time finished strong with a 24-point effort in the fourth quarter.
“That’s been the only thing this group talked about the last few days,” Raso said. “They took ownership of all those moments where we blew leads, especially in Elam, and attacking the moment. Today when we went into Elam the guys were excited about the opportunity.
“It was de déjà vu all over again. We were up seven going into Elam and the guys, on the road, in a hostile environment, responded really, really well and hopefully exorcised those demons a little bit.”
Raso feels the effort could carry over.
“I think we’re in a place where the guys over the last few days have had enough internal conversations and taken enough ownership that we’re going to keep building off this,” he said. “I’m excited where the group is right now.”
Kahlil Ahmed paced the River Lions with 14 points while Jaylen Babb-Harrison added 13. E.J. Onu and Antonio Davis, Jr. added 11 each while Munis Tuto contributed nine off the bench.
The River Lions are home to Ottawa Saturday at 7 p.m.
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