Sensational defensive plays see Stingers squeeze past BlackJacks

A scrambling defensive stand, highlighted by a couple of big steals, saw the Edmonton Stingers (7-2) hang on to inch by the Ottawa BlackJacks (2-6), 92-91, Thursday night at Edmonton EXPO Centre.

In a wild sequence of events during Target Score Time with the game tied at 91 and the Target Score set at 92, the BlackJacks had an opportunity to complete a comeback down 83-77 at the start of Target Score Time and win the game.

Coming out of a timeout, Ottawa guard Javon Masters had the ball in his hands, dribbled into the lane and momentarily surveyed for an outlet before making a decision whether to put a shot up or not.

That moment of hesitation was all Edmonton’s Adika Peter-McNeilly needed as he cleanly stripped the ball from Masters and started a fastbreak the other way.

The ball went to Stingers forward Nick Hornsby, who missed his floater in the lane. It was then rebounded briefly by Ottawa’s Brandon Sampson, but he more deflected it, and, as the ball looked like it was going to go out of bounds, Edmonton’s Elijah Miller saved the ball and it ended up back in Hornsby’s hands who then dumped it off to a wide-open Mindaugas Kačinas underneath the basket, who got fouled and finished the game with one free throw.

“There’s a reason why Adika’s on the floor, said Stingers head coach Jordan Baker after the game. “He’s a guy that we trust in those scenarios and he made a great play. We had discipline, the other four guys around him didn’t over-help and didn’t give [Masters] anything else to look at.

“We’ve talked about it in the locker room. That’s how we need to defend every possession and that’s the challenge. Can you prioritize it like that, like it’s the game-winning sequence for you. And you’ve got to give a shoutout to Elijah, too, making that tremendous save/steal, whatever you want to call it, and giving us an opportunity to go and seal the game.”

Peter-McNeilly didn’t score a single point Thursday night, but he ended up making one of the game’s defining defensive plays and dished out four assists, giving him 201 total for his CEBL career in the regular season and playoffs combined. And more important than any stat, his Stingers got the win.

“It was ugly, but we’ll take it. That’s basketball sometimes,” said the Toronto native. “Guys are tired at the end of the game, there’s a little bit of nervousness, but we locked in.”

CEBL newcomer Trey McGowens led a balanced Stingers attack that saw seven players reach double-digit scoring with 17 points in his debut with the club.

“I felt good and came into it confident,” said McGowens of his first CEBL game. “Just go out there and play hard. That’s all that it was for me. Try to play without overthinking.”

The 24-year-old most recently played for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League and is the older brother of Charlotte Hornets guard Bryce McGowens.

BlackJacks swingman Tyrrel Tate scored a game-high 21 points and was a scorching 5-of-7 from three-point range, getting the start for Ottawa in place of Jakeenan Gant, who suffered a season-ending injury.

Ottawa has had a tough go of things this season with a roster that’s mostly been in flux with either players being not ready to play yet, like Deng Adel, and injury woes, such as in the case of Gant and BlackJacks leading scorer and rebounder Isaih Moore.

With that being said, Ottawa isn’t looking for any pity.

“It’s been constantly in flux, it’s a challenge for the players and the coaching staff, but there’s no excuses in basketball and, certainly, we’re not the only team dealing with this,” said BlackJacks head coach James Derouin.

As has been the case for much of the season, Ottawa had a chance to win the game Thursday, but just came up short. During Target Score Time, BlackJacks big man Zena Edosomwan took six free throws, but only made half of them. If he had only made one more free throw it could’ve been a much different story for Ottawa.

However, while it ultimately wasn’t to be, the BlackJacks did do a number of good things. Edmonton led by as much as 16 points late in the third quarter, but as they did all game long, the BlackJacks just kept chipping away at the deficit and put themselves in a position to win the game.

“I was really impressed,” Derouin said of his team’s fight during the game. “In the last little bit of the fourth quarter and then into [Target Score Time], on the road, with the travel, it’s not easy to be in those situations and continue to fight. I was proud of our guys for doing that and got a little unlucky at the end and, unfortunately, when you’re coming from behind you need luck on your side, not against you.”

Stingers forward Brody Clarke was forced to exit the game just before Target Score Time began after taking a charge and didn’t return. He headed to the bench walking gingerly.

Up Next

Edmonton will next welcome in the Calgary Surge on Sunday. The Stingers have twice already got the better of their provincial rival and will be hoping for more of the same as they battle with the Vancouver Bandits for tops in the Western Conference.

Ottawa will next visit Vancouver on Saturday. The Bandits’ five-game win streak was recently stopped by the Winnipeg Sea Bears, so they’ll be looking to get back to their winning ways as they host the BlackJacks.