On Tuesday night, the Scarborough Shooting Stars grabbed their first home win, and win number two of the season in a blowout against the Newfoundland Growlers. After what was a disappointing loss in the much anticipated home opener on June 4th, the Shooting Stars took on the visiting Growlers in a redemption game at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. The Shooting stars came out of the gates swinging, quickly going up 9-0 in the opening minutes of the game and holding a significant lead throughout the contest. As always, superstar rapper and Shooting Stars guard Jermaine “J” Cole was a fan attraction, continuing to garner attention with every touch of the basketball. Cole netted a new career high of six points on 2/2 shooting from three point land. Shaquille Keith and Brandon Sampson were the only players to reach double figures for the Growlers, putting up 36 and 18, respectively. Keith carried the Growlers with an efficient 13/18 shooting night and snagging four steals in the contest. Keith and Sampson’s efforts, however, were not enough to subdue the red hot Shooting Stars. Defensive pressure was upheld all game long by Scarborough. Sampson, who was coming off of a 42 point effort in a loss against the Ottawa BlackJacks, was held to just 4/16 shooting, 25% from the field.
“I think the biggest part was just communicating.” Said Scarborough head coach Chris Exilus on the team’s defensive effort. “We talked all the way through, we held each other accountable all the way through… we really connected all the way through, I think that was the key” Exilus concluded.
The Growlers struggled to find a rhythm throughout the game, and Scarborough took full advantage of their struggles.On the offensive side, Shooting Stars guard Jalen Harris was unstoppable, going 15/26 from the field to finish the contest with a career high 38 points. Kyle Alexander recorded a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds on 7/12 shooting, and Isaiah Mike contributed 14 points and nine rebounds of his own.The two teams headed into the Elam Ending with a score of 90-72 in favor of the Shooting Stars. With a winning target score of 99, it was virtually a 1v1 with Jalen Harris and Shaquille Keith trading buckets to fight for the win. Keith put in 7 points for the Growlers, being the lone Elam Ending scorer for his squad. Harris scored six of the nine points needed for the Shooting Stars to secure the win, with forward Kameron Chatman adding in a turnaround jumper and guard Šarūnas Vasiliauskas making the game winning free throw. The final score of the game being 99-81.
The Shooting Stars took the decided 18 point victory, giving the team their second win of the season. Scarborough, notably looking more cohesive in comparison to past matches, seek to continue along the winning train as they embark on a three game road trip. The Shooting Stars face a tough next battle against the defending champions Edmonton Stingers on the road on June 12th.
The game can be watched on https://plus.cebl.ca/.
