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

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

Hamilton led 89-71, needing just one point to clinch the win in Elam ending, where the first team to the target score of 90 points wins. But Scarborough went on a 17-point run, nearly upsetting the No. 1 seed and making the championship come down to the final play.

Honey Badgers guard and Canadian Player of the Year Caleb Agada was fouled by Scarborough forward Isiaha Mike and sank his first free throw to clinch the championship.

"It was fitting that we won in that fashion," Hamilton head coach Ryan Schmidt said. "Our group was resilient and at the end of the day, we found a way to get a win. It was fun. A little tense for a second, but to be honest with you, I didn't have any doubts."

Honey Badgers edge Shooting Stars to capture 1st CEBL title:

Agada also clinched Hamilton's semifinal win against the Ottawa BlackJacks with a free throw. He said the environment was "tough" but nothing the team hasn't experienced before.

"We've done it all season long. It's nothing new. It's not the first time the crowd got involved and didn't want to see us win," Agada said. "We have faith in ourselves, we have faith in our coach, we have faith in the whole organization, so we just did what we normally do."

Scarborough head coach Chris Exilus said he took issue with the foul call that led to the game-winning point.

"We're talking about a championship," Exilus said. "In my opinion, you let two teams battle. We came in and we battled all the way through and you don't end games like that."

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Christian Vital was named Finals MVP and led the Honey Badgers' offence with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. 

There were 12 lead changes in the first half before Hamilton took charge. But Scarborough nearly came back to regain the lead, erasing an 86-64 deficit before falling short by two points.

Guard Koby McEwen added 16 points for Hamilton while forward Agada had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Scarborough's Kassius Robertson had a game-high 23 points and six rebounds. Former Toronto Raptor Jalen Harris scored 12 points.