Written by Zackaray Nadeau
After the Ottawa Blackjacks had a tremendous start in last night’s game, The Guelph Nighthawks held out with their infamous defensive play and won after a close game.
During a pre-game interview, the coach of the Nighthawks seemed way too calm for a team that was 0-4 at the time. During the game though? Different story. He was incredibly vocal, especially whenever his team would lose the lead. A BIG matchup in this game was between Nick Ward from Ottawa and Chad Brown. Both 6’9’’, all eyes were on them in this one.
Thinking about how this season is going, Ottawa needs to push past the Niagara River Lions if they have any hope for a postseason during Championship Weekend from Aug 18-22. To do that, they need to capitalize on great chemistry in the lineup, whether they’re away or at home. Players that come to mind with the “right stuff” that I’ve seen are Allain Louis-Nick Ward and Kadre Gray-Earl Calloway. When teams aren’t containing Nick Ward, Louis can get the ball to him wherever he is. Kadre Gray’s incredible speed allows him to get anywhere he needs to be. Where he should be passing, is to Earl Calloway, whose shooting ability lets him sink a basket when the Blackjacks really need it.
Ottawa must’ve been feeling good about their game going into the second half. They were controlling or keeping up with the pace for the whole game. For a while, it seemed like Ottawa wasn’t missing anything during the third quarter. But it felt like Guelph did their homework, and they knew Nick Ward is a scoring machine. The Nighthawks were covering him like a blanket over the grass for a picnic.
Moving on into the fourth quarter, Kadre Gray from Ottawa REALLY shined in this game. He had great setups in the last game, and against the Nighthawks he scored 16 points. Guelph player Chad Brown fouled out after scoring 14, causing his team to sweat a little more. It seemed like cooler heads prevailed for the Nighthawks though, as they continued to fight with some deep threes (Which Gray needs to stop doing), to gain a lead. Cat Harper for Guelph was hands down the MVP in this game, taking off in the second half, scoring 24 points by the end of the game.
You can’t be upset by the loss in this one, the Blackjacks never stopped trying to make a comeback. Even after the ELAM ending, it seemed like Ottawa could’ve made the Cinderella story come back. Cat Barber ended up being the scary godmother, and spoiled that ending for us, winning the game by free throws: 90-87. I’m confident Ottawa will beat Guelph in the rematch back at TD Place, especially if Johnny Berhanemeskel is in the lineup.
The next matchup for Ottawa is this Saturday at 4 p.m. against the Edmonton Stingers who are 6-0 right now. One of the best things about this league is you get to watch it free at https://www.cbc.ca/sports, or you can now buy tickets and see our team LIVE in person. I myself am hoping to be there as well so if you’re there, tell them, Zack from CKDJ sent you!
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