The Montreal Alliance dropped the defending Canadian Elite Basketball League Champions the Niagara River Lions 96-86 at the Verdun Auditorium. That victory put Montreal above the .500 mark as the Alliance improved their record to 7-6. The win also snapped an 11-game win streak Niagara had against Montreal.
The Alliance were only outscored once in the four quarters. That was in the second when the River Lions held a two-point edge 29-27, but Montreal still held a 50-46 advantage after opening with a 23-17 first quarter.
Pacing the win was Quincy Guerrier, who led the scoring with 19 points. He also was good for a 58 percent shooting percentage. Trent Johnson hit for 16 points, which included draining four long range shots for treys. Lue Williams III chipped in with 15 points, and Kevin Osawe dropped in 13 points scoring on all five shots he took.
Ant Nelson led Montreal in time on the court logging 28:22 minutes, just edging Guerrier who played 28:19 minutes. Nelson contributed seven of Montreal’s 22 assists in the win.
Curtis Hollis led all scoring with a 24-point performance coming off the bench. The Alliance defence caged the River Lions starting five holding them to a meagre 32 combined points. Former Alliance fan favourite Nathan Cayo had a 10-point night for Niagara.
The Alliance will look to provide some Canada Day fireworks as they take on the Scarborough Shooting Stars at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. This is part of a home-and-home set with the Shooting Stars will visit the venerable Verdun Auditorium Friday night with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. n