Stingers edge Knighthawks in hoops thriller
Offensive star Baker hits winning basket in dying seconds, writes Derek Van Diest
Stingers 8 2 , Nighthawks 80
The Edmonton Stingers have played two home games in their inaugural Canadian Elite Basketball League season and both have been thrillers which have come down to the wire.
The Stingers pulled out an 82-80 victory Friday against the visiting Guelph Nighthawks to improve their league record to 2-2 on the season.
Jordan Baker led the way offensively for Edmonton with 23 points, while Akeem Ellis and Grandy Glaze each chipped in with 12.
Chadrack Lufile had a teamhigh 18 points for the Nighthawks.
“They kind of mixed up their schemes on us defensively, showed some zone, showed some box-in-one, so with all of our new guys coming into town this week, it made things difficult and we couldn’t get into the (offensive) sets that we wanted,” Baker said. “We managed to play a little bit looser and made some shots down the stretch and managed to squeeze it out at the end of the fourth (quarter).”
Baker hit the winning basket with just over a minute left in the game, which proved to be the difference. The Nighthawks had three trips down the floor with a chance to tie the game, but were unable to make their shots count.
“We took some bad shots, we over-penetrated and we didn’t pass to our shooters,” said Nighthawks head coach Tarry Upshaw. “They did a really good job of coming back to what they wanted to do. I’m not used to how they play out west, but where I’m from, there must have been about 20 fouls in the second half that weren’t called, and then there were fouls that were called, which I don’t know if they were fouls or not, but you can’t fix that stuff. All you can take care of is yourselves and down the stretch we didn’t make our passes, didn’t find open shooters and we forced the ball.”
The Stingers went into the game without star point guard Xavier Moon, who was out with a foot injury. In his absence the Stingers were able to get plenty of offensive contributions from the rest of their lineup. Eight of their 10 players on the roster had at least seven points in the contest.
“It’s easy to overlook Jordan Baker, but he’s a heart and soul player, he’s out there, he’s giving effort on both ends,” said Stingers head coach Barnaby Craddock. “But I thought we had a lot of individuals step up for a play here and a play there and we needed every one of them.”
The Stingers got off to a good start as Ellis had the hot hand early. Eliss had 10 first-half points as Edmonton took a 41-39 lead into the break.
In the second, Guelph started to hit their outside shots and took the lead four minutes into the third quarter. It was a lead they would maintain until Baker hit what would go on to be the winning shot.
“We pulled another tough one out,” Ellis said. “We added some new pieces to the squad, so we’re also trying to jell, we’re trying to get it together. But it was big win for us.”
The win ended a two-game losing streak for the Stingers, who won their home opener in overtime and then went on to lose their next two games on the road. The team is still trying to come together as a unit with a number of changes to the roster made earlier in the week.
“A lot of people stepped up and pitched in, our new guys stepped up and pitched in,” Ellis said. “Once everyone gets in our groove, we’re going to be great.”
The Stingers made the most of the hometown crowd, as once again the atmosphere in the Expo Centre was electric.
“Both games here is the same storyline. I’m not sure we win without the Edmonton crowd,” Craddock said. “They’re missing free throws, the crowd is chanting, and I think this is a win for the city of Edmonton again. Our guys are out there playing hard, we’re not a very cohesive team, we haven’t had many practices together, but they’re playing with heart and they’re playing for the fans.”
It’s easy to overlook Jordan Baker, but he’s a heart and soul player, he’s out there, he’s giving effort on both ends.