The Montreal Alliance host the Guelph Nighthawks for the first time in franchise history on Sunday at Verdun Auditorium.  The 2-2 Alliance and 1-2 Nighthawks will take the court at 4 p.m. ET.

Montreal’s two wins have come at home but they’re entering this matchup following a 87-62 loss to the Niagara River Lions on Friday in Niagara.  In that game Montreal got the ball inside the paint with the court vision of their guards but met the height of the River Lions Ej Onu and Tidjan Keita which made efficient shooting around the rim difficult.  Their success came from creating turnovers and getting Dominic Green and Isiah Osborne the ball in space.  Both Green and Osborne scored 15 points for the Alliance and their shot creating ability was a consistent spark for Montreal.

The two guards offer spacing for the Alliance on offence with their shooting from range and their length to get past defenders in gaps.  Green’s fadeaway jumper that he used in their game against Niagara, and Isiah’s three-point shot which he hit three times is a change in their offence that usually gets the ball to the rim. 

Montreal won the offensive rebounding battle 15-6 against the size of the River Lions, and being able to create second chances will be useful against the Nighthawks who like to do the same.  Forwards like Gaios Skordilis who will be matched up with Julian Roche and Madut Akec will have a fight on the boards as the forwards try and get their team second chances, and guards like AJ Lawson and Osborne attack the rim to get loose rebounds. 

Montreal will have a battle inside the paint to control the rebounding battle, but along the perimeter, Hernst Laroche, Kemy Osse and Sherwood Brown will be put up against the trio of Nighthawks guards that carry a heavy load in the Nighthawks play.  Lawson, Cat Barber and Ahmed Hill have been a big part of the Nighthawks play, they scored 53 of the Nighthawks 85 points in their recent loss to Hamilton, and all three played over 30 minutes. 

Barber and Hill are the primary facilitators for the Nighthawks and their speed has been on full display getting into lanes for kick-outs or layups.  They scored a combined 12 baskets from inside the arc against Hamilton and assisted on 11 baskets.  The way Barber and Hill attack a set defence is similar to that of the Montreal guards, but where they find the most success is their perimeter shots.  The Guelph guards of Lawson, Hill, Barber, Sean Miller-Moore and Stefan Smith shot a combined 23 threes in their last game and the shooting matchup on the perimeter of them versus Green and Osborne is one to pay attention to.

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices.  Games will also be available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service. 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians.  Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS.  The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball.  The CEBL season runs from May through August.  Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.