June 13, 2024
The Montreal Alliance are soundly beaten at home by the Niagara River Lions
The Montreal Alliance returned home tonight to face the red hot Niagara River Lions after a home and away pair of match-ups against the Ottawa Blackjacks. Niagara find themselves in a battle with the Scarborough Shooting Stars for lead of their division, while Montreal is at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Montreal was unlucky not to have defeated Ottawa at home, when the Blackjacks came from behind during the target score period to steal the win from under the feet of the Alliance – something that has been all too common so far this season.
See Also: Montreal Alliance take revenge on the Ottawa Blackjacks
Reality is that the Alliance have lead all but one of their games going into the target Score period but have struggled to close the deal and secure wins.
With revenge on their minds, Montreal traveled down the road to face Ottawa on their own court Tuesday night, coming away with a huge win – both figuratively and on the scoreboard. Winning by a score of 104 to 89 but also doing so in convincing fashion. The Alliance have shown moments of brilliance so far this season, but have fallen short in games they deserved to win. Coming back to thrash a team that beat them by just a single point just a few nights earlier is possibly exactly what the Montreal Alliance needs to get their confidence back and to reach the potential they’ve shown they have all season long.
Tonight they host one of the top two teams in their division in the Niagara River Lions, hoping to start stringing wins together. Winning against last place Ottawa is one thing; taking on a top seeded championship contender is another altogether – as the Montreal Alliance found out tonight.
Tonight’s match-up also saw the return of former Alliance star Nathan Cayo as a member of the Niagara River Lions and Cayo seemed determined to leave his mark on the game and on his former team. Cayo was a fan favorite during his time with the Alliance, and one of the better players Montreal has had over its short lifetime, but now that relationship is one for the history books.
Also in attendance was Indiana Pacers small forward, and Montreal native, Bennedict Mathurin – who is currently rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder .
The opening quarter was tightly contested as the two teams exchanged hoops, keeping the score close. The Alliance at one point held a short-lived lead over the River Lions – but that didn’t last for long, and all of a sudden, Niagara had built a ten-point lead and by half-time, had stretch it into a 48 to 35 advantage.
Midway through the third quarter, the point spread was 26 points in favor of Niagara and still growing – reaching as high as 31 points difference. The tides had turned and Montreal was getting swept out to sea. The River Lions defense was as hard to penetrate as fort Knox, and very little of what the Alliance tried to bring to the paint made its way in, and that was the difference maker in the game.
Chris Smith was elected late in the third quarter for having accumulated five personal fouls. Smith seemed frustrated most of the game as the River Lions ran rampant and were able to score seemingly at will all game long. At the end of the third quarter, Niagara held a 27 point lead having run up a 77 to 50 score.
With the target score set at 94 points, Montreal suddenly came to life – or maybe it was a case of the River Lions resting on their laurels while up by 26 points and needing just 9 more to seal the deal.
Whatever the case, Montreal played its best basketball of the contest during the final minutes and at least gave those fans that had stayed something to cheer about. It would be a lofty goal to reach, to overcome such a huge deficit and ultimately it would prove to be too deep a hole to climb out of, as the Niagara River Lions took a well deserved victory by a score of 94 to 80. The Alliance did double the fourth quarter tally of the River Lions, scoring 30 of their 80 points in the final frame alone, but it was too little too late.
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Niagara are one of the top teams in the division and among the best in the league and it showed tonight.
Montreal will host the surging Scarborough Shooting Stars on Sunday June 16th at the Verdun auditorium, while the Niagara River Lions next face the Blackjacks in Ottawa on June 15th.
