The Fraser Valley Bandits picked up a narrow 92-89 victory over the Scarborough Shooting Stars in a hard fought game at Langley Events Centre on Saturday.

Shane Gibson had a game high 29 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists to carry the Bandits offence to victory. Thomas Kennedy, Murphy Burnatowski and Alex Campbell each chipped in 15 points for Fraser Valley with Campbell adding 6 rebounds, 5 steals and the game-winning free throw.

“It was a great win. Scarborough brought a great team—you saw the size, the athleticism, the talent—I loved our team’s competitiveness, teamwork and heart they put into [the win],” Bandits’ head coach Mike Taylor said. “It’s a great wi on a great day.”

Jalen Harris continued to be consistent scoring the basketball for Scarborough, netting a team-high 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a losing effort. Four other Shooting Stars reached double figures, with Kameron Chatman putting up 13 points, Isiaha Mike and Sarunas Vasiliauskas netting 12, and Kyle Alexander dropping 11.

Both teams shot well from the field, with Fraser Valley at 49 per cent and Scarborough at 46 per cent. The teams were fairly even statistically and it showed in the final score.

The first quarter saw the Bandits jump out to an early lead that they held onto for the entire first half. Fraser Valley came out firing in the opening frame shooting 62 per cent from the floor and 50 per cent from three. Murphy Burnatowski hit two threes in the first 10 minutes while Shane Gibson led all scorers with 7 points. The Shooting Stars couldn’t connect from beyond the arc in the first, going 0-8 from three and trailing 27-18 heading into the second quarter.

It didn’t take long for Scarborough to end their drought from three, with Jean-Victor Mukama opening the scoring with a trifecta from the right wing. The Bandits stretched their lead back up to 12 in the second, but a pair of Jalen Harris layups off of Fraser Valley turnovers cut the lead to 49-41 heading into the locker room. Gibson led all scorers at half with 16 points to go along with 5 rebounds, scoring on contested mid-range jumpers, threes and putbacks. Both teams finished the half shooting well from the field with Fraser Valley at 56 per cent and Scarborough at 48 per cent.

Harris and Gibson were dueling in the third quarter. Gibson opened the scoring with a back door layup and a corner three. Harris proceeded to hit a contested wing three of his own, followed by a pair of high-flying two-handed jams. Down 62-53, the Shooting Stars made a run. An unsportsmanlike foul on Kyle Adman led to a five point swing and the Shooting Stars got to within two. The Bandits finished the third without trailing, but Harris continued to cook, hitting another contested three, a mid-range jumper and a floater to close out the quarter with 20 points. Gibson stayed hot for the Bandits, however. He hit a contested long two off the dribble and scored on a beautiful layup with contact to enter the fourth with a game-high 27 points. The Bandits entered the fourth with a 74-73 lead.

Isiaha Mike was able to give the Shooting Stars their first lead of the night at 81-80 with 5:45 remaining in the fourth with a hook shot from the paint. Burnatowski came off a screen to hit a three and give the Bandits their lead back but a soaring putback jam from Khalif Young tied the game at 83 going into the Elam Ending with a target score of 92.

Adnam opened the scoring down the stretch with an inside finish but Sarunas Vasiliauskas answered with a crafty finish of his own. Kennedy hit a pair of free throws for the Bandits and Harris answered with a game-tying scoop layup. Kennedy got his own rebound and picked up a tough finish inside to once again give the Bandits the lead. Kameron Chatman hit two free throws to keep the back and forth going and put both teams one three away from a win at 89-89.

Murphy Burnatowski scored a lefty layup to put Fraser Valley up 91-89 and forced a Scarborough timeout. Kyle Adnam stole the inbounds pass but Mukama hit the skies to reject the shot. However, Alex Campbell picked Jalen Harris’s pocket and drew a foul to head to the free throw line and win the game.

Scarborough heads back home after winning two of three games on their west coast trip and will face the Hamilton Honey Badgers next Saturday at 4:30 ET. The Bandits will head east to play the Guelph Nighthawks at the Sleeman Centre at 7 ET on Tuesday.

The games 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.

Scarborough Shooting Stars season tickets are available at https://www.scarboroughshootingstars.ca/tickets554a5865 while Fraser Valley Bandits season tickets are available at https://www.thebandits.ca/season-tickets .

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