Following a disappointing home debut on Thursday, the Blackjacks bounced back in a big way Monday evening, downing the Guelph Nighthawks 96-79. The win marks the club’s first victory at TD Place in franchise history following the summer series’ bubble format in 2020.
In similar fashion to how they started last week, the Blackjacks raced out to an early 17-8 lead. A lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the game. Once again former Laurentian Voyageurs guard Kadre Gray paced the team with a game high 27pts, dishing out 7 assists and collecting 8 boards for good measure. Gray, playing in only his second professional game, got the start following an impressive opening night performance. Gray’s fearlessness was on full display all game long as he attacked the rim and got to the free throw line at will throughout.
The Blackjacks also received big games from Nick Ward, who posted a 20pt/12reb double double, and rookie Alain Louis who saw his usage rate increase significantly against Guelph. Louis had 11pts off the bench, and looked extremely comfortable running the offense in his second pro game under head coach Charles Dubé-Brais. After the game Charles stated that “We tried some stuff in the first game and obviously didn’t work out as much, and we wanted more play making out there tonight and sacrificed a little bit of size in the meantime and the results paid off”.
Ottawa’s smaller lineup gave Guelph fits in the first half as the Nighthawks regularly collapsed down low, only to see the smaller guards kick out passes to teammates for wide open looks. To their credit, Guelph made adjustments at halftime and began the third quarter on a 12-3 run, but by then it was too little too late as their slow start would ultimately come back to haunt them.
The Nighthawks looked like a team who had just come off a long lay off, as they struggled out of the gate. Where the Blackjacks ran offensive sets, and got deep into the shot clock, the Nighthawks appeared content to settle for contested jumpers in the early going. Cat Barber and Ahmed Hill led Guelph in scoring on the evening with 25 and 18pts respectively. Former 2nd round pick of the Denver Nuggets Justin Jackson had a strong start for the Nighthawks but cooled down the stretch. Jackson would finish the night with 17pts and 8 boards in the loss.
The officials certainly kept players on their toes on Monday. For the most part they let the players play, however a slew of 2nd half off-ball fouls appeared to bewilder players and coaches on both sides of the court. With so much contact happening in the paint which went uncalled, ticky tack hand check calls seemed in vogue in the 3rd quarter which got Ottawa in foul trouble early. So much so that Guelph found themselves in the bonus with 5:30 still to play, which sparked a mini comeback for the Nighthawks.
Yet as the night wore on, it became clear that Guelph would suffer the same fate that Ottawa lived through only a few nights prior. Long layoffs, and short training camps aren’t conducive to building team chemistry. And Guelph looked every bit the part of a team who wasn’t yet accustomed to playing with one another.
With the Elam ending score set to 96 in the 4th, it was only fitting that the game would end on 2 made free throws by Kadre Gray to seal the victory for the home side. In the post game scrum, Gray would credit Thursday’s loss for firing up the Blackjacks tonight, “we just kept thinking about the last game, how we got punched in the face really”. When asked about his role on the team Gray said “if I’m in the starting lineup that’s great but it doesn’t matter, if I come off the bench that’s great too so whatever the team needs”. While the win is nice, one thing for certain is that if Kadre continues his hot start to the CEBL season, coach Charles will be hard pressed to keep him out of the starting lineup moving forward.
Guelph is next in action on July 3rd against Hamilton, while the Blackjacks have a Canada Day date with the Honey Badgers in the Nation’s Capital.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner