Edmonton Stingers Earn First Win of the Season

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - The defending champion Edmonton Stingers picked up their first win of the season at home on Sunday afternoon with a 84-71 win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers. 

The Stingers ended the game on a 15-0 run with Czech Republic native David Pekarek scoring 10 of his 13 points in the final minutes, including the game-winning three. Edmonton improves to 8-3 all-time against the Rattlers, including the playoffs.

“We’re at our best when we’re focusing on getting stops and running in transition,” Stingers head coach Jermaine Small said. “It reminded me of our teams from the past” 

Brody Clarke led the way for the Stingers, scoring 22 points on 8-13 shooting from the field and going 5-6 from the free throw line.  Jordan Baker, Devon Bookert, and Jahmal Jones also reached double figures with Baker and Bookert netting 11 points and Jones scoring 10 off the bench. Baker was cooking in multiple ways, adding 15 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals to his stat line. 

The first quarter was low scoring with the Rattlers escaping with a 15-11 lead. Neither team shot well, with the Stingers at 31 percent and the Rattlers at 26 percent. 

Things picked up in the second quarter as the Stingers and Rattlers went into their locker rooms tied at 35. After a rough start from the field, Edmonton finished the first half shooting 41 per cent. Of their 13 first half field goals, 12 were assisted but the Stingers also had 10 turnovers. 

The Rattlers struggled in the first half, especially from inside the arc. Saskatchewan shot just 18 per cent on twos but their 3 point shooting saved them, going 34 per cent and hitting 8 threes. Lindsey led all scorers in the first half with 11 points whil Bandoo and Carr added 9 points and 8 points respectively. Clarke powered the Stingers’ offence in the first half with 10 points, with Jahmal Jones adding 6. 

Brody Clarke continued to get big buckets in the third quarter, but Scottie Lindsey hit some big shots of his own to keep the Rattlers within striking distance.  Edmonton entered the final quarter with a 60-57 lead. 

Carr got the Rattlers off to a good start in the fourth, scoring Saskatchewan’s first 7 points of the final frame. It was back and forth until David Pekarek gave the Stingers a 73-71 lead off of a big 3 pointer. Jordan Baker fouled the ball-handler on the next possession to enter the Elam ending with a target score of 82 and the Stingers didn’t look back. 

Despite battling defensively, the Rattlers went cold to end the game and the Stingers picked up their first win of the season. 

“They executed very well and we didn’t. It was a hotly contested ball game and I think they had the wherewithal and background to finish it,” Rattlers head coach Dean Demopoulos said. “It’s anew program here and they’re the champions. We want to be like them” 

The Rattlers will look to bounce back at SaskTel Centre on Wednesday in the first game of a home-and-home with the Fraser Valley Bandits. Meanwhile, the Stingers will travel to the east coast to take on the Newfoundland Growlers Friday at 7:30 NT. 

The games will stream on CEBL+ live internationally and in Canada at cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS

and Android devices and the free CBC Gem streaming service. Games are also available on the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile, available on iOS and Android devices.

Edmonton Stingers season tickets are available at https://www.thestingers.ca/season-tickets17e760ad  while Saskatchewan Rattlers season tickets are available at https://www.therattlers.ca/tickets. 

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