It was a team effort for the Guelph Nighthawks as they overcame a 20-point deficit to defeat the Fraser Valley Bandits by a score of 95-94 on Saturday night.

Guelph’s offence was highlighted by Jamal Reynolds, who, off the bench, scored a game high of 24 points. His efforts were supported by Aaron Redpath, Myck Kabongo and Ezekiel Marshall, who each put up 16, 13 and 12 points respectively.

For Fraser Valley, Tyrrel Tate led the team with 22 points coming off the bench. He was supported by Rodney Pryor and Dallin Bachynski, who each scored 14 points.

The first quarter featured high-flying offence from both teams. The Bandits flawlessly pulled ahead early in the quarter, but a string of strong plays from Myles Charvis and Kabongo helped the Nighthawks tie the game at 9. The Bandits wouldn’t let up however, continuing to take the lead and holding it for much of the quarter, with the Nighthawks always trailing closely. A strong three-point play by Tate with milliseconds on the clock helped the Bandits close out the first quarter with a 26-23 lead.

The second quarter was where the Bandits began to assert their dominance over the Nighthawks. They began the second quarter with an incredible 14-0 run. It was bucket after bucket for the Bandits while the Nighthawks just couldn’t get even one to fall.

The Nighthawks eventually got their first basket of the quarter with just over five minutes to go. The Nighthawks made an effective effort to try and comeback on the scoreboard, but the Bandits still wouldn’t let up, closing out the half leading 51-31.

Heading into the second half, the Nighthawks had one goal in mind—to comeback in the game. The Bandits however, had different plans to begin the third. They started the quarter off with a 10-2 run off a pair of three pointers from Jaylen Bland. Securing a lead of over 20 points, the Bandits were able to sit comfortably for most of the quarter.

But the Nighthawks hadn’t given up yet. They kept fighting hard and with some strong plays from Reynolds, Marshall and Redpath, the Nighthawks were able to cut the deficit to 14, ending the quarter off with a score of 78-64.

It all came down to the fourth quarter. The Bandits were convincing everyone that this was their game. However, the Nighthawks weren’t ready to let up. Early into the fourth quarter, Reynolds made a terrific three-point play, shortening the gap to just 10 points and shifting the momentum in Guelph’s favour. After that, a series of huge offensive buckets from Reynolds, Kabongo and Redpath helped close the lead even more, with the home crowd going crazy for the comeback.

The flurry of offence from Guelph overwhelmed Fraser Valley and a huge corner three from Redpath eventually brought the Nighthawks within one point.

With the court tilted in Guelph’s favour, they continued to work their magic, leading up to corner three from Kabongo, which finally put the Nighthawks up 91-89, giving them their first lead since the beginning of the game. With the crowd going crazy at the Sleeman Centre, the Nighthawks continued their fourth quarter dominance.

In the final minute of the quarter, the Nighthawks led 95-91. However, after a back and forth exchange of turnovers, Tate was able to sink a three pointer to get the Bandits within one. The Bandits were able to get possession one last time, however the Nighthawks’ heavy defence proved to be too much. By the time the buzzer sounded, Guelph had completed their glorious comeback and defeated Fraser Valley 95-94.

With that win, Guelph improves to 2-1 on the season and will face the Edmonton Stingers on Friday. Fraser Valley falls to 0-2 on the season and looks to bounce back against the Hamilton Honey Badgers on Wednesday.

By Matthew Rodrigopulle