Unbeaten Bandits Cruise Past BlackJacks
Matthew Winick, CEBL
FRASER VALLEY, BC — The Fraser Valley Bandits (4-0) used a 13-0 run early in the first quarter and never looked back as they cruised to a 92-77 victory over the Ottawa BlackJacks (1-3) on Saturday.
The BlackJacks took a quick 8-2 lead to begin the game, but the Bandits’ timely run saw them never relinquish the lead for the rest of the contest. Fraser Valley held at least an eight-point advantage for the entirety of the second half.
As has been a trend for the Bandits all season, the team used a balanced approach offensively. All eight members of Fraser Valley’s rotation contributed at least eight points to the scoresheet, with Alex Campbell leading the way with 19, including the Elam Ending game winner.
“The big thing for us is togetherness, we live together, we eat together, we win together, and we learn from each other,” said Bandits’ head coach David Singleton after the game, “We still have to do better and get better every day.”
Jamal Reynolds was a sparkplug for the Bandits as well, dropping 12 points on 5-6 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Reynolds has been the definition of consistent for Fraser Valley this season, scoring in double-figures and shooting over 50% in every game so far.
“For me, I don’t look at myself as being one of the top options, I play off of everybody,” said Reynolds, “I can obviously score the ball, and the beautiful thing with this team is that anybody can have (a big) night.”
The victory puts Fraser Valley at a perfect 4-0 on the year, albeit all four games were at home in Abbotsford, BC. A new test awaits the Bandits as they travel away from the Abbotsford Centre for their next two contests. With the obvious chemistry found between the Bandits’ players, they seem ready for the task.
Despite the hot start, the BlackJacks struggled to get much offense flowing, particularly from beyond the arc. Ottawa shot just 4-19 from deep in the loss, and no player was able to knock down multiple long balls.
“We have to just put this one behind us, take the lessons that we need to learn,” said BlackJacks’ head coach Charles Dubé-Brais, “It’s a long season and way the schedule is built, all you got to do is win three games in August when the right moment comes.”
Kadre Gray and Nick Ward were both standouts for Ottawa, scoring 20 and 18 points respectively. The pair did most of their damage from the charity stripe, with 19 of their combined 38 points coming from the line.
Looking ahead, the BlackJacks complete their western Canada road trip with a matchup against the defending champion Edmonton Stingers on Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. local time.
On the other side, Fraser Valley’s first road game of the season will be played at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharines, ON as it faces off against the Niagara River Lions on Thursday at 7:00 p.m ET.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
