B y Justine Jones
A strong third quarter helped the Guelph Nighthawks (2-5) pull ahead and register a 90-74 victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-8) on Friday night at the SaskTel Centre.
The game was close early on, with both teams playing hard and knowing how important this win would be. Guelph was playing its third game in five days, after competing at home at the Sleeman Centre, then travelling to Fraser Valley to take on the Bandits before tonight’s contest in Saskatchewan. Despite this, the Nighthawks started the game with great energy, looking to build off their Monday night win.
Corey Johnson had his best game of the season, finishing with 15 points on 71 per cent shooting from the three-point line. The Ottawa, Ont., native splashed five three-pointers in the first half and led all scorers through two quarters.
“We’ve been playing a little shorthanded without Justin Jackson and I think our effort’s been good,” said head coach Charles Kissi. “The next player stepped up. TJ’s getting big rebounds and making big shots, Corey had a good start to get us going and we’re doing a better job moving the ball and we’re just getting better, that’s what’s impressing me.”
Guelph maintained its lead early on and although Saskatchewan cut the deficit to just two points on two separate occasions, back-to-back deep jumpers by Cat Barber helped the Nighthawks stay in command. In the first half, Guelph shot 69 per cent from behind the arc and finished the second quarter on a 17-5 run, opening up a 16-point.
Chad Brown was voted Player of the Game after his 16 point, seven rebound performance. So far this season the Nighthawks had averaged 13.8 assists per game, yet tonight the team registered 20 assists. This ball movement showed on the stats sheet as Guelph had five players score in double-digits including the aforementioned Brown and Johnson, as well as Ahmed Hill (13 points), Cat Barber (11 points), and Kimbal Mackenzie (11 points).
“Honestly it’s just about trust,” said Johnson. “I think when we start trusting each other more and putting our bodies on the line for another person on both ends of the floor guys feel comfortable sharing the ball and once we do that we’re a really great team. You could see it tonight we had a lot of great players who were able to score.”
Saskatchewan had a solid start to the game as the Rattlers defensive energy allowed the team to convert in transition. JaKeenan Gant made his return to the court after being sidelined with an ankle injury since July 1 and finished with 10 points. Gant was impactful early on and had a reverse dunk that helped energize the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.
Although the Rattlers were able to keep pace with Guelph through most of two quarters, the team went the first five minutes in the third frame without a basket. Gant made a three-pointer at 5:26 to open Saskatchewan’s second half scoring. Saskatchewan struggled to make some open looks, shooting only 25 per cent from beyond the arc.
“We have to play together, and not just do it one time out of eight,” said Gant. “If we miss a shot we just have to keep playing together and believing in each other.”
A bright spot in the loss was Mambi Diawara, who led the Rattlers once again with 17 points. The former Calgary Dino was able to drive into the lane and make floaters, and registered a three-point play after taking contact from Guelph’s Cat Barber. D’andre Bernard also added all 10 of his points during the Rattlers late game push. Saskatchewan kept its fans engaged and made a late run scoring more points in the Elam Ending (16) than they did in the second (13) and third (13) quarters.
The Rattlers will head east to take on the Niagara River Lions (3-3) at the Meridian Centre on July 20 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Guelph will return home to the Sleeman Centre to host the reigning CEBL Champion Edmonton Stingers (7-0) on July 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Fans will be welcomed into all Ontario venues beginning July 17, and tickets for CEBL games are on sale now at ticketmaster.ca.
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