The expansion Newfoundland Growlers got very close to capturing their first-ever CEBL victory in tremendous fashion on Sunday.
At the end, it was heartbreak — despite Brandon Sampson’s record 42-point performance.
Deng Adel posted a team-high 20 points, including six in a tightly-contested Elam Ending, to power the Ottawa BlackJacks to an 86-85 road win over the Newfoundland Growlers.
The 25-year-old former Raptors 905 player also had eight rebounds and six assists to help head coach James Derouin capture his first professional win.
Cold blooded. clutch.
Our forward Deng Adel @Foreverdeng with the Elam Ending winning shot. 🎯💰#RoadToTheChip pic.twitter.com/OErFi1jTx0
All Ottawa (1-3) starters reached double-digits, with Chad Posthumus scoring 14, Walt Lemon Jr. adding 13 and Cody John posting 11. Maxime Boursiquot contributed with ten points.
The 25-year-old shooting guard outdid three-time league MVP and former Edmonton Stinger Xavier Moon, who had 39 in a victory over the Fraser Valley Bandits last season.
Moon is now in a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA and their G-League counterpart Agua Caliente Clippers.
‘Definitely not the outcome we wanted’
“Definitely not the outcome we wanted, but big thanks to my teammates. They trusted me to give me the ball in situations like these. The shots were going down, so it was feeling good for me tonight,” said Sampson, who also had three assists and three rebounds to his name, in a post-game interview.
“[We] just got to take it on to the next game and try to keep it rolling.”
◼️ HIGHLIGHTS ◼️
All the best moments from a RECORD-SETTING heartbreaker at the Field House.#ROCKtheHOUSE | @CEBLeague pic.twitter.com/ UNkIvkJNig
The Growlers will now travel to Scarborough, Ont., to face fellow expansion team Shooting Stars on Tuesday.
In other CEBL Sunday action, Dominic Green and Isiah Osborne combined for 42 points to propel the Montreal Alliance past the visiting Guelph Nighthawks 94-74.
Ahmed Hill led the Nighthawks with 25 points.
Isiah Osborne 🐺😤#DeviensUnAllié | #BecomeAnAlly pic.twitter.com/Igphjmi7XL
Montreal (3-2) will next take on the defending champion Edmonton Stingers in a road game next Wednesday at 9 pm ET, while Guelph (1-3) will host the BlackJacks on Thursday at 7 pm ET.
On Monday, the Niagara River Lions will host the Stingers 7 pm ET.
All three games will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
WATCH l ‘CEBL Weekly’ Sean Woodley, CBC Sports’ Vivek Jacob preview CEBL season:
Host of ‘CEBL Weekly’ Sean Woodley joins CBC Sports’ Vivek Jacob to preview the 4th season of the CEBL as the season gets set to tip off on May 25th.
