BlackJacks rally for crucial 98-92 win over Rattlers that leads to playoff berth
Despite trailing by as many as eight points in Target Score Time, the Ottawa BlackJacks (8-10) came back to pick up a 98-92 win over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (6-13) on Thursday night.
The win, combined with a Brampton Honey Badgers loss just 30 minutes later, clinched a playoff berth for the BlackJacks. They are now locked in to face the Shooting Stars in Scarborough in the Eastern Conference Play-In on August 2.
The BlackJacks finished Target Time on a 14-0 run to earn the victory. Leading the gritty effort for Ottawa was Deng Adel and Isiah Moore who finished with 22 points apiece, both shooting over 75 per cent from the field. Adel also chipped in with seven rebounds and six assists while Moore added eight boards as well.
“Just a really great win,” Ottawa head coach James Derouin said following the win. “To stay locked in and get a comeback win in (Target Score Time) … guys stayed in it and kept competing right to the end.”
Tyrrel Tate led a BlackJacks’ second unit that finished plus-12 on the night as he scored 19 points off the pine.
Meanwhile, Saskatchewan is already eliminated from postseason contention, and despite a heightened compete level it couldn’t avoid a fourth consecutive loss. Not for a lack of effort however, as all five Rattlers starters scored in double figures, led by Teddy Allen who finished 29 points and eight assists. James Montgomery also did his part, finishing with an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.
The BlackJacks trailed 88-82 heading in Target Score Time and following a Montgomery free throw found themselves down 92-84 not long after. That was when things completely flipped as Ottawa forced three turnovers and four misses from that point while missing just one shot itself.
Leading the rally was Tevin Brown who scored the BlackJacks final seven points in the win, banking in a high-arcing floater to win the game and cap off a 15-point performance. After trailing to end each of the first three frames, it put an exclamation point on a stellar fourth quarter in which Ottawa outscored Saskatchewan by 10 points (29-19).
“Tevin taking on the challenge,” Derouin said when asked how his team rattled off an 8-0 run before halftime to cut Saskatchewan’s lead down from 14 to six and kept that momentum going coming out of the break.
“Defending Teddy, he kind of turned momentum around … he’s just a winner, he stayed confident, and it was enough for us to win the game … it was pretty special.”
The BlackJacks picked up the win despite being a minus-20 on the glass and taking 10 fewer field goal attempts as a result. Ottawa came out victorious despite said disparities thanks to timely offence and a defence that played opportunistically.
Saskatchewan was limited to 43 per cent shooting from the field and 28 per cent from distance despite and forced into 17 turnovers.
“We had it in hand and let it go at the end,” Rattlers head coach Larry Abney said after the loss. “Winning is a habit, so is losing, and we haven’t collected enough wins to understand how to win … we found ways not to win the game.”
Going back to the offensive end, the BlackJacks took those live ball giveaways and forced the issue into the paint and were rewarded accordingly. Finishing the game on 55 per cent shooting inside the arc while getting to the charity stripe 26 times (plus-eight), knocking down 23 free throws (plus-10).
Up next
The Rattlers get no time to dwell on the loss before their season finale as they’ll visit the Montréal Alliance on Friday, capping off the 2024 campaign on the second night of a back-to-back.
Meanwhile, the BlackJacks visit the East-leading Niagara River Lions on Saturday for their second face-off in the span of a week.
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