The Newfoundland Growlers return home to Memorial University Fieldhouse on Wednesday as they look to sweep the Montreal Alliance in their third consecutive matchup at 7:30 NT/6:00 ET. 

The Growlers defeated the Alliance in both games at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal last weekend, with a 94-71 win on Friday and a 105-85 win on Sunday. The Alliance were held to 39 per cent shooting from the field and 23 per cent from three in Friday’s loss. Blake Francis led all scorers with 20 points off the bench for Newfoundland, while Jahvon Blair chipped in 18 points in the win.  Montreal’s 23 turnovers and Newfoundland’s fast break were catalysts to Sunday’s result. Shaquille Keith netted 27 points on an efficient 10-12 from the field to go along with 4 assists, while Francis came off the bench again to deliver 16 points. The Growlers won both games without their leading scorer, Brandon Sampson. 

Newfoundland enters Wednesday’s game at 5-12 in ninth place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) standings with a slim shot at the final playoff spot. Montreal comes in eliminated from playoff contention at 4-13 in last place in the standings. Both teams have three games remaining, with Newfoundland’s trio of games all at home in St. John’s.

When Newfoundland started the season with 10 straight losses, the playoffs looked like a near impossible task. However, the Growlers have inched closer to playoff contention with three consecutive wins and have gone 5-2 since their winless start. The final playoff berth, while improbable, is still in reach. Newfoundland will need to win all three games remaining on their schedule and get some help to have a shot at the playoffs. Guelph and Newfoundland are the only two teams still in contention who have yet to clinch. The Nighthawks sit at 8-10 with two games remaining, including a matchup with Newfoundland in St. John’s on Friday. 

Guelph needs just one win in their final two games to clinch a playoff spot, so Growlers fans will have an eye on the Nighthawks’ matchup with the Saskatchewan Rattlers at 7:00 p.m. ET/8:30 NT tonight at the Sleeman Centre. Guelph clinches a playoff berth with a win tonight, but if Guelph loses tonight and Newfoundland wins,  the matchup in St.. John’s on Friday becomes ever more important. Guelph defeated Newfoundland 89-82 in June, so the Growlers would need to win by 8 points to give them the tiebreaker advantage in head-to-head plus/minus going into a Sunday showdown with Scarborough. 

The Growlers also have a chance if they defeat Guelph by 7 points, putting them even in head-to-head plus/minus. However, the next tiebreaker would be overall plus/minus,  where the Nighthawks currently hold a 28 point advantage. If Newfoundland were to win by less than 7 points, they would be eliminated from the playoff race. 

Brandon Sampson enters Wednesday’s game as Newfoundland’s leading scorer at 20.5 points per game on 52 per cent shooting from the field and 36.8 per cent from three. Sampson sits second in the league in points per game, trailing only Niagara’s Khalil Ahmad at 21.6 points per game. Shaquille Keith has been a big contributor in 14 games for Newfoundland with 15.3 points per game, while Blake Francis is averaging 14.7 points per game in 6 games played.

The Alliance don’t have a single player averaging over 15 points per game, with Nathan Cayo leading the way at 12.6 on 57.2 per cent shooting to go along with 4.5 rebounds per game. Isiah Osbournne is contributing 10.1 points per game while international import Ashley Hamilton, who has been out with an injury, is averaging 12.6 points per game. 

Newfoundland Growlers tickets are available at https://www.growlersbasketball.ca/tickets while Montreal Alliance tickets are available at https://www.alliancemontreal.ca/en-ca/tickets. 

Fans will be able to live stream all games including the playoffs on the CEBL’s OTT streaming service CEBL+, the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile for iOS and Android devices, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices and on NXT Level Sports in the U.S. As part of its playoff coverage, CBC Sports will broadcast the quarterfinal games Sunday, August 7, semifinal games Friday, August 12, and the Championship game on Sunday, August 14. For the complete broadcast and streaming schedule, click here. All times are subject to change. 

The CEBL’s fourth regular season began May 25 and ends August 1. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL is the largest pro sports league in the country with 10 teams located in six provinces. It 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.