Niagara River Lions

Last updated
Niagara River Lions
Leagues CEBL
Founded2022
HistoryNiagara River Lions
(2015–present)
Arena Meridian Centre
Capacity4,030
Location St. Catharines, Ontario
Team coloursGreen, black, grey
   
PresidentMichelle Biskup
Head coachVictor Raso
OwnershipRichard Petko, Michael Skrtich, Darren Peters
Championships2 (2024, 2025)
Conference titles2 (2024, 2025)
Website riverlions.ca

The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Niagara, that competes in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. From 2015 to 2018, they were members of the National Basketball League of Canada. The River Lions play their home games at the Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines. [1]

Contents

History

In February 2014, the Niagara Basketball Group started the application process to get a local team. [2] Over a year later, the NBL Canada announced that they would hold a press conference on the morning of April 8, 2015, regarding the expansion team. [3] The group also held an online contest in which fans had the opportunity to make suggestions as to what the team's nickname should be. [2] On May 14, 2015, the NBL held a Board of Governors' meeting, in which it was approved and confirmed that Niagara would compete in the 2015–16 season. [4] At a press conference on May 28, 2015, it was announced that the team would be called the "Niagara River Lions," a nickname inspired by the Niagara Region's coat of arms, which depicts the same animal. Ken Murray, a successful Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) coach, came out of retirement to claim the head coaching and general manager (GM) position. [5] However, during their inaugural season, Murray was fired from the team on February 20, 2016, and was replaced by assistant coach Grâce Lokole. [6] Lokole would step down from the head coach position during the next season on March 11, 2017. [7] He was replaced by local Niagara College head coach Keith Vassell on an interim basis while Lokole stayed on as an assistant. Joe Raso would be named the head coach for the 2017–18 season. [8]

In 2017, River Lions' owner Richard Petko became one of the investors of a new basketball league called Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). On June 8, 2018, the River Lions announced that the franchise had moved to the CEBL after three seasons in the National Basketball League of Canada. [9] The River Lions won the 2024 CEBL Championship, their first in franchise history. [10] The following season the River Lions successfully defended their title, winning their second championship over the Calgary Surge 79-73. [11]

Mascot

For their first season, the River Lions announced that their mascot would be Dunkin the River Lion. Dunkin performs during every River Lions home game and attends events throughout the Niagara Region.

Players

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

Niagara River Lions roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
F 6 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Calloo, Maurice 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)215 lb (98 kg)25 – (2000-03-09)9 March 2000
F 8 Flag of the United States.svg Davis, A. J. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg)30 – (1995-03-15)15 March 1995
G 16 Flag of the United States.svg Lewis, Scottie 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg)25 – (2000-03-12)12 March 2000
G 10 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mackenzie, Kimbal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)195 lb (88 kg)28 – (1996-09-16)16 September 1996
Head coach
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Victor Raso
Assistant coach(es)
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Marlo Davis
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Joel Friesen
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Chris Rao
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Andrew Sergi
  • Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Troy Stevenson
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (I) Inactive
  • (U) Current U Sports Athlete
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
Updated: October 28, 2024

Honours

Top regular Season team (2): 2019, 2023
Regular Season Eastern Conference Winners (3): 2023, 2024, 2025
Eastern Conference champions (2): 2024, 2025
Champions (2): 2024, 2025

Season-by-season record

LeagueSeasonCoachRegular seasonPost season
WonLostWin %FinishWonLostWin %Result
NBLC 2015–16 Ken Murray
Grâce Lokole		1624.4003rd Central03.000Lost div. semi-finals
2016–17 Grâce Lokole
Keith Vassell		1426.3505th Centraldid not qualify
2017–18 Joe Raso1723.4254th Central13.250Lost div. semi-finals
CEBL
2019 Victor Raso155.7501st01.000Lost semi-finals
2020 Victor Raso24.3336th01.000Lost quarter-finals
2021 Victor Raso104.7142nd11.500Lost finals
2022 Victor Raso137.6502nd11.500Lost semi-finals
2023 Victor Raso137.6501st East01.000Lost semi-finals
2024 Victor Raso146.7001st East301.000Won CEBL Championship
2025 Victor Raso1410.5831st East201.000Won CEBL Championship
NBLC totals4773.392—16.143
CEBL totals8143.653—75.583

Notable players

References

  1. ↑ Dadson, Zach. "Five facts about River Lions". BulletNewsNiagara.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Niagara to get its own NBL Canada team". CKTB . Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Professional Basketball Coming To The Niagara Region". NBLCanada.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Optimism And Unity Highlights NBL Canada League Meeting". NBLCanada.com. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Dube, Kris. "River Lions ready to build winning team for Niagara". BulletNewsNiagara.com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "River Lions axe head coach coach/GM". Niagara Falls Review. 21 February 2016.
  7. ↑ "Keith Vassell taking over NBL Canada team on interim basis". stcatharinesstandard.ca. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Niagara River Lions name Joe Raso as new head coach". Niagara This Week. June 28, 2017.
  9. ↑ "River Lions make move to CEBL – holding court in 2019". St. Catharines Standard. June 8, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Box Score".
  11. ↑ "River Lions Capture Second Straight Championship in Thrilling Win Over Surge".
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