Tough shooting night for River Lions in loss to K-W

The start was there, but in the end the Niagara River Lions couldn’t finish when they needed to in a 10593 loss to the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans Thursday night at Meridian Centre.

The River Lions opened a 12-point second quarter lead but were outscored 73-59 over the final 30 minutes.

“We had a lot of looks, especially in the fourth quarter, but we just didn’t finish,” said River Lions head coach Keith Vassell.

Fifty-five fouls were called in the game which also seemed to hamper the Lions offence.

“After the first quarter I felt like we didn’t play with any kind of a flow,” Vassell said.

“I think we’re still a work in progress, although we’re improving.”

Former Niagara guard Adam Blazek led the Titans in every offensive category with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists.

One positive for the River Lions was the return of reigning NBL Canada MVP Logan Stutz. Playing in his first game since Jan. 28, when he suffered a shoulder injury in London, Ont., Stutz drained 12 points, pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, and also showed great hustle and effort on the defensive end of the floor.

“It was great to get back,” Stutz said. “I was just excited to put the jersey back on, and help the team where I could. I want to contribute anywhere I can, and whatever the team needs I’m going to do it.”

Vassell was impressed with Stutz in his 18 minutes of floor time in his return.

“You see his impact. He came in and started rebounding immediately,” said Vassell.

“He has a high basketball IQ. I still have to figure what combinations fit best for our team.”

Stutz is confident the River Lions (9-18) can still turn things around over the final 13 games of the regular season.

“I think we have to, and that’s the plan,” Stutz said as Niagara now welcomes (13-13) Windsor tonight. Tip-off at Meridian Centre is 7 p.m.

“Time’s getting tight, but we’ve got the talent — we can do it.”

Lion Pride: Sammy Zeglinski and Richard Amardi did not dress for the River Lions … Kirk Williams led the Lions and all scorers with 24 points … Niagara outscored Kitchener-Waterloo 52-26 in the paint … The Lions wore special Greek Heritage Night jerseys with the word “Niagara” spelled in Greek. The jerseys were auctioned off during the game.