Bandits Add Sport & Entertainment Business Leader Kenny MacIntyre to Executive Leadership Team

New Title

The Vancouver Bandits (6-1) welcome the Saskatchewan Rattlers (5-2) to Langley Events Centre on Saturday night for the second of three regular season matchups this season. Live coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. PT / 8:30 p.m. CST / 10:30 p.m. ET and fans can catch all the action on CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+ and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices. Vancouver may lead the Western Conference with a near-perfect record, but they’ll still have plenty to gain this weekend, as their lone blemish to this point was a 98-86 loss against Saskatchewan two weeks ago. There was a caveat regarding the outcome however, as Vancouver was without it’s do-it-all guard Tazé Moore. The team’s leading scorer was a late scratch due to illness and his absence was greatly felt. Without Moore’s 20.2 points per game (fourth-most in the CEBL) and steadying presence, the Bandits’ offence appeared to be in disarray. They turned the ball over 18 times, shot 34 per cent from the field and 27 per cent from downtown, looking nothing like the team that typically scores 92 points per game (tied for second most in the league). And if that doesn’t make the 25-year-old’s impact clear enough, how about the fact that Vancouver is still undefeated with him in the lineup? In their latest victory, a 112-91 win over the Winnipeg Sea Bears, Moore put up a monster triple-double of 35 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists. He’s one of just two CEBL players this season to record a triple double. Moore’s play spearheaded a season-best offensive performance for the Bandits, as they dominated the Sea Bears in practically all point-producing statistical categories. They shot better from the field (+10%), grabbed more rebounds (+7) and dished more assists (+11). The glaring absence of Moore doesn’t fully discredit Saskatchewan’s victory over Vancouver, however. It might’ve been a single-digit win in the end, but the Rattlers never trailed in the contest as they outproduced the West’s No. 1 squad from the field (+8), the paint (+10) and three-point line (+3). Saskatchewan was led by a star guard of its own, with Jalen Harris putting up 27 to go with six rebounds and nine assists. He was backed up by a three-headed monster of Elijah Harkless, Maurice Calloo and Grant Basile who each chipped in 19 points. Since that victory – and a 3-0 start – the Rattlers went on a two-game losing streak before sweeping a home-and-home set against the Brampton Honey Badgers. Their latest victory, like the Bandits, was a season-best offensive performance. It was a 104-93 win for Saskatchewan as they shot 52 per cent from the field, made 14 threes on a 43 per cent clip and dominated the glass for 41 rebounds (+14). And again, similar to Vancouver, it was thanks to their leading scorer having a special game. Harris put up a historic 45 points against the Honey Badgers on Wednesday, setting a new CEBL single-game scoring record. The import scored 21 of those points in the third quarter alone as he finished the game shooting 62 per cent from the field and 66 per cent from beyond the arc. The record-setting performance leapfrogged him to the top of the CEBL’s scoring leaderboard, now averaging 27.7 points per game. Key matchup Harris vs. Moore will be the battle to keep an eye on. It’s going to be a heavyweight bout between the league’s No. 1 and No. 4 scorers, both of whom are coming off CEBL career-best performances. The pair also lead the league in minutes played per game, so fans can expect to see plenty of action between the matchup on Saturday night. We might have missed out on two of the league’s best duking it out in the first contest but round two has the potential to more than make up for that. A win for the Bandits extends their lead over the conference and casts doubt on the Rattlers original victory, while a Saskatchewan win brings them into a tie for first in the West and validates their previous performance. 

