Edmonton Stingers Snatch Second Half of Weekend Series With 92-78 Win Against Vancouver Bandits

Edmonton Stingers Take the 92-78 Win Against Vancouver Bandits



The Edmonton Stingers (6-7) knocked off the Vancouver Bandits (5-7) 92-78 in the second half of a home-and-home Canada Day long weekend series at the Expo Centre.

After losing by 10 points to the Bandits in Vancouver on July 1, the Stingers responded with an efficient shooting performance inside the arch and a team-high 19 points from Aher Uguak.

As a team, Edmonton shot 68 per cent from inside the three point line and 50 per cent from the field. Uguak led the way with 19 points and 4 rebounds, but four other Stingers also recorded double digit point figures.

“We had a way better start [compared to Saturday],” Uguak said after the game.

“The second half, especially the fourth quarter, was a little sloppy. We’re not where we wanna be yet, but things take time. I think we got better today, and I like the W for sure.”

Their ability to get to the rim was buoyed by the fact that Vancouver was playing without two of their significant bigs for most of the game: Nick Ward and Giorgi Benzhanishvili.

Two days after combining to score 32 points against Edmonton, both Ward and Benzhanishvili failed to play in the fourth quarter this afternoon. Ward was ejected with two consecutive technical fouls in the second quarter, while Benzhanishvili fouled out towards the end of the third.

“You can only play the team that’s in front of you,” Edmonton head coach Jordan Baker said. “Foul trouble is going to happen; other stuff is going to happen. Credit to our guys for continuing to play the way we wanted to.”

Before their absences, Ward and Benzhanishvili were flexing their muscles inside. Ward, specifically, recorded six points in the fourth quarter and seemed to overmatch Edmonton’s forwards.

However, Uguak responded with 8 of his 19 points on the afternoon in the quarter.

Edmonton also knocked down 4 of 7 three point attempts in the first—highlighted by a full-court heave that dropped at the buzzer by Geoffrey James—to take a 29-18 lead heading into the second.

Benzhanishvili, who recorded his fourth foul of the game halfway through the second, was forced to miss most of the quarter with foul trouble.

Shortly after Benzhanishvili left for the bench, Ward recorded a technical foul. And with Edmonton shooting the technical free throw, Ward got into an argument with the Stingers bench and got ejected with his second technical of the game.

Ward finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes played.

In the absence of both starters, forward Shaquille Keith recorded a game-high 20 points for Vancouver off the bench.

Following halftime, with Edmonton ahead 51-37, Benzhanishvili kept Vancouver in the game with six points in the frame. But Benzhanishvili recorded his fifth personal foul after fighting for a loose ball under the Edmonton basket—halting Vancouver’s momentum.

Edmonton, meanwhile, continued to let in rain from the mid-range in the third, building a 19-point lead by the end of the third.

Uguak was also able to get to the free throw line, knocking down three of four free throws in the quarter. Uguak finished 10-12 from the line on the afternoon.

A Jahenns Manigat three pointer cut Edmonton’s lead to 15 by target score time, but the Stingers were able to close out the Bandits in the final frame.

Fueled by four points by Uguak in target score, Brody Clarke—who finished with 13 points—knocked down a free throw to close out the game at 92.

With the win, Edmonton managed to stay in the thick of the western conference playoff race. The Stingers are now one game behind the second-place Calgary Surge in the west.

Edmonton and Calgary are set to square off on Wednesday night in Edmonton.

“I think it’s going to be a great matchup,” Baker said. “Anytime Edmonton and Calgary clash there is a possibility of fireworks.”

Vancouver will have five days off before facing the Ottawa BlackJacks at the Langley Events Centre on July 9.

Full broadcast schedule of CEBL Games of the Week on TSN can be found here. All games will also be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. 

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