Bandits cruise to 99-70 victory over Rattlers

It was the Koby McEwen Show down the stretch.



McEwen scored 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Target Score Time – setting a new professional high in the process – as the Vancouver Bandits hammered the Saskatchewan Rattlers 99-70 on Sunday afternoon at Langley Events Centre in Canadian Elite Basketball League action.

The 6-foot-4 guard hit half of his team’s 3-pointers –6-for-14 compared to 6-for-20 by the rest of the roster – but McEwen passed the credit to his teammates.

“I did force a couple of bad ones. Not proud of that, but a lot of the shots I got, I was open. And that’s a credit to my team because we have good players and everyone has to account for everybody,” he said. 

Sunday’s game featured a close first quarter with the Bandits up 23-20 after 10 minutes before the team locked down defensively, holding the Rattlers to 11 points in the period for a 49-31 advantage and a double-digit lead for the rest of the game. Saskatchewan did get the score to within 10 points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter before Vancouver quickly reestablished a commanding lead.

Vancouver improved to 8-1 on their home floor with an average margin of victory of more than 21 points. This was also the fifth time this season a team has failed to surpass 75 points against the Bandits, who are allowing a league-low 83.9 points per game. They are also the only CEBL teams with a points differential in triple digits at + 129 as they improved to 10-4 on the season.

“We just have guys who are willing to guard. I don’t think defence is a complicated thing … it is just all effort and guys being on the same page. Once you have effort and everyone on the same page, everything becomes easy,” McEwen said. 

The Bandits finished with 10 blocked shots, led by Kur Jongkuch’s three swats and two apiece from McEwen, Tazé Moore and Nick Ward, and one from Sam Maillet. 

While McEwen posted the gaudy number, he was one of five Vancouver players to reach double digits with Moore scoring 18 – as well as 13 rebounds and seven assists – Ward had 15 and eight boards while Duane Notice added 12 points, eight rebounds and five steals and Zach Copeland chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.

And that is what helps Vancouver so dangerous: balance.

“Basketball, especially at the pro level, is very ego driven, everyone is trying to get theirs. I think this team, everyone is just trying to win, we like each other, we hang out off the court. We are able to hold each other accountable; no one takes anything personal. Kyle and Dylan did a great job of getting a solid group of guys to come together,” McEwen said referencing head coach and general manager Kyle Julius and team president Dylan Kular.

This was the fifth time McEwen has led the team in scoring and for the season, he is at 18.8 per game.

“He means everything to this team. He is just an absolute force. His work ethic, his competitive nature, his fire, his personality, one of the best players I have ever had the opportunity to coach. He is our heartbeat, a big piece to what we are doing,” Julius said.

The loss was a seventh straight for the Rattlers, who fell to 5-9 on the season as they sit last in the Western Conference with six games to play.

“I think the Bandits did a great of picking up their defensive intensity. We had too many turnovers which led to some runouts and easy points for them,” said Saskatchewan assistant coach Eric Magdanz on the 10-minute second quarter where they game got away. “The Bandits shot the ball well and we didn’t and that was enough to sink the ship.”

For the game, Vancouver was nearly 42 percent from the field, including 35 percent from downtown while the Rattlers struggled at 31 percent from the field and just 21 percent from beyond the arc. 

Another key factor was turnovers with Saskatchewan committing 14 in the first half, compared to just seven after half-time.

The Rattlers’ Cody John had 17 to lead his team with Emmanuel Bandoumel and Teddy Allen each scoring 14.

The Bandits now hit the road for a pair of games, July 11 in Calgary against the Surge before a visit to Winnipeg to face the Sea Bears on July 13. Vancouver’s next home game at Langley Events Centre will be on July 18 as they complete the home-and-home series with Winnipeg. It is also the final regular season home contest for the Bandits and will be Fan Appreciation Game with a 7:00pm tip-off.