Rattlers visit Bandits for Sunday afternoon matinee

The Saskatchewan Rattlers (5-8) visit the Vancouver Bandits (9-4) for a third, and final, regular season contest between the Western Conference squads on Sunday.

Action from Langley Events Centre begins at 4 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. CST / 7 p.m. ET with live coverage available on Game+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor, TSN+ and on the CEBL mobile app available for iOS and Android devices.

When both squads take the court Sunday, it’ll be yet another iteration of one of the league’s most intriguing matchups. Back in May, when Saskatchewan won the first face-off, 98-86, it improved them to 3-0 and put the Rattlers squarely atop the conference. And when the rematch took place two weeks later, Vancouver made sure to get their payback as they picked up a near-identical 98-85 victory. The win not only put the Bandits at 7-1, but it also sent the Rattlers spiralling in the other direction.

That defeat was the first of six in a row for Saskatchewan – the longest skid of any Western Conference team this season. The Rattlers latest loss came on Friday courtesy of the Scarborough Shooting Stars. The defending champs took the game by a score of 105-98, shooting better than 50 per cent from both the field and beyond the arc.

Saskatchewan has kept up with opponents offensively, for the most part, during this losing skid. Four of the six losses have come by seven points or less. It’s their play on defence that’s let them down the most during this stretch. The Rattlers have allowed an average of 98.8 points during the last six games, conceding more than 100 points on three occasions in that span.

As they figure out the defence, at least Saskatchewan can continue to hang its hat on offence thanks to some standout players. 

Notably, Teddy Allen, who’s coming off his debut with the Rattlers. The reigning league MVP joined Saskatchewan earlier in the week after being released by the Winnipeg Sea Bears earlier in the season, and in his first game back he wasted no time reminding folks why his nickname is “Teddy Buckets.” Allen finished the game against Scarborough with 25 points, albeit on 6-of-25 shooting from the field, to go with five rebounds and four assists. 

He wasn’t the only strong performer as Emmanuel Bandoumel had arguably his best game of the year against the defending champs. The guard scored a game-high 29 points on 52 per cent shooting from the field as he nailed five triples to go with eight rebounds and four assists.

On the other side, it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Bandits either since these teams last met. After beating Saskatchewan, Vancouver has gone 2-3 and subsequently relinquished their lead atop the Western Conference.

The Bandits previous contest ended in defeat to the now West-leading Edmonton Stingers. The 99-82 loss was Vancouver’s second to Edmonton in the span of a week. 

And although the Bandits offence was serviceable as they shot 47 per cent from the field and 40 per cent from beyond the arc, their typically stout defence got ran all over. Edmonton shot 59 per cent from the field and 55 per cent from three as they scored well above the 85 points per game Vancouver usually limits opponents to.

If the Bandits are going to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time all season, and not be the squad that snaps the Rattlers’ losing skid, they’ll have to look more like their usual selves – a team that holds opponents to the fewest points per game in the CEBL.

Otherwise, it could be another record-setting type of night for Allen and the Rattlers. The import already boasts five of the top 10 single-game scoring performances in CEBL history and tied-second for threes made in a single-game (nine), so anything short of a top-notch defensive effort could mean another strong outing for Allen.

Vancouver can at least take solace in the fact that Saskatchewan will be without Jalen Harris, who’s CEBL season has come to an end as he heads overseas to compete in China. The former Toronto Raptor was third in the league for scoring (24.5 points per game) and was averaging 25.5 points per game against the Bandits.