LIVESTREAM UPDATE: Vancouver Bandits at Edmonton Stingers

Mychal Mulder caught fire on Saturday night in Edmonton, drilling six three pointers to lead the Vancouver Bandits to victory. The Bandits defeated the Edmonton Stingers 112-98 in the final game of a three-game road trip. “We knew what had to be done,” said Bandits head coach Ransford Brempong. “Winning isn’t easy. We had to run, play defence and be tough. [Our] will was ready to do that.” Mulder only played a combined six minutes over the last two games but put up a season-high 25 points and went six-for-nine from downtown in just 16 minutes of play. “Part of being a pro is staying ready. Whenever your number is called you’ve got to be ready to answer the call,” said Mulder. Vancouver entered action looking to win the road trip, defeating Saskatoon on Tuesday while losing to Calgary on Thursday. The Bandits controlled just about every aspect of tonight’s game, including a dominating 52 bench points, led by Mulder. Brempong spoke earlier about wanting an identity of playing fast as the Bandits won the fastbreak points battle 30-21. The Bandits outscored the Stingers in every quarter and jumped out to a lead as large as 31 points. Brempong said tonight’s performance was evidence of the Bandits’ “next man up” mentality. “We’re always going to be encouraging our guys even when they’re struggling to keep with the process,” he said. Mulder wasn’t the only Bandit to put up a season-high in points tonight. Shamar Givance scored 20 points along with six assists. He is averaging 6.6 points and 2.8 assists this season. Givance knocked down two clutch free throws in target time to secure the win. “It was a great team win. It was really a credit to everyone,” said Mulder. Five players had 10+ points tonight, including 20 points from Tevin Brown, the fourth time he’s hit that mark this season. Tyrese Samuel finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. Jarkel Joiner followed with 13 points and six assists. “It’s good to end with a win. We’re bringing some momentum back home and we’ve got a lot of big games coming up,” said Mulder. The Bandits will travel back home to take on the Montreal Alliance on Friday at Envision Financial Court Langley Events Centre at 7 p.m for Country Night. Tickets can be purchased at thebandits.ca .

The Vancouver Bandits fell to the Calgary Surge 95-80 on Thursday night, despite 21 points from Tevin Brown. The third of four meetings between the Western Conference rivals this season, the game was played at the Saddledome as part of the club’s annual Calgary Stampede game. Not much went right for the Bandits as they were outmatched in almost every major category in Calgary. “We did [good] things in stints. We just didn’t do it consistently,” said Bandits head coach Ransford Brempong. Alongside his 21 points, Brown recorded five threes made and five rebounds. The Bandits trailed for most of the game, briefly leading by five in the first quarter. “It’s going to take discipline [to win]. [We] have to do it during every possession,” said Brempong. Calgary’s David Joplin led his team in scoring with 19 points. Four Surge players were in double digit scoring. The Bandits’ 80 points was the second-lowest point total of the season. Not all was bad for Vancouver as rookie Dominic Parolin poured in another impactful performance “He’s been a bright spot. He makes a big impactful when he’s on the court,” said Brempong about Parolin’s play. Parolin finished with 17 points, two blocks and five rebounds. The Bandits were once again without several key players during Thursday’s loss. Miller Kopp will be competing in the NBA Summer League with the Houston Rockets, and reigning Canadian Elite Basketball League Most Valuable Player Mitch Creek is playing for Australia during FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. The road trip ends on Saturday when the Bandits take on the Edmonton Stingers at 6 p.m. at the Edmonton EXPO Centre.

The Vancouver Bandits started their road trip with a fresh slate, snapping a two game losing skid. The Bandits defeated the Saskatoon Mamba 92-85 on Tuesday night. “I thought the effort of the guys was much better than the last two games,” said Bandits interim head coach Ransford Brempong. Tevin Brown led the way with a season-high 28 points in only his fourth game as a Bandit. “We need Tevin Brown. He looked comfortable today so that’s encouraging (to see),” said Brempong. “When my teammates find me with their passes, I’ve got to be ready to knock the shot down,” said Brown. Both teams had a slow start, unable to score as they combined for only four made threes in the first quarter. The Bandits trailed 14-13 after the opening 10 minutes. The remainder of the game was filled with back-and-forth action as neither team could jump out to a sizeable lead. Eight out of the nine Bandits who featured tonight got on the scoresheet. Tyrese Samuel recorded 14 points, four blocks and eight rebounds. Shamar Givance followed with 13 points and six assists off the bench. In the second quarter, the Bandits jumped out to a lead as big as 14, headlined by 15 points in the quarter from Brown. By quarter’s end, the Bandits took a 49-42 lead into the break. Despite the momentum heading into the second half for the Bandits, the Mamba slowly chipped away at the lead, tying the game at 64 to begin the fourth quarter. Vancouver saw a chance to pull away in the final quarter and never looked back. They outscored Saskatoon 28-21 in the fourth. “We played a lot faster tonight and that’s the identity that we want,” said Brempong. The Bandits beat out the Mamba 24-2 in fastbreak points. A corner three from Jarkel Joiner was the target score game winner. He finished with 14 points and four assists. The stat of the game was bench points, with the Bandits narrowly beating out the Mamba 28-26 in that category. The Bandits were without several key players during Tuesday’s win. Miller Kopp will be competing in the NBA Summer League with the Houston Rockets, and reigning Canadian Elite Basketball League Most Valuable Player Mitch Creek is playing for Australia during FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. “We can’t take anybody lightly,” said Brown about the remainder of the road trip. The Bandits will play the Calgary Surge on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. before heading to Edmonton on Saturday for the final game of the road stand.