The Saskatchewan Rattlers exploded with a balanced scoring effort to spoil the Guelph Nighthawks’ home opener with a 130-110 victory. This was the Rattlers first win in franchise history two days after the Nighthawks won their season opener over the Fraser Valley Bandits.

The Rattlers got balanced scoring from inside and out, with numerous players reaching double-figures. They also got a boost with the debuts of forward Denzel James (who is the all-time leading scorer in MacEwan Univeristy basketball history) and forward & Molleone (Juan) Patillo
(from Western Kentucky University).

It would be the visiting Rattlers scoring the first points of the game off a Tavrion Dawson drive to basket, setting the tone for the night.

The Nighthawks started off this game in a tight back and forth duel – much like their first game against Fraser Valley. Also similar to their first game, Guelph point guard Myck Kabongo continued his strong play by scoring his team’s first seven points – including a jumper off a
screen to score his team’s first-ever points at home.

As the first quarter went on, the visitors started to pull away with scoring off transition after a number of defensive stops. Patillo threw down a dunk and back-to-back threes by captain Bruce Massey and guard Justus Alleyn made it 23-12. Their three-point effectiveness continued
as former Raptors 905 guard Negus Webster-Chan knocked two of them. His team ended the quarter up 34-17.

Chris Johnson knocked down four straight buckets for the Nighthawks – including a couple of floater – to start the second quarter. Saskatchewan captain Massey continued to contribute as well on both ends of the floor as the Rattlers kept the lead up but he was sideline due to foul trouble.

Former Windsor Lancer Alex Campbell pushed the ball on the fast break for a layup to make it 44-25 and swished a deep ball to push the lead to 52-37 for the Rattlers. He added a layup and even a block. By halftime, the Rattlers were up 65-44 with their offence firing from inside and
beyond the arc.

Saskatchewan started off the third quarter strong with Patillo scoring an and-one layup as Alleyn and Joyce scoring as well. The Nighthawks answered with buckets by Jamal Reynolds and Kabongo but it wasn’t enough as Saskatchewan carried the sizable lead heading into the fourth.

Dawson started the final quarter hot from the three, hitting three straight three-pointers in a row. Webster-Chan also chipped in with a few threes as Saskatchewan continued to extend their lead.

Kabongo continued his strong performance but it wasn’t enough as the visitors had an answer
for the home side’s offence to close out the historic victory.

By Michael Sun