BANDITS CLAP RATTLERS 85-79

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.

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.

(Matthew Winick/CEBL Communications)