Vancouver Bandits Race Past Rattlers to Earn Fifth Straight Victory

Make it five straight for the streaking Vancouver Bandits.

With the score knotted at 76 entering the fourth quarter, the Bandits were dominant down the stretch, outscoring the Saskatchewan Rattlers 22-9 over the final period and Target Score Time for an impressive 98-85 win on Saturday night at Langley Events Centre (LEC).

The victory not only improved the Bandits to a Canadian Elite Basketball League-best 7-1, but it also avenged the team’s only blemish, a 98-86 setback to those same Rattlers in the season’s third game.

“That was our main focus, knowing that they had given us our only loss. They were our target and we wanted to set a statement for the rest of the league,” said Vancouver’s Duane Notice. “We were definitely motivated to get this win, especially in front of our home fans; they have been a tremendous boost of energy.”

Notice, the team’s captain, normally comes off the bench, but was pushed into the starting line-up for Saturday’s game. And while his stat line didn’t pop – five points, nine rebounds and three assists in 30:10 of floor time – it is his contribution in other areas that make him stand out.

“He is our true glue guy. He leads our group by his action,” said Vancouver head coach and general manager Kyle Julius. “He is our captain; sacrifices his body, he guards every position. Gets his fingernails on loose balls that get into our hands.”

Vancouver led for all but 3:03 of the game, and that came in the early stages of the opening quarter. The Bandits built a 26-21 lead after 10 minutes and stretched the advantage to as many as 13 before taking a 58-50 lead to the locker room.

A big reason for that was the fact the Bandits hit 55.6 percent of their 3-point attempts (10-for-18) in the first 20 minutes, compared to 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) in the second half. With the deep ball not dropping, it allowed the Rattlers to rally and tie the score at 76 entering the final period. 

“They hit some shots, we didn’t. It was our 2’s against their 3’s,” said Saskatchewan coach Larry Abney, referencing the fact his team was just 6-for-25 (24 percent) from downtown, compared to 28-for-43 (65.1 percent) from inside the arc for the game.

“We got some hands up, but they made some shots. Hats off to them, (Vancouver) played a great game.”

The Bandits were able to hold the CEBL’s leading scorer Jalen Harris (who came in averaging 27.7 per game) to 24 points, including just nine in the first half.

Tazé Moore led the team with 25 points, seven rebounds and nine assists while Nick Ward had 21 points and seven boards. Koby McEwen and Zach Copeland each chipped in with 16 and Diego Maffia came off the bench to score 11, all of which came in the middle two quarters.

“He really sparked us and got the crowd going,” Julius said, marveling at the difficulty of playing 13:19. That’s compared to a total of 14:00 of floor time over the past five games combined.

On the other side, Saskatchewan trio of Elijah Harkless (25 points), Harris (24) and Bryson Williams (23) all surpassed the 20-point plateau, but Vancouver limited the Rattlers bench to just nine points.

Notice said a team’s defensive identity is key to success and through the first eight games, they are allowing just 82.6 points per game, second lowest among the 10 teams.

“That (defence) is the focus every game. We know we have talented offensive guys … (but) shots aren’t always going to fall; you will make some, miss some, but we want to bring that defensive intensity every single possession. We want that to be our identity and I think we are doing that right now,” he said. 

The Bandits are off to Winnipeg for a quick mid-week road trip to battle the Sea Bears on June 19. 

Following that, Vancouver is back at home on June 22 with a visit from the Ottawa BlackJacks to Langley Events Centre as part of the club’s Indigenous Celebration Game. 

Tickets for the highly anticipated and fast-selling game are on sale now at this link. 

Individuals interested in ticket flexibility or purchasing a bundle of Bandits tickets are invited to consider a flex pack. More information can be found at thebandits.ca/tickets or by speaking with a   Bandits representative by calling (604) 455-8881 or emailing tickets@thebandits.ca.

A complete regular season schedule can be found by clicking here. More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter.