Zane Waterman returned to the Ottawa BlackJacks lineup firing on Tuesday. In a crucial victory, his career-high 36 points led the BlackJacks to a 100-93 win over the Scarborough Shooting Stars in Canadian Elite Basketball League action at TD Place Arena.
Waterman had missed three games after being sidelined with an injury on July 17. His pent-up energy powered him to 13 consecutive field goals as he fell just one shy of the franchise point record.
“I had a lot of energy because I was off for a while,” Waterman said in a post game scrum. “I kind of lost my wind in the first half, but a lot of credit goes to my teammates because they found me.”
Javonte Smart and Deng Adel both finished the night with 10 assists for the BlackJacks. Their passing fuelled Waterman’s hot hand, as he refused to miss from the floor in a dominant last three quarters where he scored 33 of his 36 points.
However, it took the forward a minute to heat up. In the opening quarter, he recorded three missed shots, two missed free throws and a turnover.
Fortunately for the BlackJacks, Scarborough struggled offensively. The visitors finished the quarter shooting five for 17.
But with less than two minutes left in the opening frame, league-leading rebounder Isaih Moore was ejected for two technical fouls. With another key defensive piece Shakur Daniel already gone from the game due to injury, bench players were forced into the rotation.
“Everybody played a part in this win today,” BlackJacks head coach Dave DeAveiro said after the game. “If you can’t have a full bench, it’s hard to be successful.”
Both teams traded baskets until Ottawa pushed out of the half with a 15-4 run, growing their lead to double digits.
Guard Donovan Williams helped Scarborough claw back in the third quarter. He bagged nine points to help even the score at 78 going into the final quarter.
But for Scarborough, Waterman’s dominance on all areas of the court continued in the fourth. The eventual game MVP would pick up another nine points before target score time.
“Zane was out of this world tonight,” Shooting Stars head coach Mike De Giorgio said. “That’s a big-time game from him.”
When it came down to target score time, it was league leading scorer Javonte Smart who stepped up. The guard scored seven of the last 10 points for the club, including a stepback game-winning three pointer.
“I felt like it was going up no matter what, nothing they could do to stop us,” Smart said of his game-winner. “I felt like it was winning time.”
With the win, the BlackJacks leapfrogged the Shooting Stars in the Eastern Conference standings, stealing the second spot. The BlackJacks also snapped a two-game losing skid.
“I feel like we needed this win, just to get the momentum back,” Smart added after the game.
Finishing atop the conference is impossible for Ottawa because of the Niagara River Lions’ mighty 14-5 record. Nonetheless, the club is looking to ride the wave to hold the second seed.
If successful, the club will be rewarded with home court advantage in a possible playoff rematch with Scarborough.
“It’s a lot easier to have to play [Scarborough] at home than it would be to play them on the road,” DeAveiro said. “Every time we play Scarborough, it’s a battle.”
With five games remaining in the regular season, Ottawa will travel south to face the Niagara River Lions on Thursday, as the national capital looks to end the River Lions’ seven game winning streak.
“We know it’s not going to be an easy one, but we know we’re a good team and we can definitely beat them,” Waterman said. “When we’re playing good, we’re the best team in the league.”
Featured image by Andrea Cardin/Freestyle Photography.
