Campbell closes out BlackJacks and spoils strong debuts from Adel and Lemon Jr.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - After trailing for the majority of the game, the Fraser Valley Bandits came back to defeat the Ottawa BlackJacks 90-87 in a thrilling season opener at TD Place in Ottawa. Bandits guard Alex Campbell hit an absurd contested three and scored the team’s final 7 points to lead Fraser Valley to victory.

“It was a great play from our point guard,” Campbell said of his game-winner. “He found me, I felt good, I elevated and I hit the shot”

Campbell, the Bandits’ MVP last season, produced 23 points and 9 rebounds—both leading the team. Murphy Burnatowski and Kadre Gray each contributed 17 points for Fraser Valley with Gray also chipping in a team-high 6 assists.

South Sudan native Deng Adel had a monstrous debut in a losing effort for the Ottawa BlackJacks, scoring a franchise record 37 points to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. After saying hello to Ottawa fans, it might be him they’re looking for.

Walt Lemon Jr. also had a strong debut for Ottawa, adding 12 points and a game-high 8 assists. Chad Posthumus established an inside presence for the BlackJacks, scoring 9 points to go along with 10 rebounds, going 7-12 from the free throw line.

It was an entertaining fourth quarter with each team exchanging blows before entering the Elam Ending tied at 80. Deng Adel and Chad Posthumus both fouled out for the Ottawa BlackJacks late in the game before Campbell closed it out for Fraser Valley.

Despite out rebounding the Bandits and higher percentages from the field and three, the BlackJacks suffered from 20 turnovers and foul trouble for star players.

The BlackJacks carried a 46-41 lead into halftime, shooting 54 per cent from the field while Fraser Valley shot 48 per cent.

Adel had a huge first half for Ottawa and showed off his well-rounded game. He scored, facilitated and rebounded in the opening stanza, putting up 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, including 10 straight points in the first quarter. In his first quarter run he hit a transition three, drove and scored, tipped in a rebound and hit a pull-up three off a screen.

The first quarter was largely absent of defense with Ottawa taking a 27-21 lead into the second. The BlackJacks shot 62 per cent from the field in the first and 66 per cent from three. Both teams shot well from beyond the arc with Ottawa hitting 4 threes and the Bandits hitting 5.

For the Bandits, Burnatowski’s smooth left-handed jumper was hot in the first half. He netted 11 points before halftime, going 3-4 from three. Campbell had 9 points at half on 3-6 shooting, while Shane Gibson’s interior finishing led to 6 more points off the bench.

The BlackJacks got off to a hot start in the third quarter, extending the lead to 10 and forcing the Bandits into an early timeout just over a minute in. Down 12 points, Ty Rowell hit a huge corner three to stop the bleeding and cut the lead to nine. Burnatowski then hit another big three to cut the lead to 55-49 and force the BlackJacks into a timeout.

The Bandits made an adjustment to zone in the third quarter and were able to cut the lead to four heading into the final frame.

With Adel in foul trouble and on the bench for large stretches of the fourth, the Bandits were able to gain their first lead since 5-2 in the first quarter off of a fadeaway jumper from Maxie Esho.

“We struggled for a lot of the game to get our feet under us,” Bandits head coach Mike Taylor said. “”We made a couple adjustments in the second half that helped but I want to give credit to our team. They played with heart, they never quit and we got some breaks down the stretch.”

Coach Taylor will lead the Bandits under the Friday night lights of FirstOntario Centre against the Hamilton Honey Badgers in their second game of a three-game road trip at 7:00 pm ET/4:00 PT. The BlackJacks’ next matchup is on the road at Verdun Auditorium in Montreal for their first meeting with the Alliance on Tuesday at 7:30 ET.

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.

Ottawa BlackJacks season tickets are available https://www.theblackjacks.ca/founding-season-membership-program . The Fraser Valley Bandits will have their home opener June 4th against the Saskatchewan Rattlers. Season tickets are available at https://www.thebandits.ca/season-tickets .

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