RATTLERS DROP HOME OPENER, 73-71 TO HAMILTON

By: Matthew Winick, CEBL

Lindell Wigginton scored seven of his game-high 20 points in the Elam Ending, as the Hamilton Honey Badgers squeaked by the Saskatchewan Rattlers 73-71 on Monday night at the Sasktel Centre.

Wigginton’s timely baskets – including the game winner, helped the Honey Badgers escape with a victory despite an off-shooting night. Hamilton shot only 8-29 (27%) from three and 11-22 (50%) from the free throw line in the two-point win. However, interior scoring from big man Kalif Young early, and Wigginton down the stretch proved to be the difference for the Honey Badgers.

Whereas Hamilton’s points were scored in the paint, Saskatchewan found most of its success from beyond the arc. The Rattlers hit 12 3-pointers and had five players make multiple shots from long range. Still, defensive lapses in both the first and fourth quarters prevented Saskatchewan from leaving the SaskTel Centre with its first win of the season.

“It wasn’t for lack of effort to me. The guys played really, really hard. They executed the game plan from a defensive perspective almost as well as we could have asked,” said Rattlers head coach Chad Jacobson, “Offensively there were stretches where we got stagnant, that hurt us. At the same time, I felt like we had some really good looks, and they just didn’t drop tonight.”

The Rattlers have now had issues scoring the ball in back-to-back games to open the 2021 CEBL season, averaging just 72.5 points per game during their 0-2 start. Despite the early struggles, coach Jacobson is keeping his squad optimistic.

“This is another opportunity to learn, another opportunity to grow,” said Jacobson, “The nature of this league is you just don’t have time to hang your head and feel sorry for yourself. We have a game on Thursday, we’ve got to forget about this one.”

Saskatchewan’s game on Thursday comes on the road against the 1-0 Fraser Valley Bandits at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. local time. The Rattlers dropped their season opener to the Bandits 92-74 last Saturday.

Hamilton is next in action on Thursday as well, travelling to Ottawa to face the 1-1 BlackJacks at 2:00 p.m. ET.

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.