River Lions re-sign two more players
Lall and Mackenzie both back for a second season
A forward who transferred to Brock University after capturing four national men’s basketball championships at Carleton University is returning to the Niagara River Lions for a second season.
TJ Lall, 27, of Cambridge averaged eight points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists playing 23 minutes per game with the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) last year.
The six-foot-six Lall, Brock’s most valuable player in his lone season with the Badgers, is no stranger to the CEBL, a spring-summer pro league and Canada Basketball’s first men’s division. He spent two seasons with the former Guelph Nighthawks — now the Calgary Surge — after being taken first overall by the Ottawa BlackJacks in the 2020 CEBL U Sports draft.
River Lions general managerhead coach Victor Raso said resigning Lall was among the team’s priorities heading into the season.
“TJ is a versatile, talented wing who has shown glimpses of all the ways he can impact a game in his time with the River Lions, and in the CEBL. TJ has high expectations of himself and tremendous confidence in his abilities, and I feel the same way about him,” Raso said in a release announcing the signing. “I believe TJ will have his best professional season to date in an expanded role with us in 2024.”
Lall is currently is averaging 10.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and shooting 46.6 per cent from the three-point arc playing a fall-winter schedule in the British Basketball League with the Leicester Raiders.
The River Lions also announced they have re-signed six-foot-one guard Kimbal Mackenzie, also for a second season. The 27-year-old from Oakville averaged 8.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and three assists in nine games in the Niagara lineup
last year.
After four years competing in Division 1 at Bucknell University, Mackenzie played two seasons in the CEBL with Guelph and is averaging 12.7 points and 4.5 assists with Leicester, recently earning a spot on Great Britain’s national team for the Eurobasket qualifiers.
“I’m thrilled to be back in Niagara this summer. We have a core group of guys who I love playing with,” he said. “Looking forward to continuing the winning culture that has been built for years and to bringing a championship to Niagara.”
Last year, the River Lions finished first in the Eastern Conference with a league-best record of 13-7 before falling to the eventual champion Scarborough Shooting Stars in the semifinals.
Niagara’s sixth season in the CEBL tips off Friday, May 24, in Brampton with the opening game in a home-and-home versus the Honey Badgers. The River Lions host Brampton on Thursday, May 30, at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines.