The Niagara River Lions went south in the standings after going west on the map.
Momentum from a 25-point victory in their season opener wasn’t enough to carry the Canadian Elite Basketball League team over the Rocky Mountains, let alone past the Fraser Valley Bandits Tuesday night in Abbotsford, B.C.
They never led and trailed their hosts by as many as 32 points, falling to 1-1 after the 104-81 setback heading into a Friday matchup against the defending champion Edmonton Stingers (1-0), also on the road.
“It was a classic situation of the guys thought we were pretty good because of the way the Ottawa game went, regardless of how much I warned that this is an energy league,” general manager-head coach Victor Raso said in an interview from Edmonton. “The team with a chip on its shoulder usually wins.
“I guess they had to see it first-hand, and that team punched us in the mouth.
After topping the Ottawa BlackJacks 103-78 on the road in their season opener, the River Lions spent all night playing catchup against the Bandits.
“It was the first time that someone really took us out of our actions and tried to prevent us from really running our stuff,” Raso said. “It was a very eye-opening moment for all of us in terms of how we run our stuff.
“It was the first time we played against a team that really wanted to go to their strengths and we allowed them to instead of making them go where we wanted them to go.”
Midway into the third quarter, the River Lions started playing “really hard” and matching Fraser Valley’s energy.
“We never got there offensively, but we started playing really hard defensively,” Raso said. “The guys realized the things I had been talking about before the game and things that were in the scout package were real.
“They just needed to dig in and do them, and it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Despite the loss to Fraser Valley and so-so execution in the win in Ottawa, Raso is pleased to open the season with a four-game road trip.
“As much as it sucks to lose, we’re all here together for a week,” he said. “We have two more games on this trip and then we have 10 games after this trip.
“This is a really good opportunity to take your lumps, learn from them.”
Niagara had a practice Thursday and another one before Friday night’s game, as well as film sessions on both days.
“So there is a lot of time to correct our mistakes as a group.”
On Monday, the Lower Mainland was in the grips of a historic heatwave when the River Lions landed in Abbotsford, a city of 140,000 about 70 kilometres east of Vancouver.
“It was the hottest weather I’ve ever seen in my life,” Raso, 30, recalled with a chuckle. “It was crazy.”
They also had to recalibrate their internal clocks to the three-hour time difference.
“They say for every hour, you should have a day to adjust, but we had to play 24 hours after we landed,” Raso said.
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Xavier Sneed, one of three players from the United States on the Niagara roster, led all players with 35 points. Daniel Mullings, with 14, and Jaylen Babb-Harrison, 11, also scored in double digits for the River Lions.
But it was Fraser Valley that was more balanced on offence in the battle of undefeated teams. Starters Merek Klassen, 21; Kenny Manigault, Jamal Reynolds, 15 apiece; Malcolm Duvivier and Brandon Gilbeck, 10 each, enjoyed double-digit nights, as did Alex Campbell and one-time River Lions Ryan Ejim with 14 and 10 points, respectively, from the bench.
Niagara was out-rebounded 44-29 and outscored 32-15 in fast-break points and 19-9 in points off turnovers.
As was the case when the River Lions outscored — though not necessarily outplayed — the BlackJacks in the first-ever CEBL game played in Ottawa, Niagara was unable to implement its game plan on the court.
“We have to execute better. We had a game plan that fit exactly what these guys did, and we just didn’t execute,” Raso said. “This league is all about energy, teams who play harder win games.
“That team beat us until midway through the third quarter when our energy matched theirs and then it was a bit of a game from there on in.”
Fraser Valley has started the 14-game regular season 2-0 despite returning only Duvivier and Klassen from a team that advanced to the final at the 2020 Summer Series championship tournament at Meridan Centre in St. Catharines.
“One of the most important parts of being a professional basketball player is you have to move into a new team and gel right away,” said Klassen, 29, of Vancouver. “What this team does exceptionally well is we make each other better.
“We’re physical, we have an incredible shot-blocker and rim protection, we have a lot of really good pieces here it’s just a matter of working together to understand the referees, the system, and the way this league is going to work.”
The River Lions close out their only swing through Western Canada this year with a 3 p.m. EST tipoff Sunday against the Saskatchewan Rattlers in Saskatoon. They open the home half of the schedule 7 p.m. Thursday, July 8, in a rematch with Fraser Valley.
Spectators for indoor sporting events are not permitted under Step 2 of the Ontario government’s reopening plan.
However, all CEBL games are available for livestreaming on CEBL+, as well on cbcsports.ca, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.
River Lions no match for well-balanced Bandits scoring attack - StCatharinesStandard.ca
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