Rattlers come up short in comeback bid, fall 92-89 to Stingers

Compared to exactly one week ago, the Saskatchewan Rattlers have lots to be proud of and to build from but not getting the victory will sting going into the weekend, falling to Edmonton 92-89. The Edmonton Stingers led for most of the game—never by more than 10 points—with the Rattlers constantly closing the gap. They came within two during Target Score time, but a Nate Pierre-Louis foul sent Scottie Lindsey to the free-throw line, where he sank the game-winning basket

Saskatchewan jumped out to a few leads early in the first quarter which quickly established a back-and-forth game. Cody John and Anthony Tsegakele made their season debuts for the Rattlers tonight, both making an immediate impact, especially Cody John who led the way with 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. Edmonton held an 18-17 lead after the first, and with more back-and-forth action in the second Edmonton still held the lead, but still only by one at 40-39.

Edmonton began to break open the game in the third quarter, building a 64-57 lead after a Sabry Philips three-pointer but Saskatchewan continued to fight back thanks to six consecutive points from Isaac Simon, including two trips to the free throw line and a layup buzzer beater from Cody John to cut Edmonton’s lead to 66-65 after three quarters. Edmonton opened the fourth with back-to-back three-pointers from Devonte Bandoo and Sean East II, who led all scorers with 27 points on the night. Target Score was activated after Edmonton extended their lead to 83-79, with the first team scoring 92 points. Edmonton sunk back-to-back three-pointers again, now leading 91-84. Saskatchewan embarked on a comeback with Jamir Chaplin draining a three and Isaac Simon going perfect at the free throw line, cutting Edmonton’s lead to 91-89. Unfortunately, the comeback bid was cut short after a foul call sending Scottie Lindsey to the line, sinking the game winning basket giving Edmonton their first win of the season.

The Rattlers continue their chase for their first win of the season on Saturday night when they host the undefeated Niagara River Lions at SaskTel Centre, with opening tipoff at 7:30. Below is audio from postgame media scrums with Head Coach Eric Magdanz, plus official game stats courtesy the C-E-B-L…

Head Coach Eric Magdanz: