River Lions frustrated by Bandits in final regular-season home game

Maxie Esho scored 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Fraser Valley Bandits past the host Niagara River Lions, 95-86, on Monday in Canadian Elite Basketball action.

Marek Klassen added a double-double for Fraser Valley (10-7) with 14 points and 11 assists. Starters Shane Gibson (14 points), Alex Campbell (13) and Thomas Kennedy (12) also chipped in with double-points.

Khalil Ahmad led the River Lions (12-5) with 22 points and seven assists. Antonio Davis Jr. added 17 points and six rebounds.

Niagara took a 23-14 lead at the end of the first quarter but failed to hold on to the early advantage, finding itself trailing by two points at halftime.

The loss meant the hosts missed an opportunity to put pressure on the league-leading Hamilton Honey Badgers (13-5).

The team with the best regular season campaign will punch a ticket straight to the Championship Weekend in Ottawa in August.

Both the River Lions and the Bandits have already secured post-season action this season.

Niagara will conclude its regular season on Sunday by taking on the Honey Badgers on the road at 2 p.m. ET.

Fraser Valley will visit the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET before hosting the back-to-back champion Edmonton Stingers on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET to wrap up regular-season play.

All CEBL games are streamed live on CBCsports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

WATCH l CEBL: Fraser Valley Bandits @ Niagara River Lions: