Rattlers fall to last-place Fraser Valley Bandits
On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Rattlers became the first Canadian Elite Basketball League team to fall this season to the Fraser Valley Bandits.
The Bandits entered the game at the SaskTel Centre with an 0-9 record, but managed to net a convincing 101-89 win to break their losing streak.
The Rattlers didn’t have the lead once throughout the game. Head coach Greg Jockims said it was a struggle from the beginning.
“We missed some of our coverages early, and then we got a little bit frustrated defensively and tried to change things up individually, and we just got a little bit out of sync defensively,” he said.
He said the team had trouble at both ends of the court.
“We weren’t making shots anywhere …,” Jockims said. “(At the) free-throw line, we left almost 20 points.”
Saskatchewan was 22-for-40 at the free-throw line, but its shooting troubles didn’t end there. The Rattlers were only 20-for-51 inside the three-point line and 9-for-25 from beyond the arc.
Rattlers guard Bruce Massey led the team with 22 points and added two rebounds and four assists. He said a lack of teamwork was one of Saskatchewan’s biggest troubles.
“When you’re down eight to 10 (points) and you’re missing layups, missing free throws, that’s the time you’ve really got to come together and not really start going your separate ways,” he said.
Scoring kicked off in the first quarter with a three-pointer from Fraser Valley forward Kevin Bercy. Guard Marek Klassen added to the Bandits’ lead with a layup to make it 5-0.
It initially seemed like a tight game. The Rattlers managed to bring the deficit to 5-4 thanks to a three-pointer from Alex Campbell and a free throw from Marlon Johnson and then tied the game at 7 and at 9 midway through the first quarter.
However, those two ties would be the closest Saskatchewan would come to taking the lead.
Despite another three-pointer from Campbell with 12 seconds left, Fraser Valley ended the first quarter with a 21-16 lead.
The Rattlers started to fall behind even more in the second quarter. They came close to a comeback just over halfway through, when Campbell hit yet another basket from the three-point line to make it a 28-26 Bandits lead.
Fraser Valley battled back and built a 35-28 advantage with three minutes left in the half. The Rattlers faced a 10-point hole heading into the second half at 43-33.
For the rest of the game, the Bandits had an answer anytime Saskatchewan managed to gain some momentum. The visitors ended the third quarter with a 69-58 lead, and padded their comfortable advantage to win by 12.
Campbell said Fraser Valley approached the game with the right mentality.
“They’re hungry for a win, and we just didn’t come out with the energy tonight,” he said.
In just his second game with the Bandits, Chris McLaughlin led Fraser Valley with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Klassen was also key to the win, with 18 points and 12 assists.
The Bandits head home to take on the Guelph Nighthawks (3-7) on Thursday. The Rattlers (6-5) are off to Niagara next Friday to take on the River Lions (9-2).
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