FRASER VALLEY BANDITS SELL-OUT FIRST-EVER CEBL SCHOOL DAY GAME

LANGLEY, B.C., June 7, 2022 – The three-point shot carried the Fraser Valley Bandits for much of the game on Tuesday, but when they needed it most, they could not deliver from downtown.

Despite the loss, the Bandits hosted 13 schools at Langley Events Centre (LEC) as part of the club’s first-ever School Day Game – the first of its kind in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL). The game was sold-out as schools from Abbotsford, Mission, Surrey and Township of Langley filled the stands at LEC.

To help welcome students to the game, the Bandits decorated every seat in the venue with a complimentary co-branded drawstring bag courtesy of Sentinel Storage. 

For the first 33:13 of Tuesday’s CEBL contest against the Hamilton Honey Badgers at LEC, the Bandits sank 14 of their 31 attempts from beyond the arc, shooting a sizzling 45.2 per cent as Murphy Burnatowski sank five triples and Alex Campbell and Shane Gibson hit four each.

But after Burnatowski opened the Elam Ending with his sixth three-pointer, pulling Fraser Valley to within a point at 68-69, the Bandits missed their remaining four shots – three of them from beyond the arc – and Hamilton scored the game’s final 11 points for the 80-68 victory.

“As the game went on, you could see the physicality from Hamilton become a factor. At the end of it, they did a great job defensively, making us work for scores,” said Bandits’ coach Mike Taylor. “We got out-played in Elam Ending, but you really have to give a lot of credit to the way Hamilton played today.”

The Bandits raced out to a 9-0 lead and were up 17-8 midway through the first quarter before Hamilton went on a run of their own, cutting the deficit to 21-20 after a quarter before both defenses clamped down in the second period with the Honey Badgers taking the 36-33 lead to the locker room.

The back-and-forth continued with Fraser Valley reclaiming the lead in the third, going ahead 55-52 through 30 minutes, only to see Hamilton pull ahead 69-65 with 3:13 to play and setting the Elam Ending mark at 78.

But after Burnatowski opened the Elam Ending with a three pointer and the Bandits came up with a defensive rebound on Hamilton’s possession, the shots stopped dropping for Fraser Valley as they missed their final four shots – a trio of three-point attempts and a contested lay-up.

While the team hit on 41.7 per cent from beyond the arc, the Bandits attempted just 23 shots from inside the arc and only made five trips to the foul line.

“We did not attack and pressure the rim enough; we did not get enough paint touches to really pressure their defence and create those easy shots,” Taylor said. 

“Our guys did a fantastic job hitting some of those tough shots, but again our offence, we want to pressure the rim a little bit more, get that ball into the paint a little bit more, create more advantages, whether it is out of pick and rolls or drives, penetration or paint touches.”

Hamilton outscored the Bandits 32-16 in the paint, as well as winning the rebounding battle 46-30, including 16 offensive rebounds. 

The Bandits were led by Gibson’s 22 points, 18 from Burnatowski and a dozen from Campbell. By comparison, six Honey Badgers reached double figures, led by Caleb Agada’s 17 points. Christian Vital also scored seven of his 13 points in the Elam Ending.

For the game, Hamilton forced 18 turnovers, converting those takeaways into 26 points.

“Our defensive effort was amazing. We talk about that is where our identity is going to be at and proud of the effort we got,” said Hamilton coach Ryan Schmidt. “Defensively, that is where we are going to win games. We have a very versatile group, multiple guys that can get up and pressure the ball. 

“It is very team-oriented defence, we are not relying on just one guy to stop them. Again, getting in the passing lanes, forcing them to make tough decisions, resulted in forcing 18 turnovers.”

The Honey Badgers avenged their lone loss of the young season, which came against Fraser Valley back in Hamilton on May 27. Hamilton sits in first place at 4-1 while the Bandits drop to a three-way tie for third place at 3-2.

“We are just building trust every game ... it comes the more you play,” said Fraser Valley’s Kadre Gray, who was held to just two points in the game, well below his season average of 10.3.

“Situations like this where you have a bad loss, you have to figure out how to reunite and come together. I have all the faith in the guys that we are going to figure it out. It is about being ready for playoff time.”

Game notes

The game was a special early start as students from Langley, Surrey, Abbotsford and Mission were in attendance, adding a raucous atmosphere to the contest.

“It was a great day here with all the kids. Really appreciate the Bandits organization for filling the place and having a great experience for the kids,” Taylor said.

Much of the game was back-and-forth with 14 lead changes and three ties. The Honey Badgers led for 19:33 compared to 18:45 for the Bandits.

Fraser Valley is back in action on June 15 as they visit the Edmonton Stingers before returning to Langley Events Centre to host the Scarborough Shooting Stars on Saturday, June 18 (5 p.m. PT) as part of the BC Basketball Festival.



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.

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

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