The Edmonton Stingers had their sights set on grabbing a share of the Western Conference lead with the Vancouver Bandits.
The visiting Niagara River Lions had other plans.
Jahvon Blair’s 26-point outburst helped the River Lions upset the Stingers 100-79 in one of three Canadian Elite Basketball League games on Sunday.
River Lions forward Nathan Cayo chipped in with 23 points on 80 per cent shooting at Edmonton EXPO Centre, in front of 3,864 fans.
Ben Krikke led the Stingers with 14 points, while Michael Nuga had 13 points and five rebounds.
The River Lions (3-2) led 44-35 at halftime and 76-58 heading into the final quarter.
Despite the disappointing setback, Stingers coach Jordan Baker remains positive and knows what his 4-2 team must improve on going forward.
“Defensive rebounding,” Baker said. “I’m about one game away from signing myself to a 10-day contract because we need to make sure we clean up on the glass.”
Elsewhere in the CEBL on Sunday:
SURGE 110 SEA BEARS 78
Calgary scored 35 points in the third quarter en route to their second win of the young season, dunking the visiting Winnipeg Sea Bears 110-78.
Sean Miller-Moore led the Surge (2-4) with 25 points, while Malcolm Duvivier chipped in with 21. Five Surge players hit double digits on the scoreboard.
Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson led the Sea Bears (3-3) with 18 points and Teddy Allen added 16.
The teams were tied 46-46 at halftime and the Surge led 81-62 heading into the final quarter.
SHOOTING STARS 81 HONEY BADGERS 73
Tevian Jones scored 18 points and Devoe Joseph added 17 as the Scarborough Shooting Stars improved to 3-2 with an 81-73 win over the visiting Brampton Honey Badgers.
Shamiel Stevenson led the Honey Badgers (2-5) with 23 points and nine rebounds, while Lj Thorpe scored 22 points and had six rebounds.
The Shooting Stars led 33-32 at halftime and 60-57 heading into the final quarter.
THROW-INS
The Ottawa BlackJacks (1-3) host the Montreal Alliance (1-4) on Tuesday, while the Brampton Honey Badgers (2-5) visit the Saskatchewan Rattlers (4-2) on Wednesday.