The Fraser Valley Bandits went down to the wire in the Elam Ending again, beating the Hamilton Honey Badgers 71-70 on May 27 to continue their undefeated season.

Former Honey Badger Thomas Kennedy had a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds off the bench for the Bandits. He also scored the game winning free-throws with friends and family in the stands.

Guards Alex Campbell (14 points, eight rebounds) and Kadre Gray (17 points, six assists) also paced the team offensively. Meanwhile, Hamilton got balanced scoring throughout the lineup with Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. (14 points, six rebounds), Christian Vital (11 points) and Caleb Agada (10 points) leading the way.

The Bandits came back from an early deficit and withstood a Hamilton comeback to pull out the victory.

“Gritty win,” Kennedy said. “We just said it in the locker room. Finding a way to win. That’s what it means to be winners.”

Fellow former Honey Badger Murphy Burnatowski hit a three to get the visitors on the board. Both teams were attacking the basket early on and playing at a fast pace as Hamilton took a slim lead in the first. Vital continued his strong showing from the season opener with five early points.

The Bandits cut into the lead by attacking the basket, with Kennedy scoring inside to cut the lead to 15-13 before taking a charge. However, the Honey Badgers would take a 17-13 lead after Agada hit a jumper to end the first quarter. Hamilton continued to attack the basket and get to the foul line.

The Bandits continued to chip away at the lead and Gray continued the deep shooting with a three to give his team a 35-32 lead late in the second quarter. Fraser Valley took a 37-33 lead into halftime.

Campbell and Gray carried on their solid offensive performances into the third quarter by finishing off drives as Fraser Valley extended their lead. Meanwhile, Vital kept the score close with his three-point shooting. The lead grew to double digits for the visitors after a Campbell triple.

The Honey Badgers went on a run in the fourth to take back the lead. The home side forced a turnover and pushed the pace in transition, where guard Michael Okafor scored to put them up 61-59. The visitors answered with their own transition basket by Kyle Adnam to give them a 62-61 advantage heading into the Elam Ending.

The lead continued to change hands in the Elam ending with Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. scoring on one end and Kennedy on the other. Tilmon Jr. came up big again with a score down low while Adnan answered with a three to tie the game.

With the game tied at 69, Hamilton guard Koby McEwan stole the ball and found Agada who was fouled at the rim. Agada hit one of two free throws while Kennedy was fouled on the other end. He hit both foul shots to end the game amid a noisy Hamilton crowd.

“I probably would have been stressed if it wasn’t for my point guard who came over and he broke my nerves right before I shot, right before I even got the ball,” Kennedy recalled of the free throws. “He came over to me and said ‘that looks pretty’.” Kennedy then smiled and sunk the free throws.

“We believe we’re far from what our best game is so far,” Kennedy said. He said it’s “huge” to start the season with two wins.

Hamilton head coach Ryan Schmidt called it a competitive game. “Too many times, in certain stretches, we didn’t play our brand of basketball,” Schmidt said. “We completely got away from what we wanted to do offensively.” He added the team found a groove defensively later in the game.

Coming up, the Honey Badgers host the Guelph Nighthawks on June 2 while the Bandits face the Saskatchewan Rattlers on the road on June 1.

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+ . and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Games will also be available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca , the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service.

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 .