Saskatoon – (Matthew Winick) The Fraser Valley Bandits (6-7) finally snapped their five-game losing streak as they took down the Saskatchewan Rattlers (1-12) by a score of 85-79 on Sunday afternoon at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
After playing four straight games against the 13-1 Edmonton Stingers, seeing the last-place Rattlers was a welcome sight for Fraser Valley. The Bandits jumped out to an early lead in the middle of the first quarter, and never relinquished it despite a valiant fourth quarter effort from Saskatchewan.
Sunday’s contest was sloppy at times, with the two squads combining for 37 turnovers and 40 personal fouls, but the Bandits were able to separate themselves thanks to a strong interior presence, which saw them dominate the points in the paint 54-26. With the strong desire to snap the losing streak, Fraser Valley did whatever it could to shift back to its winning ways.
“It was huge, (this victory) meant everything to us. No matter what the game was, ugly or beautiful, we didn’t care we just wanted to get a victory,” said Bandits’ head coach David Singleton after the game, “Everybody stepped up tonight, so I was really proud of our guys.”
Kenny Manigault led the way for Fraser Valley, putting up a massive double-double with 19 points and 12 assists while adding three steals. The veteran leader for the Bandits did everything on the floor, and either scored or assisted on 20 of Fraser Valley’s 34 field goals.
“I think all of us were determined to get a win this game. We want to go into the playoffs with the most momentum that we can,” said Manigault, “It was a team win, I’m just happy we got it.”
For Saskatchewan, the game was a perfect rendition of the issues that have hurt the team all season. The Rattlers played strong perimeter defense and made things difficult on the defensive end, but when the team needed points, they were often hard to come by.
The team shot only 36% from the field in the loss, including going just 15-42 (35%) from inside the arc. Being unable to score near the rim made it difficult to make a significant offensive contribution.
The three-pointers were falling at a much higher clip for Saskatchewan, led by Devonte Bandoo’s game-high 25 points while nailing five of his six long balls. The Canadian guard has consistently been a factor and has often been a bright spot for the Rattlers regardless of the final result.
“He’s one of the best shooters in the league for sure,” said Rattlers’ head coach Conor Dow, “We need him to be in the right spots defensively, but offensively he’s one of the best players in this league.”
The Rattlers will have one more chance to get back into the win column this season, as they’ll take on the Bandits once again at home on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. ET/9:00 p.m. local time in Saskatoon.
For the Bandits, the rematch will be a chance to keep the positive momentum as they eventually host the Guelph Nighthawks in their quarterfinal matchup on Saturday.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
