Justin Wright-Foreman Keeps Rattlers Playoff Hopes Alive with Crucial 86-84 Win Over Brampton
A game-winning shot by Justin Wright-Foreman sets a new Rattlers record for most points in a game
Justin Wright-Foreman’s franchise-record 39 points powered the Saskatchewan Rattlers (7-11) to an important 86-84 win over the Brampton Honey Badgers (6-10) on home court to keep their playoff aspirations alive.
With the game tied at 84, and both teams one basket away from victory in target score time, Wright-Foreman raced to the hoop and got a contested shot in transition to go—setting a new Rattlers record for most points in a game. The shot came after both teams had multiple chances to end the game in target score time.
“I saw a hole in the defence and we kept on getting good looks at the basket,” Wright-Foreman said after the game. “I just wanted to use my speed and get downhill.”
Mike Nuga, making his fourth start of the season, provided high energy on the offensive and defensive sides of the court. Nuga racked up 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists on the evening.
Wright-Foreman—who drew constant attention from the Honey Badgers all night—also kicked the ball out to Nuga on a pair of corner threes. Nuga finished with three threes on the evening.
“I think it’s a credit to how close we are off the court,” Wright-Foreman said. “We’re a good group of guys and our camaraderie is crazy.”
Although the game was billed as a matchup between two star-studded backcourts, it was Brampton’s front court that showed up in full force.
Zane Waterman led the way for the Honey Badgers, recording a team-high 22 points and snatching 17 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive glass. Waterman also knocked down three three pointers and shot better than 50 per cent from inside the arch.
“They played with a sense of toughness,” Brampton head coach Antoine Broxsie said. “I always expect them to play with toughness, they’re really the heart of this team.”
Prince Oduro also notched a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.
Not to be outdone by his big men inside, Christian Vital collected a 22 point and 10 rebound double-double of his own.
Despite the loss, the Honey Badgers won the rebound battle 53-38 and nabbed 14 more offensive rebounds than the Rattlers—two facts that are made more impressive considering Saskatchewan came into tonight averaging nearly three more offensive rebounds per game than Brampton.
Wright-Foreman struggled to find his shot in the first quarter.
The Queen’s, New York native, averaging almost 30 points heading into today, recorded only three first quarter points and let his teammates pick up the slack in the opening frame.
Nuga stepped up with 7 of his 15 points in the quarter, including a contested buzzer-beating floater that gave the Rattlers a 26-21 lead after one.
In the second, Vital and Wright-Foreman started to go head-to-head.
The star guards matched each other on consecutive possessions at one time in the quarter—Vital making a shot under the hoop on one end of the floor, before Wright-Foreman drew an and-one at the other side of the court on the ensuing possession.
Wright-Foreman collected nine points in the frame to match Vital’s eight in the quarter. Vital scored seven of his team’s final 10 points in the quarter to keep the Honey Badgers within three points entering the half.
Off the bench, Anthony Tsegakele nearly recorded a double-double in the first two quarters: scoring eight points and snatching seven rebounds. The big man finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds in over 27 minutes played.
After the break, Wright-Foreman, who missed all three of his attempts from long-range in the first half, scored three straight threes to open a seven-point margin. But the Honey Badgers didn’t go away, immediately cutting the lead to two points and making it a 68-63 game after three.
In the final quarter, Brampton then went on an 8-0 run—capped off with Cody John’s first three points of the night on a long ball—to force a Saskatchewan timeout. Wright-Foreman ended the run with a high floater off the glass, and the two teams, vying for a playoff spot, were deadlocked at 77 entering target score.
Saskatchewan and Brampton traded baskets with the game clock shut off, and both squads had looks at ending the game with the score tied at 84—two points away from victory. Wright-Foreman, though, ended the game with a down-hill layup that moved the Rattlers to within a game of Edmonton for the western conference’s final play-in spot.
“It was vitally important,” Rattlers interim head coach Tanner Massey said of the win. “They’re all important, but we knew what we had to do, our backs were against the wall.”
The loss dropped Brampton to one game behind the Montréal Alliance for the east’s final play-in spot. The Honey Badgers will square off against the Alliance at the Verdon Auditorium in their next game on Sunday July 23.
“We gotta get a win,” Waterman said of his team’s next game. “It’s crunch time, we gotta get into the playoffs.”
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, will look to start a win streak against the Vancouver Bandits on Wednesday night at the SaskTel Centre.
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.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 percent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on
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