Fraser Valley Bandits drop OT thriller against the Hamilton Honey Badgers

Bandits Staff • May 30, 2019

Bandits look to secure their first win of the 2019 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season when the team takes on the Niagara River Lions this Friday, May 31, at Meridian Centre.

HAMILTON, ON, May 29, 2019 – The Bandits fought hard in a tight contest against the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Wednesday night, but ultimately weren’t able to pull off the come from behind victory on the road.

BOX SCORE
SCHEDULE

Tyrrel Tate (Calgary, AB) was a catalyst once again for the Bandits, scoring 23 points on 8-13 (62%) shooting from the field, while also grabbing five rebounds and handing out 2 assists.

“The guys were putting it all out on the line tonight. This is the type of game we have been working towards since the beginning. Given the effort level that we saw tonight, I thought the team deserved the victory because they left it all out on the court and showed a lot of heart and grit,” said Head Coach and General Manager Peter Guarasci.

Game Flow:
The Bandits entered Wednesday night’s contest 0-3 on the season, and looked poised to get off on the right foot against the Honey Badgers thanks to the recent additions of two British Columbia born sharpshooters, Marek Klassen (Abbotsford, BC) and Diego Kapelan (Vancouver, BC). Rodney Pryor (Evanston, IL) faked a backdoor cut and got open for an elbow jump shot to give the Bandits an early 6-4 lead in the first quarter. But the Honey Badgers responded with a run of their own, capped off by a Ryan Ejim dunk and a Justin Edwards three-pointer that pushed Hamilton’s lead to 14-6. Klassen checked in for his first game in a Bandits uniform and immediately stabilized the offence. Klassen’s
steady ballhandling and distribution helped bring the Bandits to within 20-25 at the end of the first quarter.

Hamilton buckled down defensively in the second quarter thanks to tight rotations and great help-side defence, which thwarted several Bandits drives to the basket. Kapelan recorded his first points as a Bandit when he nailed a three-pointer at the five-minute mark of the second quarter, but it was all Honey Badgers for the rest of the frame. Back-to-back threes by Ricky Tarrant Jr. and Demetrius Denzel-Dyson pushed the lead to double digits, and a late drive by Tarrant Jr. resulted in an and-one that solidified a 48-35 lead for the Honey Badgers heading into half-time.

However, the Bandits would not go down quietly. The Bandits opened the third on a strong run that was finished by a Dallin Bachynski (Calgary, AB) dunk that brought the score to 56-47. Tate brought the Bandits closer with a three-pointer that drew Fraser Valley to within 61-57. With the Bandits threatening to take the lead, Tarrant Jr. calmly sunk two free throws with eight seconds left in the third quarter to restore a 70-63 lead for the Honey Badgers.

With the game in the balance, the Bandits and Honey Badgers traded blows in the final quarter. The Honey Badgers maintained a six-point lead in the opening minutes of the final quarter, but two free throws by Anton Gill (Raleigh, NC) trimmed Hamilton’s lead to just 82-81 with less than three minutes

left in the game. Bachynski followed up Gill’s efforts by tying the game at 86-86. A late three by Denzel-Dyson gave the Honey Badgers a lead in what appeared to be the game’s closing moments, but Tate showcased great leadership and converted a difficult left-handed lay-up to send the game to overtime at 89-89.

Despite a heroic effort to reach overtime, the Bandits were unable to scrape out the victory in the extra frame. A pull-up jumper by Tate evened the score at 96-96, but Hamilton went on a decisive final run that helped cement an eventual 106-99 victory for the home side.

With the win, the Honey Badgers improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Bandits fall to 0-4. The Bandits take on the Niagara River Lions at Meridian Centre this Friday, May 31.

“Niagara is a team that has proven that they have been able to win big at home and on the road. They have some great shooters, and we’re just going to have to learn from this quickly, regroup tomorrow, and be ready to compete on Friday,” Guarasci said.

Key Game Stats:
• Spread the love: The Bandits exhibited unselfish play throughout the game, racking up 26 assists (10 of which were recorded by Klassen), compared to 23s for the Honey Badgers.
• Growth on the glass: After being outrebounded by Hamilton in the previous contest on May 22, the Bandits won the battle of the boards 46-43 (+3).
• Foul trouble: The Bandits had difficulty staying out of foul trouble, leading to the Honey Badgers shooting 10 more free throws than the Bandits.

Bandits Performer of the Game
#10 Tyrrel Tate – Forward – Calgary, AB

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