Honey Badgers deny Shooting Stars' comeback to win 1st CEBL championship

The top-seeded Hamilton Honey Badgers captured its first Canadian Elite Basketball League championship with a 90-88 victory over the expansion Scarborough Shooting Stars on Sunday in Ottawa.

At the start of Elam Ending, the Honey Badgers had a 17-point lead but the Shooting Stars cut the deficit to two points. With only one-point needed to secure the win, Caleb Agada was fouled and made his first free throw to give Hamilton its maiden championship victory. 

Christian Vital was named Finals MVP and led Hamilton's offence with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Scarborough's Kassius Robertson scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting. 

Vital also led the way for Hamilton in the semifinals with 16 points. Koby McEwen posted 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench as the Honey Badgers outlasted the Ottawa BlackJacks in a tightly-contested 76-72 win to secure their spot in the championship game. 

In the other semifinal, former Toronto Raptors guard Jalen Harris had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Kameron Chapman added 22 points of his own in the Shooting Stars' 93-81 win over the Niagara River Lions.

More to come.