Down key players in a nationally televised game, the Shooting Stars came together to take down the Montreal Alliance 78-68, improving to 7-5 in the process.
Scarborough got off to a hot start in the second of three Canadian Elite Basketball League games being broadcast on CBC nationally. The league’s second leading scorer, Jalen Harris, led the team on a 14-4 run and the Shooting Stars never looked back. Harris had 19 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals and led all scorers on the game. Isiaha Milke was just behind him with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Shooting Stars’ head coach Chris Exilus said he’s noticed a change in Harris’ game over the last two games.
“A lot of it is just finding my spots and realizing how teams are guarding me,” said Harris. “A lot of it is just being aggressive because I know I’m drawing a lot of attention, I’m able to help find my teammates, and once I start doing that, that’s opening everything up for me.
Jalen Harris-19 points for Scarborough (Photo Courtesy Shaun McLeod)
Another key factor in the Scarborough win is the return of Šarūnas Vasiliauskas who went out with an injury at halftime in the 75-72 win over the Hamilton Honey Badgers on June 25. While Vasiliauskas had just six points, Exilus and Harris glowed about his return to the lineup and all the little things he brings to the team.
“He can do many different things, a great playmaker, he’s a shooter, understands tempo, has a real good sense of pressure when he comes off the ball screen, and he really understands the game at a high level,” said Exilus.
The Alliance came close to mounting a come back at various times throughout the game, but the Shooting Stars were always able to steady the game with a constant stream of points inside. Scarborough had 40 points in the paint at the end of the game and picked Montreal apart by forcing their way to the line in Elam time where Kalif Young put the game away.
Isiaha Mike-16pts for Scarborough (Photo Courtesy Shaun McLeod)
The Shooting Stars will still be short-handed for the next week with Kyle Alexander continuing his time with the Canadian senior men’s national team with a game against the Virgin Islands on Monday July 4th and Aaron Rhooms and Danilo Djuricic taking part in GLOBL JAM Under-23 FIBA event from July 5-10 in Toronto. Xavier Rathan-Mayes is still out for the time being, and there is also a possibility of Harris taking part in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas set to begin next week.
For now, Scarborough will get a few days off before they face the Guelph Nighthawks on Thursday. Guelph will soon be losing guard AJ Lawson to the NBA Summer League as he recently signed on to play for the Dallas Mavericks. The Nighthawks currently sit seventh in the league with .500 record at 6-6.
Scarborough Shooting Stars vs. Montreal Alliance Boxscore click HERE.
Scarborough Shooting Stars vs. Montreal Alliance Game Broadcast below:
