Guelph Nighthawks turn it all around, Saskatchewan stay on top
The Guelph Nighthawks completed a nail-biting fourth-quarter comeback against the Fraser Valley Bandits in the CEBL matchup on saturday, with NBL Canada players continuing their form from the season just gone.
At the end of a tight, back-and-forth first quarter, an and-one layup from Tyrrell Tate put Fraser Valley up by three. After which, a lapse in concentration from Guelph allowed the Bandits to take a double-digit lead, which grew to twenty points shortly after the start of the third quarter.
Tyrrel Tate, who played in the past NBL Canada season with the Windsor Express, was the leading player on Fraser Valley’s offence, finishing with 22 points in the contest. Jaylen Bland of the Sudbury Five contributed 13 points for the visitors.
With the Bandits leading by 14 points going into the fourth quarter, it looked to be all said and done – but the Nighthawks had other ideas. Big field shooting from Jamal Reynolds and Aaron Redpath accurate from three-point territory helped Guelph closed the gap before finally claiming the lead down the stretch.
Tate put up a three in the last thirty seconds to make it a one-point game, but in the remaining time none of the Bandits were unable to get a last shot to drop for them. Guelph, meanwhile, were able to held on to possession long enough to close out the game with the final score 95-94 in their favour.
With 24 points, Reynolds led the scoring for Guelph, while his team mates Redpath contributed 16, twelve of which coming from outside the arc, and Chadrack Lufile had 12 points off the Nighthawks’ bench.
Meanwhile, the Saskatchewan Rattlers completed a two-game sweep over the Hamilton Honey Badgers, this time defeating them on their home court.
While Hamilton fought back with their close-range offence after falling behind early on, Saskatchewan stepped up their play in the paint and getting 11 three-pointers to drop in the game to take control of proceedings, going on to lead by as many as fourteen points.
Leading the charge for the Rattlers were Cape Breton Highlanders star Bruce Massey, the game’s leading scorer with 22, and Island Storm sensation Alex Campbell, who had 20 points on the night.
Saskatchewan’s 91-77 win was their third in a row, which also sees them lead the pack at this very early stage of the CEBL's inaugural season.
Picture: Rob Massey
