The visiting Saskatchewan Rattlers lost their second game in a row as they fell to the Edmonton Stingers 93-84 on Friday.
Saskatchewan took the lead early, scoring the first four points of the game thanks to buckets from Bruce Massey and Terry Thomas.Ìý
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The Stingers came back with a two-pointer of their own, but it was quickly answered by a three from Marlon Johnson, putting the visitors up by five. Once again Edmonton replied, this time going on a 7-0 run highlighted by five points from Jordan Baker.
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The Stingers continued to control the quarter, at one point extending their lead to 12 points. Six points late in the quarter from Massey narrowed the gap, as the first concluded 29-24 in favour of Edmonton.
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Hoping to regain control of the game, the Rattlers came out of the break swinging. Massey kickstarted their efforts, knocking down a three that was followed by a Terry Thomas layup to tie the game up.
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After hitting two shots to answer, the Stingers held the lead for the rest of the quarter, at one point growing it to 10 points. A foul committed by Marlon Johnson sent Travis Daniels to the line, who knocked down both shots to end the quarter,
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After the buzzer, the Edmonton Stingers led the Saskatchewan Rattlers 50-43.
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Saskatchewan was determined to shift the momentum of the game and close the deficit they had accumulated in the first half. A 9-0 run starting just after the eight-minute mark brought the Rattlers to within three, but they were unable to hold that energy.Ìý
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The lead fluctuated up and down, although Saskatchewan was unable to close the gap enough to pull ahead. Bruce Massey continued his dominant performance for Saskatchewan, putting up seven points in the quarter, but his efforts were to no avail.
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Heading into the final quarter, the Rattlers trailed the Stingers 74-66.
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Unfortunately for Saskatchewan, they were never able to shrink their deficit to less than seven points in the fourth, as they were defeated by the Stingers 93-84.
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Rattler’s Captain Bruce Massey had a career night, dropping 35 points and making 13 of 14 free throws in his squad’s loss.
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Travis Daniels led the way for the Stingers, putting up 19 points on 87% shooting off the bench. Deondre Parks and Jordan Baker had big nights as well, both putting up 18 points each.Ìý
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This loss is the Rattlers first defeat on the road and brings their record to 3-3. Saskatchewan will travel back home to host the Stingers in a rematch next Thursday.
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With their win tonight, Edmonton moved up to second in the league standings, improving their record to 3-2. The Stingers will now travel to Hamilton for a meeting against the Honey Badgers on Sunday.
