It was a battle between two undefeated squads in the C-E-B-L between the Saskatchewan Rattlers and Vancouver Bandits. The Rattlers started off the game strong and would ride the momentum all the way until the end to a 98-86 victory, led by Jalen Harris once again with 27 points on the night. The Rattlers improve their record to 3-and-0 on the season and move into a tie for first place in the Western Conference with Edmonton, who are also their next opponents on Sunday.
**********
The Saskatchewan Rattlers started off the night strong, opening the game with a 9-0 run led by Maurice Calloo, who had himself a three-pointer and an easy layup after Jalen Harris forced a turnover. Vancouver would answer back with Glen Yang draining a three-pointer after the team missed their previous three attempts. Nick Ward would draw a few fouls leading to free-throws cutting Saskatchewan’s lead to 14-11, then Koby McEwan would go a perfect 3-for-3 on a free throw attempt making it a 16-14 Saskatchewan lead, which would be the closest the Bandits would get. Jalen Harris would drain back-to-back threes followed by Cody John pulling up for two, giving the Rattlers a 24-14 lead before you could blink. Jalen Harris would score another three and Cody John would get an easy layup giving Saskatchewan a 29-16 lead after the first quarter.
Elijah Harkless would start the scoring in the second as he drained a three-pointer early and Maurice Calloo going 2-for-2 on free throws to give the Rattlers a 36-24 lead. Every opportunity Vancouver had to put points on the board was answered immediately by Saskatchewan. Koby McEwan would drain a three-pointer to pull Vancouver within nine points, but Jalen Harris would answer back with six straight points including a three-pointer. Grant Basile would drain back-to-back threes late in the second with Maurice Calloo capitalizing on another Bandits turnover and ending the first half going perfect from the free throw line to give Saskatchewan a 54-35 lead at the half. Jalen Harris was on fire, leading the way with 17 points and Nick Ward leading Vancouver with 12 points.
The third quarter saw some pushback from Vancouver that included Nick Ward going perfect at the line and Zach Copeland draining back-to-back three pointers to make it a a 64-45 game in favor of the Rattlers. Jalen Harris helped provide a response from Saskatchewan with a layup for two and Elijah Harkless pulling back for two increasing the Rattler lead. Emmanuel Bandoumel would come off the bench late for Saskatchewan and drain a huge three-pointer, and Elijah Harkless would end the quarter with a highlight reel slam dunk giving Saskatchewan a 75-56 lead.
Vancouver started off the fourth quarter with some pushback again as Zach Copeland drained a three-pointer and Nick Ward went perfect at the line again. Maurice Calloo responded with a three-pointer and Jalen Harris continued his strong night with another layup giving the Rattlers an 80-63 lead. Later in the quarter before Target Score, Harris would go perfect at the line and Grant Basile drained a three making it an 87-74 game with the Target Score set at 96. Elijah Harkless went perfect at the line and Grant Basile went 1-for-3 to make it 90-76 Saskatchewan, with both teams trading chances back and forth. Elijah Harkless would finally end the night with a game winning deep three-pointer to give Saskatchewan a 98-86 victory and their third win of the season to remain undefeated.
**********
Media Scrum with Head Coach Larry Abney:
Media Scrum with Elijah Harkless:
Media Scrum with Jalen Harris:
GAME STATS – TEAM (Courtesy of C-E-B-L)
Field Goal: SSK 34/77 (44%) VAN 26/75 (34%)
2-Points Made: SSK 21/43 (48%) VAN 16/39 (41%)
3-Points Made: SSK 13/34 (38%) VAN 10/36 (27%)
Free Throws: SSK 17/26 (65%) VAN 24/29 (82%)
Total Rebounds: SSK 49 VAN 49
Assists: SSK 21 VAN 19
Steals: SSK 8 VAN 7
Blocks: SSK 4 VAN 4
Turnovers: SSK 18 VAN 18
Personal Fouls: SSK 24 (25) VAN 26 (22)
Points in the Paint: SSK 40 VAN 30
Second Chance Points: SSK 5 VAN 14
Points from Turnovers: SSK 14 VAN 18
Bench Points: SSK 14 VAN 12
Fast Break Points: SSK 11 VAN 12
GAME STATS (Player)
Jalen Harris (27 Points, 9 Assists, 2 Steals)
Maurice Callo (19 Points, 10 Rebounds)
Elijah Harkless (19 Points, 3 Assists, 2 Blocks, 3 Steals)
Emmanuel Bandoumel (8 Rebounds, 1 Blocks)
Grant Basile (7 Rebounds, 4 Assists, 1 Blocks, 2 Steals)
NEXT GAME: @ Edmonton Stingers (3-0) on Sunday, June 1st @ 4:00 p.m.
