GUELPH 90 SASK 74, RATTLERS FALL TO 0-8

By Justine Jones

A strong third quarter helped the Guelph Nighthawks (2-5) pull ahead and register a 90-74 victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-8) on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre.

Saskatchewan had a solid start to the game as the Rattlers defensive energy allowed the team to convert in transition. JaKeenan Gant made his return to the court after being sidelined with an ankle injury since July 1 and finished with 10 points. Gant was impactful early on and had a reverse dunk that helped energize the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.

Although the Rattlers were able to keep pace with Guelph through most of two quarters, the team went the first five minutes in the third frame without a basket. Gant made a three-pointer at 5:26 to open Saskatchewan’s second half scoring. Saskatchewan struggled to make some open looks, shooting only 25 per cent from beyond the arc.

“We have to play together, and not just do it one time out of eight,” said Gant. “If we miss a shot we just have to keep playing together and believing in each other.”

A bright spot in the loss was Mambi Diawara, who led the Rattlers once again with 17 points. The former Calgary Dino was able to drive into the lane and make floaters, and registered a three-point play after taking contact from Guelph’s Cat Barber. D’andre Bernard also added all 10 of his points during the Rattlers late game push. Saskatchewan kept its fans engaged and made a late run scoring more points in the Elam Ending (16) than they did in the second (13) and third (13) quarters.

The Rattlers will head east to take on the Niagara River Lions (3-3) at the Meridian Centre on July 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Guelph will return home to the Sleeman Centre to host the reigning CEBL Champion Edmonton Stingers (7-0) on July 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Fans will be welcomed into all Ontario venues beginning July 17, and tickets for CEBL games are on sale now at ticketmaster.ca.

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.

(CEBL Communications)