Undefeated Bandits Down Sea Bears to Extend Season-Opening Win Streak

It wasn’t always easy, but the Vancouver Bandits triumphed over the Montreal Alliance 94-87 to become the first team to punch their ticket to the 2025 CEBL playoffs. Vancouver got up to as much as a 19-point lead early in the third quarter and looked well on their way to securing the victory. Unfortunately for them, Montreal wasn’t willing to go down that easy and came roaring back to make it anyone’s game heading into Target Time. The Bandits were led by Zach Copeland, who set a franchise record with eight made three-pointers, breaking his own previous record of seven. He finished with 36 points on the night – tying teammates Mitch Creek and Tyrese Samuel for the franchise record. Corey Davis Jr. had 14 points and 10 assists for his fourth double-double in the last five games, Mikyle McIntosh had 15 points and seven rebounds, and Duane Notice notched 12 points in the win. “I’ve just been locked in these past few games,” Copeland said from the sidelines following the game. “One of our main players in Mitch (Creek) was down today, so everyone had to step up and that’s just what I was trying to do.” “Very important,” he said about his team securing a spot in the post-season. “We want to establish homecourt advantage for the playoffs, so we just wanted to come in here and give it our all. It’s been a tough road trip, three games in four days. So, we were just trying to finish strong.” Things got off to a fiery start as the teams combined to hit 19 of 29 shots in the first quarter, including the Bandits making their first eight from the field. Three-point shooting was pivotal to Vancouver’s early success, as they hit their first five from beyond the arc and six total in the quarter. The second quarter saw a shift in momentum as the Alliance slowed the pace and let their defense take over, holding the Bandits to just 5 of 19 shooting in the period. Unfortunately for the home squad, three-pointers and second-chance points — an area in which the Bandits held a 13–0 advantage at the half — dictated the game and allowed the visitors to carry a 48–41 lead into the break. Coming into the second half, the Bandits looked to put the game away early by starting on a 16-4 run. After a pair of timeouts, the Alliance were able to chip away at the seemingly insurmountable lead by going on a 12-0 run of their own and cut the deficit down to single digits. “I think the biggest thing for us is just putting 40 minutes together,” Abdul Mohamed said of his team’s performance on the season. “There are times where we put two quarters, three quarters together, but putting together the full 40 is important in this league because any team can go on a massive run, just like you saw from us. Just putting 40 minutes together is big.” Mohamed had 16 points – all of them coming in the second half – to go along with four rebounds. Kevin Osawe led the team with 17 points and added five rebounds, Tavian Dunn Martin had 13 points and eight assists, O.D Anosike had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Shamiel Stevenson added 10 points for the Alliance. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to help the team in any way,” Mohamed said. “The organization, the coaches and the ownership all look at me as a player that needs to contribute, so there’s immense pressure and I take it with full responsibility. Whatever the team needs, whether it’s defense or making shots – anything, I’m willing to do it.” Montreal was able to cut the lead down to 85-80 heading into Target Time and even tied the game at 87-87 to give themselves a chance to win. Put a 7-0 run by the Bandits – capped by Copeland’s record setting three-pointer and a subsequent free throw – dashed the hopes of the home crowd. The loss dropped the Alliance to 6-8 on the season with just two wins in their last ten games. It was the second straight win for the now 13-4 Bandits, who extend their lead at the top of the standings. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600640

The Vancouver Bandits proved on Friday that it’s not about how you start a game, just how you finish it. Despite trailing for a majority of the game, and by eight points at the start of Target Score Time, the Bandits walked away with an 89-85 victory over the Brampton Honey Badgers on Friday thanks to a 19-7 run once the clock stopped. Leading Vancouver’s effort as they improved to 12-4, extending their lead atop the West to 1.5 games, was Zach Copeland, who finished with a team-high 27 points and a franchise-record tying seven made triples. Behind him were Corey Davis Jr. (18 points, 10 assists) and Kur Jongkuch (13 points, season-high 17 rebounds) with a pair of double-doubles, while Mikyle McIntosh chipped in with 18 points and seven rebounds. The quartet helped the Bandits overcome the fact that they were missing all three of their leading scorers on the season — Mitch Creek (23.1 points per game), Tyrese Samuel (18.9) and Kyle Mangas (17.8). “We were working hard to adapt to our roster,” Vancouver head coach and general manager Kyle Julius said after the win. “We’ve had some changes and some new faces, so we just wanted to be able to settle in … and I thought we did a good job of that.” Meanwhile, the Honey Badgers fell to 4-12 on the season after a fourth consecutive loss, still in last place out East. Spearheading Brampton on Friday was Quinndary Weatherspoon, who put up a game-high 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Rounding out the Honey Badgers’ double-digit scoring efforts were David Muenkat and Marcus Carr with 17 and 13 points, respectively. “It was a tough loss,” Weatherspoon said post-game. “I thought we played well throughout the whole game, but just the last couple of possessions … some things got away.” Despite both squads entering the matchup on the heels of double-digit losses, their last time squaring off less than a week earlier — an 87-84 down-to-the-wire win for the Bandits — led to the belief that Friday’s contest would also be a neck-and-neck battle. Which turned out to be true for much of the ball game, as neither squad carved out a double-digit lead for the entirety of the contest and were separated by a narrow 63-62 Bandits edge headed into the fourth quarter. The final frame proved to be the ultimate difference maker, but it, too, wasn’t without back-and-forth action. Brampton appeared to capture the momentum thanks to an 11-0 run in the early minutes of the fourth, sparked by three consecutive triples. The Honey Badgers finished with 12 made threes on a 38 per cent clip, five of those long balls coming in the fourth. And although Brampton led 78-70 at the start of Target Score Time thanks to that run to open the fourth, Vancouver stormed right back thanks to a defensive clinic. The Honey Badgers punched first with back-to-back threes by Carr and Weatherspoon to put themselves on the cusp of victory but were held to just one point after that point as they missed their next six field goal attempts while the Bandits rallied. Vancouver shot 7-of-12 in Target Score Time, capping off the comeback effort with a Davis triple from the right corner. “Crazy, hard-fought game,” Copeland said after the win. “I just felt like we stuck it out to the end and made a lot of high-level plays to pull it out.” Underscoring the Bandits' comeback effort was their effort on the glass, building a 50-36 rebounding edge throughout the night, leading to 15 second-chance points (plus-10). “We have to end possessions,” Honey Badgers head coach Sheldon Cassimy said post-game. “If we don’t give up 19 offensive rebounds, then we win the game by way more.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600634 Up next Both squads return Sunday, starting with the Honey Badgers visiting the Scarborough Shooting Stars for the second of three regular-season matchups between the GTA rivals. Meanwhile, the Bandits visit the Montreal Alliance to wrap up a three-game road trip before heading back to Vancouver.

It was a battle worthy of a championship rematch. And perhaps, even, a championship preview. In the end, the Niagara River Lions left no doubt they are coming for the CEBL crown once again. The River Lions beat the Vancouver Bandits 96-77 on Thursday at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, Ont., in a contest pitting the top team in each of the Eastern and Western Conferences. Both squads entered on winning streaks — but only Niagara’s continued as the Rivers Lions earned their third straight victory and improved to 10-5 on the season. “We just haven't played to our potential yet, and we're starting to now,” River Lions head coach Victor Raso said. “I mean, we defended with serious intensity. We took quality shots. We were on the same page. We won a rebounding battle. We had 25 assists and eight turnovers. Like, that was the best we’ve played.” Vancouver, meanwhile, saw its three-game run end to fall to 11-4. A closely contested game was blown open by Niagara in the third quarter with an 18-5 run to start the frame, pushing its lead to a game-high 14 points. Vancouver never got particularly close again. When Target Score Time rolled around, Niagara led by a massive 23-point margin at 87-64. The game ground to a bit of a halt with the clock off as a series of unsportsmanlike and technical fouls — plus ensuing reviews — lengthened what was essentially a done deal. After the final review, Niagara’s Eddie Ekiyor finally iced the game with a pair of free throws. “It was a battle, but our identity's effort and just trying hard. We got a lot of skilled guys, and we just worked as a team, right? We were very upset about our first loss with them. … So it's just that togetherness and we're proud of the outcome,” River Lions forward Elijah Lufile said. Niagara beat Vancouver 97-95 in the CEBL Finals last year for the franchise’s first-ever title. However, the Bandits got a measure of revenge early in the season with a 37-point blowout win in the rematch. In that game, the Bandits enjoyed a near-full roster while Finals MVP Khalil Ahmad, among others, was out for the River Lions. On Thursday, the roles were reversed. With Niagara boasting its top roster, Vancouver was without second-leading scorer Tyrese Samuel and sharpshooter Kyle Mangas, who are both competing at NBA Summer League. Still, the River Lions made sure they wouldn’t blow the opportunity against a short-handed Bandits team. “It's taken a long time for us to play really good basketball, and it's just the beginning of what we're capable of. I've been saying that this team's got a lot of potential to play well, and I think we saw tonight what it can look like when we're completely dialled in,” Raso said. It was a team effort for Niagara, who got contributions from up and down the lineup. Curry, in his third game back with Niagara, paced the River Lions with 20 points to go with seven assists and four rebounds. Ekiyor had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Lufile neared a double-double off the bench with eight points and 10 rebounds. Kimbal Mackenzie added 17 points and six rebounds. Leading scorer Khalil Ahmad has 13 points on five-for-nine shooting. “I think it was just a collective effort on the bench because you got all the guys on the bench clapping, just cheering the guys on the court, whether they make or miss a shot on defence,” Lufile said. “So I had that energy from the get-go. I knew exactly what my assignment was. So coming into the game, it was just a no-brainer.” Meanwhile, the Bandits struggled to get going offensively in their first game without the Canadian Samuel. Potential MVP candidate Mitch Creek struggled to the tune of 13 points on five-for-18 shooting, adding five rebounds and three assists. Zach Copeland led the way for Vancouver with 15 points despite making just two of 10 three-point attempts, and Corey Davis Jr., posted 14 points and six assists before being ejected in Target Score Time thanks to a pair of technical fouls. “Got a little out of control,” Copeland said. “We tried to scrap it out, grind it out, trying to make comeback, but it's tough team, so we couldn't pull it out.” Vancouver will now be back on the court in less than 24 hours as an Ontario road trip continues in Brampton on Friday before a trip to Scarborough on Sunday. Copeland said the team’s ball movement must improve in order to get the offence humming again. “I felt like it was kind of stagnant. They played good defence. They were in the gaps, but we got to drive the ball and get kickouts,” he said. In the first quarter, Niagara used a frame-ending 8-0 run to lead 20-17 after 10 minutes. Vancouver replied with a 12-0 run in the middle of the second as the teams traded blows, but the River Lions held a 40-39 advantage at halftime. In the third quarter, the River Lions widened the gap with an 18-5 start to the quarter. They led 67-56 after 30 minutes, and did not look back from there. Niagara and Vancouver will not see each other again in the regular season as they look to pave their paths to and through the playoffs. But, off course, a date in the Finals could still await. Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600627