Stingers snap losing skid with win over Alliance in lowest-scoring game in CEBL history

In what turned out to be the lowest-scoring game in CEBL history, the Edmonton Stingers snapped their three-game losing streak with a 64-60 win over the Montreal Alliance on Monday in Montreal.

The Stingers (5-4), whose last win came against the Alliance (3-6) on June 8, had been reeling after a 4-1 start to the season.

In a physical matchup, it was defence and rebounding down the stretch that carried Edmonton to victory.

"The biggest thing was trying to control the glass. We wanted to rebound the basketball [and] limit them to one shot every possession," Edmonton forward Jordan Baker who had 16 of his team's 38 rebounds, along with eight points.

"The score, when we're staying in the 60's, it's ugly, but it's nice to win."

Neither side was able to score until the 8:38 mark of the opening frame, with Stingers forward Marlon Johnson opening things up with a jumper. Edmonton jumped out to a 12-4 lead, but Montreal was able to finish out the quarter on a 6-2 run.

In the second, the Stingers gradually built on their lead allowing themselves to go into the half up 28-20.

WATCH | CEBL on CBC: Edmonton Stingers vs. Montreal Alliance:

The third quarter saw the Alliance continuously work toward cutting into the lead, at one point trimming the deficit to just one, following a Sherwood Brown three-pointer. However, Edmonton had an answer for every basket maintaining its lead all the way through.

Although the Stingers maintained their five-point lead going into the Elam Ending, up 54-49, it was Montreal who turned up the intensity.

After Edmonton went up 59-51, only needing four points to win, the Alliance went on a 6-0 run.

Following a Baker three to put the Stingers one point shy of a victory, Montreal's Ashley Hamilton answered with a three of his own to make it 62-60.

After a Johnson miss for Edmonton, two missed free throws from Nathan Cayo turned out to be a game-changer for Montreal.

On the ensuing possession, Baker missed a contested layup, but Brody Clarke was able to clean up the offensive glass and get the put-back to win the game.

Edmonton was led by DeMarco Dickerson's 13 points, along with Johnson's 12 and Aher Uguak's 10.

The Alliance were led by Hamilton's 13 and Cayo's 12-point effort.

Edmonton will look to build on its good fortune on Thursday against the lowly Ottawa BlackJacks at 7:30 p.m. ET. Montreal will look to snap its four-game losing streak against the Fraser Valley Bandits on Friday at 10 p.m. ET.

Both games can be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, CBC Sports App, and CBC Gem.