Despite Massive Comeback Stingers Fall To Bandits

The Vancouver Bandits weathered a fourth-quarter run from the Edmonton Stingers to hold on for an 84-74 win at Langley Events Centre on Friday.

The Bandits snap a five-game losing streak with the victory and take the season series against the Stingers 2-1. The CEBL Championship Weekend hosts were ahead almost wire-to-wire in the game and led by as many as 27 points.

The Stingers went on a 20-2 run in the second half to cut the deficit to four points, but Alex Campbell was able to put the

game away for Vancouver with nine fourth-quarter points – including the game-winner.

“The tough part is we're not in the part of the season where you have any moral victories – it's winning time now,”

Edmonton head coach Jordan Baker said “Every game is is a must-win for us. As you look at the playoff picture, it's

getting tighter by the minute.”

Campbell finished the game with 20 points that stemmed from six three-pointers.

“We had a game plan obviously to go inside – we got elite bigs so when they draw attention, all our shooters just got to be on the arc and stay shot-ready. And today they were falling,” Campbell said. 

Bandits’ big man Nick Ward led the way with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds on 10-15 shooting. Giorgi Bezhanishvili also contributed to the Vancouver attack with 16 points to go along with six rebounds. Veteran guard Doug Herring Jr. also chipped in eight points, eight assists and two steals.

After the game, Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius praised the impact of Ward, Bezhanishvili and especially the outside

shooting of Campbell.

“It's so important [having shooting] because… I think we're the only team in the league that plays through two bigs. And when we do that, we need that complement of shooting from outside,” Julius said.

On the other side, four Stingers reached double-digit points in the loss. Isiah Osborne netted a team-high 15 points on 6-

8 shooting from the floor and 3-4 from long range.

Forward Nick Hornsby had another all-around performance with 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four steals

and two blocks. Meanwhile, Aher Uguak and Brody Clarke each added 11 points for Edmonton, with Uguak dishing six

assists as well.

Both teams shot over 45 per cent from the field in the game but struggled from three. The Bandits hit at a 30 per cent

rate from long range while the Stingers finished at 25 per cent. Each team reached 20-plus turnovers in the contest as

well.

After missing the previous game against Montreal, Bezhanishvili returned to the lineup with a hoop and the harm to

open the game. The Bandits locked down defensively in the first quarter, limiting the Stingers to 29 per cent shooting from the field and 22 per cent from three. Campbell beat the first-quarter buzzer with a three to give the Bandits a 22- 13 lead after 10 minutes.

In the second quarter, Ward showcased why he’s one of the most difficult players to guard in the CEBL. He scored 14 points in the frame that included powerful, crafty and touch finishes – often all at once. The Bandits’ big helped his team to a 20-7 run to break open the game. Marlon Johnson Jr. closed the half with a massive putback above the rim against his former team to give Vancouver a 44-26 lead heading into the locker room.

The Bandits dominated the paint in the first half. They outscored the Stingers 28-12 inside the key and 8-0 on second chance points. Ward led all scorers after 20 minutes with 18 points, while Uguak paced Edmonton with 10.

“I don’t know if we got the ball in the paint on an offensive possession [in the first half],” Edmonton head coach Jordan Baker said. “For us, we weren't putting the ball in the basket and that kind of avalanched into obviously a [huge] deficit.”

Vancouver stayed hot to begin the third quarter. The Bandits forced an early Edmonton timeout after going on a 10-2 run to start the quarter that included three buckets for Bezhanishvili. Vancouver was able to extend their lead to as high as 27 points, but the  tingers went on a run to end the quarter and cut the deficit to 66-49 heading into the fourth.

The Stingers went on 6-2 run to start the final frame that forced a timeout for Vancouver. Edmonton stayed hot after the discussion and brought the deficit down to four points with a 20-2 run that stretched back to the end of the third. However, the Bandits received some timely scoring from Bzhanishvili, Campbell and Shaquille Keith that gave them a 75- 69 advantage heading into target score time.

The teams traded buckets to start target time. A free throw from Herring put the Bandits a three-pointer away from victory. On their next possession, Campbell pulled up from the wing and got the shooter’s roll to win the game with his second triple of target time.

Vancouver improves to 6-11 on the season while Edmonton drops to 8-10. The Stingers remain in third place but now have the same record as Saskatchewan. Up next for the Bandits is their final home game of the regular season in a meeting with the Winnipeg Sea Bears at 7 p.m. PT on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Stingers continue a four-game road trip to close the season with their penultimate game against the Calgary Surge on Wednesday at 8 p.m. MT. All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS

and Android devices