Ahmad rises to the occasion as River Lions oust Shooting Stars

Target Score Time is Khalil Ahmad time.

The Niagara River Lions star guard again showed why he’s one of the most clutch players in CEBL history as he drilled a contested game-winning three-pointer to outlast the Scarborough Shooting Stars 93-91 in Friday night’s Eastern Conference championship at Canada Life Centre.

“That was an absolute grind. Khalil makes me happy, mad, upset, want to kill him, all of the above throughout the course of a game, but my God, that guy has something inside of him that is just built for Target Time,” said River Lions head coach Victor Raso.

“He has the physical tools and the mental confidence to be able to want it in those moments.”

Last year’s championship final in Montreal was in next-basket-wins territory with the score tied 95-95 against the Vancouver Bandits when Ahmad ended things with a floater.

“It’s just that extra focus on everything because it just means so much. It’s just that much easier to lock in on every possession, every moment, every rebound, every shot,” said Ahmad, the 2024 finals MVP and the 2022 CEBL Player of the Year.

“If we’re being honest, once I shot it, my brain turned off, and it went through. And then it was just looking around, celebrating with my teammates, enjoying the moment, and now we’re on to the next one.”

Scarborough had a shot at sealing the deal, but guard Terquavion Smith’s jumper bounced out. Niagara forward Elijah Lufile grabbed a massive defensive rebound in traffic to set up Ahmad’s heroics.

Niagara outrebounded Scarborough 56-40. Lufile played for Scarborough when they won the CEBL crown in 2023. The Milton, Ont., product led all players with 15 boards and chipped in eight points. Ahmad finished with 29 points on seven-of-17 shooting and six rebounds.

“That’s a high-level basketball game between two teams that put it all on the line. They kicked our ass on the glass, but I thought we did a way better job in the second half of giving ourselves opportunities and finishing defensive possessions,” said Scarborough head coach Michael De Giorgio.

“Honestly, I told my team I was super proud of them… We had a chance to win the game, and it just didn’t go for us.”

Shooting Stars guard Donovan Williams came out on fire with 15 points in the first quarter before ending the night with 29. Smith, who is in the top five in league scoring alongside Williams, settled for 16. Guard Ron Curry also contributed 16 for Niagara.

The River Lions shot 34.9 per cent from the field but got the job done at the foul line by going a perfect 21-for-21.

“We were just being where our feet are and trying to be locked into the moment, take every possession for what it was,” said Ahmad, a 28-year-old from California. “Because look, we won by two, so it was a close game. Every possession mattered and we took care of the little things.”

Niagara had a bye to the East final after finishing the regular season first at 14-10. Scarborough were the No. 3 seed after going 11-13 and managed to win back-to-back post-season tilts to earn a date with the River Lions.

The all-time series between the two foes heading into the night was 7-7.

Niagara now has a chance to become the first team to repeat since the Edmonton Stingers did it in 2020-21.

“I couldn’t even put into words,” said Ahmad. “If we get it done, you’ll see what it means.”

Sunday’s championship game tips off at 6 p.m.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca