Opening week of the C-E-B-L continued tonight with the Saskatchewan Rattlers picking up their first win of the season with a solid 94-86 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Sea Bears in front of 2,230 fans. The game was close with back-and-fourth action, but the Snakes started off the second quarter hot, scoring the first 14 points to pull away from Winnipeg. The Sea Bears would claw back towards the end, but it wouldn’t be enough to reach target score.
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Newly signed Guard Jalen Harris started off his Rattlers debut strong, draining a three-pointer before Winnipeg’s Teddy Allen would respond to tie the game early. Maurice Calloo also started solid as he lead the team with eight points after the first half. Towards the end of the first quarter after Winnipeg took the lead, Elijah Harkless drew a foul and would go two-for-two on the free throws to tie the game up at 18 a piece. Emmanuel Bandoumel would score on the layup followed by Harkless draining three of his next four free throws to give the Rattlers a 23-21 lead after the first.
The second quarter was nearly perfect for the Rattlers as they went on a 14-0 run to start that included a great individual effort from Jalen Harris that started off the dominant run, as well as back-to-back three pointers from Harkless and Grant Basile. After another three from Basile, Winnipeg finally got on the board with a free throw, cutting the lead to 37-24 Rattlers. Teddy Allen began to spark a comeback for Winnipeg, but was interrupted with big plays by the Rattlers defense, with some even turning into points. Teddy Allen would drain a three late, but Harris would draw a foul and drain both free throws to give the Rattlers a 50-45 lead at halftime.
The third quarter would start off with back-and-fourth action once again, but Elijah Harkless would cause a turnover resulting in two big points for Saskatchewan followed by returning player Adong Makoui picking up a rebound to put the Rattlers up 57-49. Fouls would cost the Rattlers late as they picked up back-to-back offensive fouls which would result Winnipeg capitalizing on the second to pull themselves within six with Saskatchewan still leading 59-53. Jalen Harris would drain a massive three-pointer followed by a Cody John three-pointer to put the Rattlers up 65-57. Grant Basile would score on back-to-back layups at the end of the third, with Saskatchewan up 71-59.
Free throws would dominant the first part of the fourth and final quarter, including Harkless going 4-for-4 and Calloo going 2-for-2, making it 78-64 Rattlers. Later, Cody John would score off a turnover, then would power his way through for another two points and an 84-70 lead. Past the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter means Target Score, which was set at 93. Teddy Allen would do his best for Winnipeg in mounting a comeback with a three-pointer and going 1-for-2 on free throws, but Jalen Harris would fight his way through a crowd to get the layup and surpass Target Score and win the game 94-86.
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Media Scrum with Jalen Harris:
Media Scrum with Head Coach Larry Abney:
GAME STATS – TEAM
Field Goal: 31/86 (36%)
2-Points Made: 22/58 (37%)
3-Points Made: 9/28 (32%)
Free Throws: 23/35 (65%)
GAME STATS
Jalen Harris (23 Points, 4 Assists)
Elijah Harkless (22 Points, 16 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 4 Steals)
Grant Basile (19 Points, 14 Rebounds, 1 Steal)
Julian Roche (7 Rebounds)
Emmanuel Bandoumel (4 Assists, 4 Steals)
Adong Makuoi (2 Blocks)
NEXT GAME: vs. Montreal Alliance (0-0) on Saturday, May 25th, 2024 @ SaskTel Centre
