The Saskatchewan Rattlers had their two-game home winning streak snapped, as they fell short against the Fraser Valley Bandits by a score of 101-89 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Sask.听
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Saskatchewan, who had won three of their last four games entering the night, fell to 6-5 on the season after the defeat. With the loss, the Rattlers remain in third place in the CEBL.听
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鈥淚 think we came out flat and that happens sometimes. We need to do a better job staying consistent, especially when we鈥檙e at home and we have the energy and just to adapt to it and play Rattlers basketball,鈥� said Rattlers guard Alex Campbell.听
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After leading throughout the majority of the game, Fraser Valley picked up their first win in franchise history on enemy territory over the Rattlers.听
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鈥淭hey came in here, they had a game plan, and they executed. They did their jobs, made shots, made changes and their new guys came in and took full advantage of the opportunity,鈥� said Rattlers guard Bruce Massey. 鈥淭hey came in here with one goal: to get a win and they won. They were hungry, and they were the better team tonight.鈥�
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Massey led Saskatchewan in scoring, as the guard recorded 22 points on 7-14 shooting. Gentry Thomas, who was appearing in his second game as a member of the Rattlers, scored 17 points of his own in his debut in front of the Snake Pit.
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Four of the five members of the Bandits starting lineup finished with double-digit scoring, with Chris Mclaughlin leading the way with 22 points and ten rebounds.
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Fraser Valley shot 56% (36-69) from the field and outscored Saskatchewan 50-30 in the paint, which proved to be the difference on the night.听
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The Bandits, who entered the Snake Pit with an 0-9 record, were looking for their first win of the season. The visitors hopped out to an early first quarter lead, as they led by a 21-13 margin late in the first. However, the Rattlers would continue to hang around, as Campbell dribbled out the clock and hoisted a step-back jumper at the buzzer to trim the deficit to five points after ten minutes of action.
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After trading buckets for most of the second, Campbell got the crowd fired up with under four minutes remaining in the first half, as he knocked down another three-pointer to cut the Bandits lead to two. Campbell shot 3-3 from downtown in the opening half, to lead the Rattlers with nine points after 20 minutes of action.听听
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However, Fraser Valley did well to keep their lead intact, as they closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a ten-point lead into halftime.
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After a quiet start to the contest, Tavrion Dawson got cooking early in the third quarter.
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Despite the Rattlers closing the third quarter on an 8-0 run, which included three-pointers from Campbell and Dawson, the home side entered the final frame trailing by 11 points. Saskatchewan was unable to make up ground in the third quarter, as the Bandits outscored the Rattlers 26-25 in the frame.
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The Bandits came to play in the fourth quarter, as they were able to outscore Saskatchewan 32-31 in the final frame and seal the victory for the team to move to 1-9 on the season.听
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Saskatchewan will be back in action next week when they travel east to the Meridian Centre to meet up with the CEBL鈥檚 first-place Niagara River Lions on July 5th, who are undefeated against the Rattlers this season.
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鈥淭hey鈥檝e beaten us three times in a row. Two times there and once here. They鈥檙e the number one team right now. They鈥檙e playing at a high level, and we know they鈥檙e going to be confident,鈥� said Massey. 鈥淲e know we can win; we just have got to stay together.鈥�
