SLOW START IN SECOND HALF SPELLS DEFEAT FOR THE BANDITS
By Matthew Winick • July 9, 2021
ABBOTSFORD, B.C., July 8, 2021 – The Niagara River Lions (3-2) caught fire in the third quarter, dropping 37 points en-route to a convincing 103-82 victory over the Fraser Valley Bandits (4-1) at the Meridian Centre on Thursday evening.
The River Lions used a 20-2 spurt near the start of the third frame to pull away from the Bandits, and never relinquished the lead after that. Despite missing three of its best players in Kassius Robertson, Trae Bell-Haynes and Phil Scrubb, Niagara’s hustle and energy were the difference in the win.
Niagara used Fraser Valley’s aggressive and fast-paced play style to its advantage, dominating the Bandits 32-4 in points off turnovers and 26-11 in fast-break points. Every time a loose ball fell to the floor, it seemed like a River Lions player was off and running towards the basket for an easy hoop.
“I think that’s who we are. We’re an aggressive defensive team,” said River Lions’ head coach Victor Raso after the game. “It’s our strength, it was one of our keys to get out and run this game.”
Xavier Sneed led the way for Niagara with 20 points, but he was far from the only River Lion to make an impact.
Jaylen Babb-Harrison provided instant offense with 19 points, Javin DeLaurier played his best game as a pro, putting up an 18-point, 17-rebound double-double, and Guillaume Payen-Boucard chipped in across the board with 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
“Guillaume is just tough, we’ve known that for a long time,” said Raso. “He plays super hard.”
“I try to be able to impact the game as much as I can,” said Payen-Boucard, “Just being aggressive on the boards, talking on defense, being in the right place on offense and just staying aggressive.”
Even though the River Lions put up a season-high tying 103 points, they only shot 29% from deep. The majority of their offense came near the basket, with players like DeLaurier, Payen-Boucard and Olu Ashaolu helping Niagara outscore Fraser Valley 58-24 in the paint.
Between getting dominated on the fast break and near the rim, the Bandits were beat at their own game on Thursday. Typically, the team bullying other squads with physical play and energy, Fraser Valley got a taste of its own medicine.
“We just had a bad night. I thought they wanted it more and they deserved to win,” said Bandits’ head coach David Singleton. “We never really found our rhythm and flow, missed a lot of easy shots, they outworked us and outhustled us. We have to be a lot better.”
Malcolm Duviver led the Bandits in scoring with 17 points on efficient 6-12 shooting from the floor. The rest of the team combined to shoot only 19-61 (31%) from the field. Fraser Valley also had five players cough up at least three turnovers. While it was a rough performance overall, a strong Elam Ending performance could turn into momentum for the still-strong 4-1 Bandits despite the loss.
“We’re a good team, we know how to win, we have good players,” said Singleton. “We just found a lineup that worked on the court at that time, but really it doesn’t matter, it was too late.”
Fraser Valley will look to regain its form as the team continues its Ontario road trip, facing the Ottawa BlackJacks on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. PT/7:00 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, Niagara will look to keep up its winning ways on Sunday as the River Lions take on the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 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 typically runs from May through August. More information about the Bandits is available at thebandits.ca.
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Physio District is proud to partner with the Vancouver Bandits as the organization’s Official Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Provider. Led by Director of Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation Vic Sanghera and Physiotherapist Neil Nijjar, the partnership will support the Bandits with comprehensive injury management, rehabilitation, performance optimization, recovery, and return-to-play services throughout the CEBL season. With extensive experience working in high-performance sport, amateur and professional athletics, and international competition environments, Physio District brings an integrated approach focused on athlete availability, performance support, and evidence-informed care through manual therapy, movement analysis, and corrective exercise principles. In collaboration with the Bandits performance staff, the partnership will also incorporate advanced athlete monitoring and performance technologies through Hawkins Dynamics systems, including force plate testing and TruStrength performance assessment tools, to support rehabilitation progression, performance profiling, and return-to-play decision-making. Physio District is committed to helping athletes perform at their highest level while supporting long-term health, recovery, and durability throughout the demands of a professional basketball season. Physio District is excited to support the Vancouver Bandits organization and contribute to a high-performance environment both on and off the court.
The Vancouver Bandits were unable to find consistent offense against the Edmonton Stingers, suffering a 91-78 defeat Saturday night at the Edmonton Expo Centre. The game started with both teams going blow for blow in scoring, until the Stingers began to pull away with three-pointers from Samage Teel and Michael Nuga. The Stingers applied overwhelming defensive pressure, slowing down the Bandits up-tempo offence. The Bandits got into a rhythm in the second quarter, chipping away at the deficit and out-pacing the Stingers defense. The Stingers went cold offensively as they approached half time, going a full three minutes without scoring. That dry spell for the Stingers took place during a 19-6 run for the Bandits in that quarter, as they defended aggressively and found more space on the attack. Jalen House shot 8 for 9 in the first half at the free throw line, while Tevian Jones used his explosive athleticism to score 16 points. The Bandits took the lead on free throws from reigning Canadian Player of the Year, Tyrese Samuel, who finished with a team-leading 13 rebounds. The second quarter ended with the Bandits on top, 42-38. The Stingers responded in the third quarter with gritty, physical defense, while using the full shot clock on offense. The Bandits couldn’t build momentum, allowing 33 points and surrendering the lead. The Bandits flirted with a comeback in the fourth, shrinking the Stingers’ lead to seven points, but were unable to capitalise. House led the game in scoring with 27 points, but he was disappointed with the defensive effort from the Bandits. “We were letting them get [points] too easily in the paint, easy threes.” Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said “our defensive effort was poor everywhere,” calling tonight’s game “one of our worst performances in two to three years.” The success in the second quarter came from the Bandits “playing good defense, playing hard,” said House. “That’s obviously why we shot up and got that three point lead going into half time, but we got away from it.” The Stingers big man Dain Dainja put up 25 points and 14 rebounds in over 29 minutes, all of which led his team. Vancouver falls to 1-1, and goes down 0-1 in the home-and-home series. Vancouver will play Edmonton again on Friday, May 22 for their Home Opener at Envision Financial Court at the Langley Events Centre. Tickets are available for purchase at this link . Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2798728
Highlights of the Vancouver Bandits against the Mamba on May 14, 2026.
The Vancouver Bandits opened the 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season on the road with a 124-95 victory over the re-branded Saskatoon Mamba at SaskTel Centre on Thursday. Guard Jaelen House, who was signed just two days prior to the season opener, ran the floor for the fast-paced Bandits offense posting a double-double with 33 points and 10 assists. His debut efforts earned him “Player of the Game” honours in his first CEBL games “Jaelen [House] just got in here 24 hours ago,” said Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius. “Figuring the guys out, figuring the system out, that’s big.” Vancouver wasted no time, jumping out to an early lead from House and Mychal Mulder. The team set a new franchise record, scoring 68 points in the first half. Local rookies Dominic Parolin and Shadynn Smid both debuted and got their first professional buckets. Parolin logged an efficient 11 points in over six minutes, while Smid played impressive defense. Saskatoon had difficulties slowing down Vancouver, especially struggling with the chemistry between House and Tyrese Samuel as they combined for 57 points. Their soft and porous defense provided plenty of time and space for Vancouver to feast, with six players scoring double digits. When asked about the balanced attack, Mulder credited their teamwork. ”Just continuing to play together. I think we did a good job of sharing the ball, did a good job of locking in on our defensive assignments,” he said. Saskatoon’s offense was stymied, with every player logging a negative plus/minus. Vancouver’s tight defense clogged passing lanes and strangled Saskatoon’s offense to the tune of 21 turnovers. Tevian Jones picked up four steals, leading the team. Mulder was proud of the effort, saying they defended “as a unit on that end of the floor. [We’re] continuing to grow as a unit and staying together.” Vancouver dominated in the paint, scoring 74 points under the hoop against Saskatoon’s underwhelming 42. House, Samuel, and Jones flashed their speed on the fast break, with the team scoring 21 points while flying downhill. Saskatoon head coach Isaiah Fox got a rude awakening in his first game with the team, saying “Obviously, that could’ve went better.” “Vancouver is a very physical team, and I don't think we quite matched their physicality,” he said. “There were some good moments but unfortunately they came already when we were down double-digit points.” The physicality was on display in the third quarter as Vancouver suffocated Saskatoon defensively, allowing just 17 points. Saskatoon went a whole 2:45 without scoring, while Vancouver increased their lead to 32 in that time. Their biggest lead of the game would be 36. However, Saskatoon made progress in the fourth quarter, out-scoring Vancouver 31 to 24. Trey Townsend came off the bench to lead Saskatoon, scoring 10 of his 15 points in the final frame. Dajuan Gordon chipped in 20 points for Saskatoon, knocking down 5-6 at the charity stripe. Julius was unhappy with the team letting off the gas late in the game. “I thought we really let up in the fourth quarter, but it's an entirely new group,” he said. “We only have two, three guys from last year's team, so overall it was a solid first game for sure.” “I think these first couple games are all about us getting used to the league. We have a lot of guys that have never played in this league,” Julius added. “so we're still kind of just getting used to everything.” Vancouver begins their season 1-0. Vancouver will travel to Edmonton to take on the Stingers on Saturday, May 16, at the Edmonton EXPO Centre at 6:00 p.m. in a home-and-home series. Edmonton comes to Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre to play Vancouver in their Home Opener on Friday, May 22, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at this link .
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