BANDITS LOSE STEAM AGAINST SHOOTING STARS, FALL IN FRIDAY NIGHT THRILLER

LANGLEY, B.C., July 1, 2022 – The Fraser Valley Bandits five-game winning streak came to an end on Friday night as the visiting Scarborough Shooting Stars knocked off the first-place Bandits 93-86 in Canadian Elite Basketball League action at Langley Events Centre.

With the Shooting Stars needing just a single point in the Elam Ending to reach the target score of 92, the Bandits were called for goaltending, with Isiaha Mike’s shot counting as the winner, handing Fraser Valley its first loss since June 7.



Fraser Valley fell to 8-3 and a share of first place in the CEBL while Scarborough improved to 6-5 on the season.

“At the end of the day, tip your cap to Scarborough. Our game goal is to hold them to 42 per cent – they end up shooting 52 (from the field),” said Fraser Valley coach Mike Taylor.

“The individual plays one-on-one from Jalen Harris, Isiaha Mike made a big difference in the game. These guys individually put their stamp on the game and made the difference.”

Mike finished with 27 points – including five of eight from beyond the arc – while Harris scored 24.

“The key part was they were efficient with those numbers: they shot the ball really well, took some good shots. And the ball moved from side-to-side and that really helped too,” said Scarborough coach Chris Exilus about the duo.

Kameron Chatman finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds and Rashad James scored 13, grabbed five boards and dished out three assists.

The Bandits struggled from the field early on in Friday’s game, shooting just 31.8 per cent in the opening 10 minutes as they fell behind 25-20.

The lead was down to one point for the Shooting Stars at the end of both the second and third quarter before Scarborough came out racing to start the fourth with an 13-2 run in the first five minutes to go up a dozen points.

The Bandits would cut the deficit to nine points heading into the Elam Ending and had it down to five points at 91-86 before Mike won the game on the goaltending call.

“We executed down the stretch. That is what we were connecting to all week long and making sure we were doing the little things: extra passes, understanding what we wanted to do offensively and defensively,” Exilus said. 

Taylor liked his team’s effort, pointing out the fact they won the rebounding battle, especially on the offensive glass with 13 boards to Scarborough’s six. But their finish was not there on the night as those offensive rebounds resulted in just 13 points.

“There was a lot of points we left out there because we can do a better job finishing,” he said. “(Scarborough’s) athleticism, their size, their physicality, we need to do a better job of converting those boards and those opportunities into finishes at the rim.”

Shane Gibson returned to the Fraser Valley lineup after a one-game absence and picked up where he left off, scoring 27 points to go along with seven rebounds and six assists.

James Karnik also continued to play well since joining the team three games ago, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds. Alex Campbell scored 18 and Kyle Adnam added 12.

The Bandits are right back at it on Sunday (July 3, 1:00pm) as they host the Niagara Rivers Lions at Langley Events Centre. The River Lions enter the contest in third place in the CEBL with a 7-4 record.

“I’ve got confidence in our guys; I’ve got belief in our team that we will do our best to prepare ourselves and get ready for a good Niagara team,” Taylor said.

Game Notes:

Scarborough led for all but 6:36 of the game, which also featured 13 lead changes and 15 times where the score was tied. 

The biggest lead for each team was 14 for Scarborough in the fourth quarter and four for the Bandits, which came in the third quarter. 

The Shooting Stars scored 16 points off nine Fraser Valley turnovers while the Bandits managed just seven points off nine turnovers.

The Bandits are 6-0 when they score 90 or more points and 2-3 when they fail to crack that barrier.

Next up for the Bandits is another home game as they welcome the Niagara River Lions to Langley Events Centre on July 3 for a 1 p.m. start. Tickets are on sale now at this link.

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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