The Scarborough Shootings Stars and Montréal Alliance look to climb up the standings when they face off in Scarborough on July 3 at 2 pm ET.

The Shooting Stars (6-5) are coming off a 93-86 win against the then-first place Fraser Valley Bandits on July 1. The Alliance (3-8) are looking to snap a six-game losing streak. They are also searching for their first road victory. 

Montréal is coming off a six-day break after losing to the Saskatchewan Rattlers 98-86. They played the Rattlers close in the first quarter and part of the second but Saskatchewan pulled away in the third. 

Forwards Dominic Green and Nathan Cayo are reliable players with their scoring and rebounding. British veteran Ashley Hamilton has also made a consistent impact, with 14 points and four rebounds off the bench against Saskatchewan. 

The Alliance are fourth in the league in three-point shooting (34.9 per cent) but tenth in field goal percentage (41.9 per cent) and average points (76.5). Montréal has played well for stretches of games but consistency will be an area for improvement against Scarborough. 

They will have to rely on their defence to create offence. Montréal scored 16 points from 18 turnovers (including 10 steals) against 

Scarborough is led by guard Jalen Harris, second in the league with an average of 21.4 points. The Shooting Stars rebounded from losing an 82-68 lead in Elam time against the Ottawa BlackJacks to beat Fraser Valley. 

Against the Bandits, the Shooting Stars closed out the game strong, outscoring their opponents 25-19 in the fourth quarter. Harris scored 24 points while Isiaha Mike led the team with 27 points. Kameron Chatman (14 points, eight rebounds) and Rashad James (13 points, five rebounds) provided support. 

The Shooting Stars took care of the basketball (nine turnovers) and shot 41 per cent from deep and 52 per cent overall. Scarborough will look to continue their efficient offensive performance against Montréal and close out the game well. 

The Shooting Stars will also be looking to avenge a loss to the Alliance earlier in the season. Montréal beat them 80-70 at home on May 29. 

Scarborough led 45-37 at halftime but Montréal turned it around in the second half to win. Green had 36 points, including five-for-nine from three. Look for him to have a similar impact on July 3. With Alexander with the Canadian men’s national team, Chatman, Mike and Kalif Young will be responsible for defending Cayo, Green and Hamilton. 

One thing the Shooting Stars will be looking to improve on from their last meeting is turnovers. Scarborough turned it over 17 times to the Alliance’s 10 and Montréal scored 25 points off the turnovers. The Alliance could look to rely on causing steals and pushing in transition to generate offence. 

The game marks the first time the Alliance will visit Scarborough. It is the last of three straight road games for them as they look to gain separation from the Ottawa BlackJacks in the standings. If the Shooting Stars win, they will move closer to the top half of the standings. 

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ and on CEBL Mobile the official app of the CEBL for iOS and Android devices. Games are also 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.