When Newfoundland inbounded the ball at half court, Alex Campbell came away with a steal and ran down to put the ball in the hoop and put another win under the Bandits belt. Fraser Valley snuck away with a 94-92 win over the Newfoundland Growlers on home court to extend their winning streak to five games. Fraser Valley remains at the top of the CEBL at 8-2 with Newfoundland at 0-8.
As the first quarter commenced, Fraser Valley continued the three-point shooting that they showed in their last game. Malcolm Duvivier, Alex Campbell and Maxie Esho hit the first threes with Esho and Kyle Adnam following up. On the other side, Newfoundland found their rhythm inside the paint and they shot an efficient 80 per cent from the field in the first.
Nysier Brooks scored 10 points in the first quarter, leading Newfoundland while Brandon Sampson hit two inside and a three to give him nine points. Newfoundland forced Fraser Valley turnovers on the perimeter to give them eight points off turnovers. At the end of the first, Newfoundland held a 29-25 lead over Fraser Valley.
Brooks, Terry Thomas and Jahvon Blair helped the Growlers push their lead to double digits through the first half of the second quarter. Even with the big men of Maxie Esho and Adam Paige getting looks around the floor to go with the scoring of the Bandits guards, Newfoundland forced turnovers and got into the lane to find their opportunities. Newfoundland’s defence got them to a 45-34 lead over Fraser Valley but the Bandits defence picked up and the momentum gradually shifted. At the end of the first half, Newfoundland led 53-50 over the Bandits.
Esho shot six of seven in the first half for 14 points and a pair of rebounds with an assist. For the leading Growlers, Brooks shot seven of eight for 14 points with Sampson scoring 13 points on four of five shooting.
The third quarter saw a run by both sides. Newfoundland started to push their lead back up to double-digits, and Fraser Valley responded. With free throws by Kadre Gray and James Karnik working around the hoop, Fraser Valley once again cut into the Growlers lead making it a two-point game going into the fourth quarter. At the end of the third, Newfoundland led 75-73.
A tightly contested fourth quarter made every possession important and kept the margin small. Gray evened up the game at the free throw line but Sampson free throws and five straight points from Thomas gave the Growlers a 7-2 run and a five-point lead, 82-77 with 6:51 left. As time winded down, Adam Paige made a jumper, Kahlil Whitney responded with a three but Maxie Esho got out in transition and finished at the rim to send the game into Elam time. The target score was set at 94 with the score 85-81 in favour of the Growlers.
Karnik scored the first three points of Elam time at the free throw line and the Bandits cut it to a 85-84 Newfoundland lead. Fraser Valley’s presence inside the paint on both sides contained any Growlers second chances and put them at the line where Karnik got three points and Adnam made a pair of free throws to put the Bandits up 86-85. Fraser Valley got out to an 8-0 run in Elam time making it 89-85 but four points inside the paint tied it at 89. From then on, Fraser Valley and Newfoundland exchanged baskets including a Thomas three and Karnik layup and the game was tied at 92 with the target score two points away. Alex Campbell got to the rim in transition and Fraser Valley won 94-92 on home court over Newfoundland.
Esho finished with 19 points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal to lead the Bandits. Adnam shot 54 per cent to give him 18 points, three rebounds and seven assists. Campbell recorded 17 points, six rebounds, an assist and three steals with Karnik adding 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a block.
Brooks led the Growlers with 20 points, nine rebounds and a pair of steals and blocks. Sampson followed with 19 points, a rebound, a steal and a block. Thomas added 17 points off the bench to go with a rebound, steal and block. Kennedy rounded out the Growlers in double-digits with 11 points, six rebounds, a steal and a block.
Kyle Adnam talked about what worked for Fraser Valley to allow them to come away victorious, “First half defensively we were a little bit slow on our rotations and picking up the ball but I thought second half we did a great job of flipping that around and that’s what ultimately won us the game in the end, Alex with a big play on the ball.”
Newfoundland Head Coach Patrick Ewing Jr. talked about the addition of Nysier Brooks, “he adds a lot of dimensions, someone who can score both offensively from the inside and outside a little bit, a defensive presence who can protect the paint even though we didn’t do a great job protecting the rim today but he’s someone who does that, who brings that to us. Someone who makes shots harder for the guys as they’re getting in the paint. It’s only game two for him with us so he hasn't gotten to see everything we’re trying to do defensively and we’ll keep growing as he keeps growing.”
Fraser Valley Head Coach Mike Taylor talked about how his team came together to get the win, “this was hard work today, for me, you’re down Thomas, you’re down Murphy and in the pregame warmup Shane comes up with an injury that we were cautious and we decided we’re not going to risk this and you trust the team and the team really delivered.”