The Fraser Valley Bandits will look to bounce back in their home opener in a rematch with their west coast rivals, the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Saturday afternoon. After losing to the Rattlers on Wednesday at SaskTel Centre 86-77, Fraser Valley will welcome Saskatchewan to Langley Events Centre at 2p.m. PT in the back half of a home-and-home.

The match-up is a rubber match of sorts, with the teams 5-5 against each other all-time. Wednesday’s win for the Rattlers ended a five game losing streak against the Bandits.

Saskatchewan’s strong fourth quarter and 18 offensive rebounds led them to a win over Fraser Valley. They also rode an impressive performance from Tony Carr, who put up an game-high 25 points to go along with 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals without turning the ball over. In the Elam ending, Carr scored or assisted on 7 of the team’s final 9 points.

“Tony Carr played a great game so we have to look options about how we’re defending the perimeter,” Bandits head coach Mike Taylor said. “Carr, Bandoo and Lindsey are three very good opponents so we’ve got to be ready to make some adjustments as we go back to Fraser Valley.”

The Rattlers big three of Carr, Devonte Bandoo, and Scottie Lindsey have been reliable to start the season. Bandoo, a returner from last year’s squad and their leading scorer last season, is averaging 14 ponts and 6 rebounds through three games. Meanwhile, Scottie Lindsey is tied for the team lead in points per game with Carr, averaging 20.3 to start the season. He also averages 2 steals and is leading the CEBL in three pointers made and sits fourth in the league in three point percentage at 40.6 per cent.

The Saskatchewan squad has relied heavily on the three to start the season. They sit first in the CEBL in three pointers made and second in percentage at 39 per cent. However, their reliance on the three can lead to stretches where they go cold. In their loss to Edmonton, they were on the wrong end of a 15-0 run to end the game. Despite a rough start to the fourth quarter against Fraser Valley, the Rattlers were able to weather the cold stretches and pick up a win.

The win can also be attributed to their performance on the glass, highlighted by 13 rebounds from Jordy Tshimanga. Five of Thsimanga’s rebounds came on the offensive end and included two crucial put-backs in the fourth quarter. He also added 14 points to his stat line and is averaging a double-double to start the season with 11 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game.

Coach MikeTaylor says Fraser Valley needs to physically respond in the rematch on Saturday in order to rebound better. The Bandits sufferend a pair of crucial injuries early in Wednesday’s game as well. Kadre Gray and Malcolm Duvivier exited the game with ankle injuries and their status is up in the air for Saturday’s matinee.

The Bandits will look to their leading scorer both this season and last season for a better performance. Former Rattler Alex Campbell is averaging 17 points per game but struggled against his old team, going 3-9 from the field and 6-10 from the free throw line.

Shane Gibson stepped up in Gray’s absence and scored a team-high 17 points off of 6-14 shooting and 5-12 from beyond the arc. The Bandits will also seek contributions from Murphy Burnatowski’s smooth left-handed jumper and the interior impact of Thomas Kennedy and Chris McLaughlin. The Bandits’ bigs have struggled a bit with foul trouble so far this season, and will likely be relied upon to prevent the Rattlers from dominating the offensive glass.

The game 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.

Fraser Valley Bandits season tickets are available at https://www.thebandits.ca/season-tickets while Saskatchewan Rattlers season tickets are available at https://www.therattlers.ca/tickets .

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , LinkedIn , Facebook & YouTube .