BANDITS SNATCH VICTORY FROM NIGHTHAWKS, WIN THIRD STRAIGHT

GUELPH, ON., June 21, 2022 – The Fraser Valley Bandits came away with a close 90-85 win over the Guelph Nighthawks on Tuesday night to win their third game in a row.

The Bandits improve to 6-2 while the Nighthawks fall to 6-4.

“We really executed pretty well. I thought we had 13 assists and five turnovers in the first half, 18 and 10 for the game. I thought we did a good job getting the paint touches and post touches like we wanted and again when you’re down getting close to Elam Ending I thought we made some big plays,” Bandits head coach Mike Taylor said.

“The three-point shots from Malcolm (Duvivier) in the corner and Alex (Campbell) in the other corner turned the game and then our guys have done really well finishing games up to this point in the year – so really pleased with the team effort and a great road win.”

The first quarter was a game of runs. The Nighthawks started the quarter hitting their shots and going on a 7-2 run thanks to an opening three from AJ Hess and the agility of Ahmed Hill and Cat Barber to get to their spots. Following that point in the game, the Bandits took over the first quarter with a 27-11 run. 

The shooting of the Nighthawks went up against the physicality of the Bandits and Thomas Kennedy won the battle inside with 10 early points. The tenacity of Campbell kept the Bandits pushing as he got to the rim and distributed for his teammates. The Bandits kept pouring on the points to go up by 11 heading into the second quarter. Barber scored eight points early for the Nighthawks with Hill adding six points but at the end of the first quarter, Fraser Valley led the Nighthawks 29-18.

The Bandits kept their lead throughout the second quarter despite Lall, Barber and Hill continuing to fight back. Both teams shot at a lower percentage in the second quarter, and the half-court defence of the Bandits kept them close to a double-digit lead while shots weren’t falling, until Adam Paige came in and scored four unanswered points to put the Bandits up 44-31. 

Barber finished the first half with 14 points to lead the Nighthawks while Kennedy scored 12 to lead the Bandits. On the boards Kadre Gray and Lall each had seven rebounds at the half.  Fraser Valley held a small 23-22 lead in rebounding at halftime, but their ball movement, assisting on 13-of-16 made baskets, gave them their double-digit lead. At halftime, Fraser Valley led Guelph 44-33.

Runs continued in the second half as the Nighthawks, who were down as much as 40-23 in the second quarter, went on a 16-5 run to start the third quarter to tie the game at 49. Barber, Hill and Lall continued to be the primary source of offence for the Nighthawks. Hess contributed with a few three-pointers, which helped open the floor for Guelph. For the Bandits, Kennedy continued to get touches around the rim and Gray attacked the basket to keep the Bandits ahead despite the run from the Nighthawks. At the end of the third quarter, Gray put the Bandits up 64-62 over the Guelph Nighthawks.

Since the Nighthawks’ run to tie the game at 49, neither team was able to race out to a significant lead. Guelph started the fourth quarter with Lall and Clayton Henry, but Shane Gibson answered with an and-one layup to put the Bandits back up two. With 6:04 left in the fourth quarter, Hess pushed his total to 20 points off of six made threes and was a big reason for the Nighthawks’ 77-73 lead with five of those six threes coming in the second half.  At Elam time, the Bandits pushed their way back to an 81-80 lead with the target score set at 90.

Kennedy opened the scoring for the Bandits during the Elam Ending. Moments later, Guelph was threatening with an 85-83 lead. To answer, Gray hit a three-pointer to put the Bandits at 86 and Gibson got to the rim to make it 88, just two points away from victory and up three points on the Nighthawks. A defensive rebound from Campbell and a drawn foul put Gibson at the line to seal the victory for the Bandits. The victory is Fraser Valley’s third straight and snaps Guelph’s previous winning streak at five games.

Four Nighthawks finished in double-digits in scoring. Barber led the team with 22 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block.  Hess finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and an assist.  Hill finished close behind with 19 points, two rebounds, an assist and two steals while Lall recorded 15 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Gibson led the way for the Bandits with 23 points, four rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block.  Kennedy finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and a steal. Campbell had 12 points, five rebounds and an assist while Gray added 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals off the bench.

Fraser Valley returns to Langley Events Centre to host the Montreal Alliance on Friday, June 24 (7 p.m. PT), followed by the Newfoundland Growlers on Sunday, June 26 (3 p.m. PT).

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.

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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