R’Lions inactive at trade deadline
he National Basketball League of Canada trade deadline has come and gone, and the Niagara River Lions have decided to stick with the status quo.
After trading for three-point specialist Nick Okorie earlier this week, and signing former Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine within the past month, River Lions general manager Jeffrey Sotiriou is content with the roster he’s assembled.
“I really like where we are right now,” Sotiriou said “The guys are playing for each other, and coach (Keith) Vassell has really instilled a team-first mentality.”
Vassell replaced Grace Lokole last week after the 27-year-old from Welland stepped down as head coach, but remained on the coaching staff as an assistant.
Niagara is now very deep at the guard position with six players who can play either the one or two positions.
As for upgrading at the forward position, Sotiriou admitted he did work the phones on Wednesday.
“I reached out, and also listened to some offers, but in the end I’m confident with what we have going forward,” Sotiriou said. “And when we’re completely healthy this team can and will produce.”
On Wednesday night, the River Lions dropped a 93-89 road decision to the Windsor Express.
The game was delayed by 30 minutes as the Niagara bus broke down in London and a backup bus arrived at the scene to transport the players the rest of the way to Windsor.
Okorie led the way with 20 points, including three of four from threepoint land. Former Express forward Kirk Williams Jr. added 14 points in the loss for the Lions, who dropped to 8-17.
Niagara will now enjoy a full seven days off before welcoming Kitchener-Waterloo next Thursday. Tipoff at Meridian Centre in St. Catharines is set for 7 p.m. Lion Pride: Logan Stutz (shoulder) and Sammy Zeglinski (calf ) both didn’t dress for Niagara on Wednesday night … The River Lions were 9-16 at this point last season … Despite shooting 67 perc ent in the first half Windsor only led 49-48 at the break. The Express shot 57 per cent overall for the game; the Lions, 51 per cent.