FRASER VALLEY BANDITS LOOK TO END LOSING STREAK IN SUNDAY MATINEE AGAINST OTTAWA BLACKJACKS

CEBL Staff • July 17, 2022

The Fraser Valley Bandits will look to put an end to a three-game losing streak in a matchup with the Ottawa BlackJacks on 1 p.m. PT on Sunday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre. The Bandits and BlackJacks have met twice already this season in the nation’s capital, with the Bandits taking the first meeting 90-87 on opening night and the BlackJacks winning the second game 100-79 earlier this month.


“[Ottawa’s] an athletic team, they like to switch a lot of screens, their rebounding is a key—they’ve been good on the boards in both games,” Fraser Valley head coach Mike Taylor said. “For us, we have to have a team response against the pressure.”


Ottawa enters the game at 5-10 in eighth place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) standings and are losers of two games in a row. However, the BlackJacks have a spot in the league’s semifinal already clinched, due to the playoffs taking place at TD Place in Ottawa. The Bandits come in at 9-7 after losing three consecutive games and five of their last six games. Fraser Valley finds themselves in a tight race for third place with the Scarborough Shooting Stars at 8-6 with two games in hand and Edmonton at 8-7 with one game in hand.


On the three-game losing streak, Fraser Valley picked up losses to the Guelph Nighthawks on Friday night at home, and road losses to Montreal and Ottawa. In their loss on July 8th against the BlackJacks, Deng Adel and Walt Lemon Jr. couldn’t be contained. Adel and Lemon Jr. were each spectacular in a winning effort, with Adel putting up 27 points and 7 assists and Lemon Jr. scoring 20 points and dishing out 7 assists. Alex Campbelll led the Bandits in the loss with 20 points, while James Karnik and Shane Gibson chipped in 17 points and 16 points respectively.


Both teams look different from their rosters on opening night. In Fraser Valley’s win, Alex Campbell scored 23 points, Murphy Burnatowski and Kadre Gray each dropped 17 points, while Adel netted a franchise record 37 points in a losing effort in his CEBL debut. Now, Kadre Gray is back in an Ottawa BlackJack uniform after starting the season in Fraser Valley and averaging 8.9 points per game.


“Kadre was a big part of our early season success. He’s a great guy,” Taylor said. “For us, it was just about having a different type of point guard—a more experienced point guard. We’re happy that he’s continuing to play and I’m sure he’ll be ready to bring a great effort.”


Gray has been coming off the bench during his current tenure in Ottawa, with Walt Lemon Jr. carrying the offensive load in a starting role. Lemon Jr. is averaging 17.2 points per game, 5.8 assists per game and 1.5 steals per game at over 50 per cent shooting from the field. Adel is the only other BlackJack averaging double-figures, at 16.4 points per game along with 5.1 rebounds per game and 4.8 assists per game.


Meanwhile, the Bandits are still trying to get their collection of new pieces and old to fit together with the playoffs fast approaching. Shane Gibson and Alex Campbell have been constants so far this season for Fraser Valley, averaging 18.6 points per game and 14.5 points per game respectively. Thomas Kennedy returned to the lineup against the Guelph Nighthawks on Friday night and brings a strong interior presence to complement recent acquisition, James Karnik. Kennedy is averaging 13.2 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game in 9 games while Karnik is averaging 16.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game in 8 games played.


“Everybody understands that we have some new players and we have some things to tie up,” Taylor said. “There needs to be a sense of urgency from our guys and we have to help ourselves achieve the best possible position for the playoffs.”


The games will stream 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.


Fraser Valley Bandits tickets are available at https://www.thebandits.ca/tickets while Ottawa Black Jacks are available at

https://www.theblackjacks.ca/tickets.


A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball. The CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.


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