The Guelph Nighthawks (4-9) used a 56-37 second half spurt to knock off the Ottawa BlackJacks (4-8) by a score of 96-71 at TD Place in Ottawa on Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Nighthawks come within half a game of the BlackJacks for the fifth seed in the CEBL standings.
The game was tied after the first quarter, and Guelph built a slim six-point lead at the half, but then used a major push in the third to pull away from the BlackJacks. The offence and defence were both clicking for the Nighthawks, drilling 14 three-pointers while also forcing 15 Ottawa turnovers.
“I was impressed on both ends. I though we moved the ball well,” said Nighthawks’ head coach Charles Kissi in a press release. “We had a few lapses defensively, but we didn’t let them compound, so that was good for us.”
Michael Bryson picked up the slack offensively when leading scorer Cat Barber left the game with an injury, finishing with a game-high 25 points while adding eight rebounds.
Veteran forward Olu Famutimi also made a huge difference offensively for Guelph. The 37 year old exploded for 20 second-half points to finish with 22 on the night, including a sparkling 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. While Wednesday’s game was just Famutimi’s fifth of the season, he seemed to have found his grove at the perfect time.
“My teammates and coaches have put me in a great position to score,” said Famutimi, “I knew I’d get my shots as long as we moved the ball.”
Guelph plays its final game of the regular season Friday at the Sleeman Centre at 7 p.m.
