The Thursday night CEBL double-header tips off at SaskTel Centre as the visiting Guelph Nighthawks (3-10) and Saskatchewan Rattlers (6-7) both look to snap four-game losing streaks. Guelph wants to give its new head coach and general manager, Charles Kissi, his first win since taking over the reins on July 8. The Rattlers are currently 1½ games back of third-place Hamilton in the standings, and still hope to avoid a date with league-leading Niagara in the semifinal of CEBL Championship Weekend.

Both teams will be missing key figures in their lineup and must have the “next up” on the roster prove his value.

(Tickets available at TicketMaster. Watch via CEBL TV or the CBC Gem App ).

Saskatchewan has recently parted ways with American guard Bruce Massey, who sits second in the CEBL scoring race, averaging 19.1 points per game, behind only his former teammate Tavrion Dawson (20.5 ppg). Massey also led the league in steals, averaging 2.3 per contest. It will be interesting to see how bench boss Greg Jockims fills the huge void. Will Dawson feel more pressure to add to his impressive offensive productivity or will Saskatchewan, who ranks last in the league in assists (17.5 apg) start to move the ball around and look for the open man?

While the Rattlers deal with the permanent loss of Massey, the Nighthawks will be without star guard Myck Kabongo and forward Chadrack Lufile on Thursday night. Kabongo is averaging 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 6.3 assists this season, while Lufile has contributed 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. Guelph, who has tried unsuccessfully to win with a strong inside presence, may look to take more triples as they currently sit last in the league, having made just 118 three-pointers on the season, but rank second in accuracy (.366).

Saskatchewan has won its first two meetings against Guelph by an average of 16.0 points, including the largest offensive output in league history, a 130-110 win over the Nighthawks on May 11. The Rattlers followed that performance with an impressive 113-95 victory over Hamilton five days later. Since then, Saskatchewan has failed to hit the century mark in points.

A win for the Rattlers would all but shut the door on Guelph’s chances of playing in the postseason but it won’t be the last time the Nighthawks play in Saskatoon as the two teams close the regular season at SaskTel Centre on August 15.

May 11, 2019 at Guelph: Saskatchewan 130, Guelph 110
Leading scorers: Guelph (M. Kabongo, 28), Saskatchewan (N. Webster-Chan, 28)
Leading rebounders: Guelph (E. Marshall, 10), Saskatchewan (A. Campbell, 8)

June 8, 2019 at Guelph: Saskatchewan 98, Guelph 86
Leading scorers: Guelph (J. Reynolds, 14), Saskatchewan (M. Johnson, 21)
Leading rebounders: Guelph (M. Kabongo, 8), Saskatchewan (T. Dawson, 8)