Stingers Stave Off Bandits for Ninth Straight Win

The win streak remained in tact, but it was a tough battle.

The Edmonton Stingers extended their Canadian Elite Basketball League to nine straight games with a 108-104 victory over the Fraser Valley Bandits Thursday night at the Edmonton Expo Centre.

Edmonton improved to 13-4 and vaulted back into first place in the CEBL standings, while the Bandits dropped to 4-13.
Fraser Valley sits in last place, but they fought tooth and nail against the Stingers, pushing Edmonton to the limit.

The Stingers have clinched their spot at Championship Weekend later this month in Saskatoon, and a game like this against a scrappy Bandits squad will benefit them as the season winds down and into the playoffs.

“When a team has nothing to lose, those are the hardest teams to play,” said Stingers head coach and GM Jermaine Small.

“All of the pressure was on us because of the streak and I’m glad the game was like that, because it reminded our guys that there was a lot more work to be done.”

Guard Mamadou Gueye led the Stingers with 26 points and nine rebounds, while Jordan Baker recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Edmonton was without the services of power forward Travis Daniels, but that gave the opportunity for other players to step up.

Gueye was inserted back into the starting lineup and he was deadly in the first half, scoring 23 of his 26 points, including four treys.
Point guard Adika Peter-McNeilly had another stellar performance off the bench recording 18 points and three assists.

“Give credit to Fraser Valley, they’re an aggressive team, they haven’t had the best start this year, but you can tell they’ve gotten a lot better over the season,” said Gueye.

“For us, we had to be prepared to play like we were playing for a championship. We’re heading into the playoffs, and we have to be ready for that.”

Edmonton dominated the first half, thanks to their red-hot shooting beyond the arc. Whether it was Gueye, Akeem Ellis or Peter-McNeilly they couldn’t be stopped.

Edmonton held a 58-43 lead at the half, but Fraser Valley showed no quit in the second half.

The Bandits took control of the game in the paint and were the more physical team in the second half.

Whether it was power forward Kevin Bercy wreaking havoc down low, or point guard Marek Klassen catching fire from three-point land, the Bandits hung around and had the game within reach.

Klassen hit two treys in the final minute to cut the Stingers lead to 105-103, but Edmonton survived Fraser Valley’s late push after guard Joel Friesen missed two crucial free throws in the dying seconds.

“It’s a very humbling experience we just had,” said Small.

“I’m glad we got pushed to the limit, because when it comes to Championship Weekend, the games are going to be close like that.

“It’s a testament of our character. We know the games are going to be tight and when they’re tight we have to stick together. I’m proud of that and we got it done.”

Edmonton looks to extend their win streak to 10 games next week when they host the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Aug.8 at 7 p.m.