The Ottawa BlackJacks had another efficient performance in a 100-79 home victory over the Fraser Valley Bandits.

The BlackJacks have won two games in a row and four of their past five. Like their previous win against the Saskatchewan Rattlers, they got out to an early lead and didn’t let it up. Jackson Rowe scored a layup and Bernard Thompson hit a jump shot to give Ottawa a 10-4 lead.

Marek Klassen and Alex Campbell hit threes to respond for Fraser Valley. The Bandits went inside to James Karnik, who was able to draw fouls. However, Ottawa also shot the ball well as they were ahead 29-17 after one quarter.

Shane Gibson hit an outside shot as the Bandits cut the deficit down to 29-23. Meanwhile, Karnik finished inside against Chad Posthumus. BlackJacks guard Walt Lemon Jr. took charge offensively by driving into the lane while his teammates did the same.

The threes continued to drop for both sides as BlackJacks guard Tyrell Green hit all four of his triples he attempted in the first half. Deng Adel added a three as the home team had a 53-42 lead at halftime. The team shot 56 per cent from deep in the first half.

Ottawa picked up where they left off to start the third quarter as Lemon Jr. flushed a dunk on their first possession. Thompson added a midrange jumper as the lead stayed at double digits. Gibson kept his team in the game with back-to-back threes.

The Bandits made timely baskets by Klassen and Malcolm Duvivier late in the third quarter and made their push in the fourth. Ottawa had an answer with four straight points by Lemon Jr. and Adel. Rowe and Duvivier exchanged threes while Thompson added one as Ottawa went into the Elam Ending up 91-76.

Ottawa hit free throws in Elam time to move closer to victory while the Bandits missed their outside shots. Posthumus added a dunk and Lemon Jr. sealed the win with a three.

The BlackJacks shot 50 per cent from the field and 45 per cent from three. “Coach [James Derouin] has been on us about, he wants us to get up more threes,” Green noted. “In practice, we’re locking in more and getting up more shots and it’s carrying over to the games so we just have to keep it up.”

Five players scored in double figures, including Adel with a game-high 27. Posthumus led all players with 12 rebounds. Ottawa’s defence came up strong with seven blocks and they held their opponents to 36 per cent shooting.

Derouin said he was thrilled with the team’s performance. He’s seen them grow throughout the season. “I think the thing I’m most proud of so far is their ability to navigate the highs and lows throughout a game,” he noted.

“We’ve been talking about how winning teams stay together through the highs and lows no matter what, staying humble.”

Green said the team continued to fight even when Fraser Valley made their runs. He said the team’s chemistry has gotten better.

Campbell (20 points, six rebounds), Karnik (17 points, eight rebounds) and Gibson (17 points, seven points) led the way for Fraser Valley, who fall to 9-5. They were out-rebounded 48-36.

“We did not do a very good job finishing in the paint,” Fraser Valley head coach Mike Taylor said. “When they switched, we did not recognize the mismatch, attack the mismatch, establish in the paint.” He credited Ottawa’s performance and said the focus is on improving their defence.

“We definitely just need to clean up our defence,” Karnik added. “To be a championship calibre team, we have to play [defence]. That’s five guys on the floor talking, making sure that we’re in tune with each other, we’re all connected. I think a big thing we kind of missed today is we had spurts where we’re all connected together but it broke at times.”

The BlackJacks improve to 5-8, only one win behind the Guelph Nighthawks for seventh place. They start a three-game Western Canada road trip when they face the Edmonton Stingers on July 12. The Bandits continue their road trip with a game against the Montréal Alliance on July 11.

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