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| Niagara River Lions | |
| Leagues: | CEBL |
| Founded: | 2015 |
| History: | Niagara River Lions (2015–present) |
| Arena: | Meridian Centre |
| Capacity: | 4,030 |
| Location: | St. Catharines, Ontario |
| Colours: | Green, navy blue, grey |
| President: | Jeffrey Sotiriou |
| Owner: | Richard Petko, Michael Skrtich, Jeffrey Sotiriou |
| Coach: | Victor Raso |
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| Championships: | 1 (2024) |
| Conf Champs: | 1 (2024) |
The Niagara River Lions are a Canadian professional basketball team based in St. Catharines, Ontario, 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]
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. 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]
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.
Top regular Season team (2): 2019, 2023
Regular Season Eastern Conference Winners (2): 2023, 2024
Eastern Conference champions (1): 2024
Champions (1): 2024
| League | Season | Coach | Regular season | Post season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||||
| NBLC | 2015–16 | Ken Murray Grâce Lokole | 16 | 24 | .400 | 3rd Central | 0 | 3 | .000 | Lost div. semi-finals | |
| 2016–17 | Grâce Lokole Keith Vassell | 14 | 26 | .350 | 5th Central | did not qualify | |||||
| 2017–18 | Joe Raso | 17 | 23 | 4th Central | 1 | 3 | Lost div. semi-finals | ||||
| CEBL | |||||||||||
| 2019 | Victor Raso | 15 | 5 | 1st | 0 | 1 | Lost semi-finals | ||||
| 2020 | Victor Raso | 2 | 4 | 6th | 0 | 1 | Lost quarter-finals | ||||
| 2021 | Victor Raso | 10 | 4 | 2nd | 1 | 1 | Lost finals | ||||
| 2022 | Victor Raso | 13 | 7 | 2nd | 1 | 1 | Lost semi-finals | ||||
| 2023 | Victor Raso | 13 | 7 | 1st East | 0 | 1 | Lost semi-finals | ||||
| 2024 | Victor Raso | 14 | 6 | 1st East | 3 | 0 | Won CEBL Championship | ||||
| NBLC totals | 47 | 73 | — | 1 | 6 | ||||||
| CEBL totals | 67 | 33 | — | 5 | 5 | ||||||
