BANDITS CLINCH POSTSEASON BERTH, DEFEAT BLACKJACKS

LANGLEY, B.C., July 17, 2022 – The birthday boy came through and the Fraser Valley Bandits clinched a spot in at least the playoffs. The thrilling victory came in front of a raucous crowd as part of the club’s first-ever Star Wars game, which was nationally telecast on CBC.

The question now remains, where and when will that game be.



James Karnik–who was celebrating his 24th birthday–delivered the decisive points on a spin move to the hoop, converting the bucket despite being fouled as the Bandits ended a season-high three game losing streak with a 95-88 victory over the visiting Ottawa BlackJacks at Langley Events Centre on Sunday afternoon.

The win improves Fraser Valley to 10-7 on the Canadian Elite Basketball League season – while Ottawa saw their record drop to 5-11 – and it clinches a postseason berth for the Bandits.

It was the third regular season meeting between the two clubs as the Bandits won 90-87 to open the season for both teams before the BlackJacks handed Fraser Valley its worst loss of the season, 100-79, less than two weeks ago. 

But after being torched for 100 points in the last matchup, the Bandits held Ottawa to 30 first-half points, building a 47-30 lead and trailing just once – 63-62 in the third quarter – in the game.

“The guys put forth a great defensive effort,” said Fraser Valley coach Mike Taylor, who singled out Alex Campbell specifically for his effort in guarding Ottawa’s Deng Adel. 

Campbell, who plays guard, gives up five inches to the six-foot-seven forward. Adel entered the game averaging 16.4 points (second on the team). Adel scored 37 in the first meeting and 27 back on July 8 but finished Sunday’s game with just three points on 1-for-7 shooting.

“Adel has played fantastic basketball against us the first two games, scoring a lot of points, but Alex just responded really well to the challenge; it starts with a leader like him, being committed to the defensive effort,” Taylor said. “And then the size and physicality of our team helps us.”

Campbell – who averages 14.5 points per game -- did not even attempt a field goal in the first half and finished with eight points and eight rebounds.

With Campbell concentrating on defensive duties, the frontcourt duo of Thomas Kennedy (27 points, six rebounds) and Karnik (23 points, nine rebounds) combined for 50 points while Shane Gibson had 25 points, five rebounds and four assists. Point guard Marek Klassen finished with 10 assists to go along with seven points and six rebounds.

As a team, the Bandits finished with a season-high 50 points in the paint.

“This is the development of our team for the future, not just to be a team that relies on Shane scoring, or the pick and roll play, but to really be able to play inside-out. Today, that was a key because (Ottawa) is really good in transition, so we wanted to control the tempo by playing through the post,” Taylor said. 

“We want to have a versatile offence so we want to be able to establish the post – and that could be from all of our bigs – we love the fact we can post up a five or a four, that gives us good balance and versatility. But we (also) love Marek’s point guard pick and roll play, his decision making, and we love Shane’s scoring and Alex’s shooting. We feel like we have a well-balanced team and it is about developing all these weapons and bringing it all together.”

BlackJacks coach James Derouin said scoring 30 points over the first 20 minutes is not a recipe for success.

“You can’t spot a good team those kinds of points. You push, push, to get back and then you run out of gas and make two or three critical mistakes. Miss some free throws late … you can’t put yourselves in those kinds of situations,” he said, referencing the fact his team missed four of seven free throws in the Elam Ending. 

He also credited the Bandits for their effort on containing Adel.

“I thought they were much more physical. Even their perimeter defenders were much physical, especially with DA (Deng Adel). DA’s had his way with them the first two games. They clearly took it on as a challenge to stop him and get on his body and be physical for him. He turned it over and couldn’t find any kind of rhythm,” Derouin said.

The victory ensures the Bandits will be playing in August once the regular season is over.

“This is what we have been talking about for the last three games. This is great for us: the vibe in the locker room, everyone is able to be happy with the situation but not complacent,” Karnik said. “We are happy with where we are at but ready to keep fighting.”

The Bandits find themselves sitting in third place and in a dogfight in the CEBL standings with the four teams chasing them all less than two games behind. The first-place team advances automatically to the CEBL Final Four while second and third place will receive a bye to the quarterfinals with the fourth through seventh teams will battle in a pair of play-in games. 

Next up for the Bandits are a pair of road games against the teams directly in front and behind them as they visit the Niagara River Lions (11-4) on July 25 and then face the Scarborough Shooting Stars (8-6) on July 28. Fraser Valley then returns to Langley Events Centre on July 30 (7:00pm) for their regular season finale against the Edmonton Stingers. 

This will give the Bandits coaching staff a great opportunity as they continue to integrate the players in their roster, some of whom have just returned recently and others who are new this season.

“This might as well be a three-day training camp for our team. Not with so much physical grind but in terms of everybody getting on the same page, really understanding defensive coverages, offensive execution,” Taylor said.

Fraser Valley hosts its final home game of the regular season on Saturday, July 30. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. PT. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by clicking HERE.

Fans are kindly asked to call (604) 866-0529 or email tickets@thebandits.ca for any questions or ticket related inquiries.

Games are available on CEBL+ live internationally and in Canada at cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Games are also available on the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile (available on iOS and Android devices), as well as TELUS Optik TV Channel 1901 Lower Mainland and via live streams on 604 Now’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

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