A renewed Honey Badgers team appears to have come together quickly.
Brampton came back from 12 points behind at halftime to defeat the Montreal Alliance 90-87 Friday at the Verdun Auditorium.
The Honey Badgers improved to 4-8 with the win, while Montreal fell to 3-9.
Brampton has won just two of its last ten games – both against the Alliance.
Following their latest loss to Scarborough, the Honey Badgers made major roster changes, releasing Javonte Cooke and Lucas Siewert, while signing LECB veterans Elijah Mitrou-Long and Michael Okafor.
Okafor started the game but played just 16 minutes, contributing six points and two rebounds. Mitrou-Long provided a spark with six points in the first quarter off the bench and finished with 11 points and eight assists.
After trailing 59-47 at halftime, Brampton seemed to find its defensive identity in the second half, limiting Montreal to 15 and 13 points in each of the final quarters as they gradually clawed their way back into the game.
At the end of the third quarter, the Honey Badgers were four points behind Montreal. At the start of the target scoring period, they led 81-79.
Tied at 85, both teams suddenly struggled offensively, combining for six consecutive missed shots. The Alliance came close to victory with two free throws from Jordan Bowden, but Brampton’s LJ Thorpe responded with two of his own.
Freddy Ibrahim then missed a three-point shot that would have given Montreal the victory. Two possessions later, Brampton’s Shamiel Stevenson hit a three-pointer to give the Honey Badgers the victory.
“I just drew on the energy of my teammates, and the rest is history,” Stevenson said immediately after the game.
Stevenson finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, and Yaw Obeng-Mensah added 15 points off the bench for Brampton.
Mitrou-Long, who played nearly 30 minutes, said he was simply trying to stay behind his new teammates in crucial moments.
“We knew we were going to come through in the final moments, we just had to stay close. I’m new and I’m finding my rhythm, so I know what it must have been like for the other players who have been here for a long time to make those decisions,” he said.
Head coach Sheldon Cassimy said the Honey Badgers’ comeback was a result of the team’s struggles earlier in the season.
“We went through a lot of adversity. And there was a lot of adversity in the game. We were already tested, so we were able to stick together and continue to play hard until the end of the game. »
He added that although the victory was a collective effort, he was happy to see how Okafor and Mitrou-Long changed the dynamic.
“We can get out in transition a little bit more and have more defensive pressure with Mike, and Elijah can create for others and for himself, so I think that’s a big difference for us,” Cassimy said.
The Alliance, which as host of the championship weekend receives an automatic invitation to the playoffs, has now lost four straight games. Forward Chris Smith, the team’s second-leading scorer at 17.8 points per game, was absent Friday because of health concerns.
Jordan Bowden led the team with 19 points, including Montreal’s eight during the target-scoring period. Guillaume Boucard added 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and six steals – the second most ever in a single game.
Ahmed Hill added 18 points and five rebounds. He said after the game that the team was let down by its lack of defensive stops in the second half.
“We played a little nonchalantly. So we’re just trying to figure this out now. They killed us on the rebound with 14 more than us, which was not the game plan,” Hill said.
Head coach Derrick Alston Sr. theorized that the lack of stakes with a semifinal berth already assured could contribute to the Alliance’s diminished sense of urgency.
“The effort was there, but I told the guys in the locker room that we don’t give out trophies for participation. That’s your job. It’s a shame. We had a lot of opportunities in the target period but basketball is a team game. You have to get everybody involved.”
Boucard, Ibrahim and Elijah Ifejeh combined for 38 points in the first half but did not score in the second half.
The game marked the 100th in franchise history for the Honey Badgers, who spent four seasons in Hamilton before moving to Brampton.
Future
Brampton returns home to face the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Sunday, while Montreal travels to Ottawa for a meeting with the BlackJacks on Thursday.
– LECB –
About the LECB
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with the mission of developing Canadian players, coaches, sports managers and referees, the LECB has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, its rosters being composed 75% Canadian and counting a record 10 players with NBA experience in their ranks in 2024. Players also come from the NBA G League, top international professional leagues, the Canadian national team program, programs from the NCAA, as well as U SPORTS and the CCAA. Fourteen players have signed NBA contracts after one CEBL season, and many CEBL players participate in NBA G League training camps each year. The LECB season runs from May to August. The matches are broadcast live on CABLE+ powered by BetVictor, TSN, TSN+, RDS, Game+, Next Level Sports & Entertainment et Courtside1891. Further information on the LECB is available at CEBL.ca and via @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook et YouTube.
