The Ottawa BlackJacks are headed to the CEBL semifinals following a wild 96-94 victory over the hometown Hamilton Honeybadgers Saturday. Kadre Gray led the charge for the BlackJacks scoring a game high 32 points, including the game winning free throws in the win.
Ottawa was bolstered by a huge effort from Chad Posthumus who posted a monster 23pts/20reb game, while shooting 9/10 from the field and 5/6 from the free throw line. The 20 rebound performance set the CEBL record for most boards collected in one game. Meanwhile, Hamilton’s star guard (and league MVP finalist) Lindell Wiggington had an off day shooting, mustering only a 14 point (3/11 from the field) stat line in the loss.
Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup could be best characterized as a game of runs, with both teams alternating hot & cold streaks throughout the affair. Hamilton had an 11-2 run to take the lead after the first quarter. However Ottawa responded in kind in the 2nd with a 10-0 run of their own, followed by another 9-0 run in the closing minutes of the half. Suddenly the homeside found themselves in a 43-38 hole heading into the break.
The third quarter became a two man show with Ottawa’s Kadre Gray pouring in 13 pts for the BlackJacks, while Jean-Victor Mukama countered with 8 straight points for the Honeybadgers. When all was said and done only 1 point separated the teams heading into the 4th with a trip to the semi finals on the line.
With the intensity cranked up to 11 on both ends of the floor, Gray, Wiggington and Posthumus shone brightest for their clubs with spectacular play after spectacular play. The Elam ending was triggered when Ottawa went up 87-83 meaning that the first team to reach 96 points would be heading to the CEBL Championship Weekend in Edmonton.
The BlackJacks appeared to be in control of the game after an Antonio Williams bucket put the visitors up by 6. But suddenly the wheels seemed to come off for Ottawa as Hamilton went on a 9-0 run to take the lead 92-89 and inch closer to the magic number of 96.
Ottawa would hit a 3 pointer to tie the game, followed by the teams exchanging baskets to bring the game to a 94-94 “next basket wins” situation. After Kadre Gray was fouled, he made only 1 of 2 free throws, meaning that although Ottawa had the lead, a Honeybadgers field goal would earn them the win. Yet as he had all game long for Ottawa, Posthumus would once more provide a defensive spark in the form of a steal, and Gray would earn a shot at redemption when he was fouled going to the basket. This time the former Laurentian Voyageur wouldn’t miss, and knocked down the game winning free throw to punch Ottawa’s ticket to the semis.
Ottawa will next be in action Friday against the Edmonton Stingers. On top of being the number 1 overall seed with a 13-1 record, the Stingers will also have home court advantage on their side in the Semis. While they’ll likely be a heavy favourite, the Stingers’ one loss this year did come at the hands of the BlackJacks back on July 17th. Semi Final games will be streamed on CBC as well as the CEBL+ app.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner