R’Lions clash with Titans
Winning the battle of the boards goes a long way in registering wins in the National Basketball League of Canada standings.
Just ask the Niagara River Lions.
They outrebounded the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans 55-36 en route to a 90-87 victory Saturday at Meridian Centre .
The battle of boards also led to Niagara scoring 52 points in the paint compared to 24 for the visitors.
“All our starters rebounded and I think that was the key thing tonight,” River Lions head coach Joe Raso said. “Rebounding was huge.”
Niagara recorded three doubledoubles on the night, including Guillaume Boucard who drained 14 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Boucard, who played post-secondary basketball at perennial powerhouse Carleton University, is easily the most athletic River Lion this season, and he is certainly making the most of his first season in the league.
“I’m starting to figure out my role here,” said the 27-year old Montreal native, who played last season in France. “I know it’s mainly defence and rebounding.
“But if I can stay aggressive on offence, that’s an added bonus, too.”
Raso heaps some high praise on the 6-foot-5 forward.
“Guillaume Boucard is the unsung hero of this team, he always draws the toughest assignments,” the coach said. “I had the luxury of seeing him for a long time because he and Victor (Raso’s son and River Lions assistant coach) were teammates at Carleton, and when you go to Carleton you learn to play the game.
“He’s playing a like a pro, and we think he’s one of the best Canadians we could have picked up and one of the best Canadians in the league.”
Despite averaging 12 points per game, Boucard said he still needs to find his scoring touch.
“Right now, I’m shooting terribly, especially from three,” said Boucard, who is averaging 6.9 rebounds per game.
“It’s a rhythm thing. I just need to stop thinking too much about my form.”
Niagara opened a 7-0 lead to start the game, and never looked back although Kitchener-Waterloo hung around all night long.
The River Lions led by four after one quarter, 45-32 at the half and by three points heading into the fourth quarter.
“This team (Titans) had the advantage of the schedule this time, they were getting us on a back-toback,” Raso said. “Last night (Friday) was an emotional game for us, but we answered tonight. We competed.”
Sam Muldrow once again led the way for Niagara draining 23 points, while pulling down 10 boards.
Marvell Waithe was the third River Lion with a double-double, 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Lions improved to 4-3 with the win and now embark on a seven-game road trip. In fact, their next home game isn’t until Wednesday, Jan. 3.
“We have to play smart on the road,” Raso said. “We were lucky to play three straight games at home to start the season.”
Lion Pride: Raso cleared his entire bench in the first quarter as Adam Klie made his first start of the season … Former River Lion Tramar Sutherland drained 14 points for the Titans who attempted 44 three-point shots – and were successful on 15 … K-W was playing just its third game of the season and fell to 0-3.