LANGLEY, B.C. , June 13, 2024 – In the off-chance fans were not familiar with the Vancouver Bandits and their red-hot start to the CEBL season, any remaining mystery surrounding the team has likely dissipated. Playing at Langley Events Centre on Thursday night in a nationally broadcasted game on TSN, the Bandits flexed their might, scoring 62 in the first half alone in a 112-91 victory over the Winnipeg Sea Bears. It improved Vancouver to 6-1 – and has them atop the Canadian Elite Basketball League standings – and in addition to improving to 4-0 on their home court, three of the Bandits’ victories have been by 20-plus points. For Winnipeg, this was a third-straight loss following a 3-1 start as their record slipped to 3-4. It was also the Bandits’ first-ever win against Winnipeg after the Sea Bears won all four meetings in 2023. But that was last year and this edition of the Bandits is something else. Tazé Moore capped off a remarkable night individually, as he sank a long-distance 3-pointer for the clinching points in Target Score Time. He finished with 35 points – a Bandits franchise record – to go along with 16 rebounds (15 of which came on the defensive end) and 11 assists for the first triple double in team history and just the fifth in league history. “That was special. I thought he did it without being selfish. He picked and chose his times. It was an impressive 35 points,” said Bandits coach and general manager Kyle Julius. “He just has great feel.” Even more impressive was the fact Moore missed the last few days of practice while he attended workouts with a few NBA clubs and just learned a few new wrinkles this morning the team added in his absence. While Moore posted the gaudy stats, he was far from alone in doing damage offensively. Koby McEwen scored 24, Nick Ward had 20, Zach Copeland chipped in with 11 and James Karnik added 10 as all five Bandits starters reached double figures. Vancouver shot nearly 57 per cent from the field, including an eye-popping 51.9 per cent from downtown, as they connected on 14 of 27 of three-point attempts. “I wouldn’t say it is a shock because I know we recruited great shooters,” Julius said when asked about connecting on such a high percentage. And when the outside game is nailing more than half their attempts, it makes for a tough night for teams to defend, especially with the inside game of Ward and Karnik. “You have to respect everybody. There’s not one person you can help off of. That’s a hard cover when you can’t help on anybody, everyone has to go one-on-one; everybody can score, everybody can rebound, everybody can do everything. That’s tough to defend,” Ward said when asked about the challenges of defending Vancouver. But while the final score was lopsided, the Sea Bears did have their moments, trailing 28-21 after one quarter and then trimming a 16-point halftime deficit down to four points in the third quarter at 65-61. Julius credited the insertion of Sam Maillet and Duane Notice onto the floor at that critical juncture as a turning point. “I thought they literally changed the game themselves; their energy and their defence; I thought we just took off from there,” the coach said. Following the substitutions, Vancouver re-established the double-digit lead, going ahead 84-71 after three quarters and then opening the fourth with a 12-0 run. “Give the Bandits credit; they hit shots and made some plays. Tazé was outstanding today, but it wasn’t just him, it was a team effort,” said Winnipeg coach Mike Taylor. Thursday’s game marked the Sea Bears debut of Justin Wright-Foreman and last year’s leading scorer in the CEBL (with Saskatchewan) saw him pick up where he left off with 29 points and six assists. Teddy Allen added 24, giving Winnipeg a deadly backcourt tandem. Offensively, the Sea Bears were right near their season average as they entered the contest averaging 92 points per game. It is defensively where they struggle, as they sit dead last in the CEBL, allowing 99 points per game. “We were just a step slow and then you combine it with some of the bone-headed turnovers, we just threw away the ball right to them,” Taylor said. The coach also stressed that more ball movement is key as his team finished with just 11 assists, compared to Vancouver’s 21.  Up next for the Bandits is another home game on Saturday (June 15, 7:30 p.m. PT) at Langley Events Centre as Vancouver looks to avenge their lone loss of the season with a visit from the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Tickets for the highly anticipated and fast-selling game are on sale now at this link . Individuals interested in ticket flexibility or purchasing a bundle of Bandits tickets are invited to consider a flex pack . More information can be found at thebandits.ca/tickets or by speaking with a Bandits representative by calling (604) 455-8881 or emailing tickets@thebandits.ca . A complete regular season schedule can be found by clicking here . More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok , as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter .