Vancouver Bandits Head Into Playoffs on High Note With Dramatic Win

SCARBOROUGH, ON, July 30, 2023 – Nick Ward’s double-double night led the Vancouver Bandits to an 82-79 victory over the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the club’s regular season finale on Sunday night.

The big man notched 24 points and 11 rebounds as he shot 77 per cent from the field, helping Vancouver to its second consecutive win and third in its past four games.

Ward was supported by Marlon Johnson Jr. who added 13 points and six boards as he knocked down three of his four attempts from beyond the arc. The forward led a second unit that finished the game with a +23 edge in points off the bench as each player from the Bandits’ reserves scored six or more points.

“Shoutout to Marlon,” said Giorgi Bezhanishvili post-game. “He came out super aggressive, doing all the little things on the court…and just everyone off the bench picked up the energy and we got the win because of it.”

Isiaha Mike nearly put up a double-double of his own as he was Scarborough’s top contributor by way of 23 points and nine rebounds. Cat Barber was the team’s next leading scorer as he tallied 19 points, five rebounds and six assists as his squad lost its second consecutive game.

Despite the loss, Barber still hit a personal milestone when he hit a transition triple at the 2:41 mark of the first quarter. Those three particular points gave him 1000 career points in the CEBL, reaching the record just two days after Ahmed Hill achieved the feat with the Montréal Alliance. 

The two guards are now the only players in league history to score over 1000 points and Hill made sure to be in attendance at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre to see his former teammate reach the same mark as him.

“He’s my brother,” said Barber on having Hill in attendance for the record. “I wish I was there for his game…it means a lot. Not a lot of guys get that done and to be the second player in the CEBL to do it, it’s a special moment.”

Coming into the night, the Bandits’ strength had been described as the play of its bigs. Throughout the first quarter of tonight’s contest, Vancouver showed why that was the case. Ward scored his team’s first seven points, before Johnson Jr. came in off the bench and dropped eight points of his own. 

Coming out of halftime, Vancouver finally got some production out of starters not named Ward, as the team went on a 15-5 run to begin the third frame. Bezhanishvili scored the team’s first five points in the quarter, before Alex Campbell and Duane Notice each chipped in a bucket which helped the Bandits go up seven, their biggest lead to that point.

Scarborough however responded immediately as they rattled off an 11-3 run in response, capped off by a Barber buzzer-beating jumper that gave his team back the lead, 57-56 headed into the fourth.

Vancouver entered this contest following a triumphant 90-89 win that saw Notice end the contest by way of a game-winning triple.

It was a bit of déjà vu for Bandits fans as Bezhanishvili splashed a shot from deep to seal the game 82-79.

With its second victory in a row, Vancouver heads into its opportunity to host CEBL Championship Weekend on a high note thanks to big wins versus two of the eastern conference’s top teams in the Ottawa BlackJacks and Scarborough Shooting Stars. 

As the host team, the Bandits have time to regroup and prepare for their date with destiny. BC’s professional basketball team awaits an eventual western conference finalist that it will face in a do-or-die playoff game as part of a Friday, Aug. 11 doubleheader. Winners of Friday’s doubleheader will advance to the CEBL championship game played on Sunday, August 13.

Single game playoff tickets for Championship Weekend are available for purchase at this link.



Individuals interested in learning more about playoff tickets for Vancouver Bandits Basketball are kindly asked to call (604) 455-8881 or email tickets@thebandits.ca. 

More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter.