The Niagara River Lions (4-3) welcome the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-8) to the Meridian Centre on Tuesday night for a 7:00 p.m. ET tip off.

While Saskatchewan remains in search of its first win on the season, Niagara is looking to build momentum after defeating its QEW rivals, the Hamilton Honey Badgers in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon. This contest marked the halfway point of the River Lions’ 14-game schedule, and they will look to secure a playoff spot heading into the second half of the CEBL season.

Ready for revenge

Tonight’s game is a rematch of the Rattlers and River Lions July 4 showdown, where Niagara squeezed out a 72-71 win to secure their second victory of the year.

Despite the loss, this game was one of Saskatchewan’s strongest showings of the year and the team’s narrowest margin of defeat. The Rattlers lead by six points heading into the Elam Ending, and a slam dunk by Travis Daniels brought Saskatchewan within one point of the target score of 72. The game was a back-and-forth affair, providing both teams with several chances to win the contest and Niagara eventually clutched out the victory on a contested three-pointer by Kassius Robertson. The Rattlers will be ready for revenge as they challenge the River Lions again tonight.

Saskatchewan has struggled to put together a consistent scoring effort for an entire game this season, and this is the largest reason the team remains winless. The Rattlers offence was streaky in the third quarter of the team’s Friday night loss to Guelph, but a bright spot is the 16 points Saskatchewan put up in the Elam Ending to cut the once 29-point Nighthawks lead almost in half by the end of the game. Additionally, Saskatchewan’s 74 point performance against Guelph marks the highest scoring effort by the team since opening night. Devonte Bandoo led the charge once again for the Rattlers, and he had a season high of nine assists.

River Lions rebounding

The Niagara River Lions lead the CEBL averaging 38.7 rebounds per game, and a key contributor to this team total is forward Javin DeLaurier who also tops the league with 11.1 rebounds per game.

In Niagara’s last contest, the former Duke Blue Devil recorded a 17-point 17-rebound double-double and helped the River Lions outrebound Hamilton 56-46. These boards proved crucial for the team and allowed Niagara to convert 20 second chance points compared to only four generated by the Honey Badgers.

Niagara has tallied more than 15 second chance points in six of its seven contests played this season, and this has been a boost for the River Lions who have won three of their last four games.

Defensive duel

Both Niagara and Saskatchewan are among the lowest scoring teams in the CEBL, so tonight’s matchup is primed to be a defensive duel.

In the Rattlers’ last meeting against Niagara, they successfully prevented the River Lions from getting out in transition and forced the usually speedy team to play in the half-court. This helped keep the game close and gave the Rattlers a good chance to seal the victory. Saskatchewan was able to slow the game down and found success when attacking the basket, making it to the free-throw line a total of 20 times in that contest.

The River Lions have also exhibited some stellar defensive play recently, keeping the Hamilton Honey Badgers under 80 points in their last two games. Strong on-ball pressure by Niagara forced 22 turnovers in both of the team’s recent matchups against Hamilton. The River Lions will look to continue this on Tuesday night as they make a late surge to climb the CEBL standings and establish themselves as championship contenders.