The Saskatchewan Rattlers edged the Guelph Nighthawks 84-81 at SaskTel Centre on Thursday night in a game with massive playoff implications.

The Rattlers improve to 9-8 on the season while the Nighthawks drop to 8-9, with one more meeting scheduled between these two squads next Wednesday in Guelph. The Rattlers are even with the Edmonton Stingers at 9-8 with the defending champions holding an advantage in plus/minus.

Tony Carr led the Rattlers to victory on Thursday evening, flirting with a triple double at 18 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists, including 6 points in Elam time. Jordy Tshimanga was a force inside with 14 points and 9 rebounds for Saskatchewan, while Devonte Bandoo and Malik Benlevi chipped in 16 points and 14 points respectively, with Benlevi adding 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Bruce Massey returned to Saskatchewan and made his season debut with 10 points and the game-winning free throw.

“I thought we played pretty smart down the stretch,” Saskatchewan head coach Dean Demopoulos said. “There were times in the first half I don’t think we played very well but our assist to turnover ratio was something that I’m proud of tonight, so it was a good way to end this.”

Cat Barber scored a game-high 20 points on 8-12 shooting for Guelph in a losing effort. AJ Hess delivered 17 points off the bench for the Nighthawks, while Giorgi Bezhanishvili continued his stellar start to his CEBL season with 15 points. Ahmed Hill added 14 points on 6-15 shooting.

Saskatchewan outrebounded Guelph 46-32 on their way to a difference-making 15 second chance points. The Nighthawks shot a higher percentage from the field and three and scored more bench points and fast break points. However, the Rattlers got to the free throw line 20 times at an 80 per cent rate while Guelph shot just 5 free throws at 60 per cent in the loss.

The first quarter saw the Rattlers open on a 12-3 run powered by some strong interior play from Jordy Tshimanga. The Nighthawks stormed back into the game and a three from AJ Hess cut the Rattlers lead to 19-18 heading into the second quarter.

Cat Barber came to play in the second and tied the game at 21 with a triple then tied it again with a beautiful inside out dribble move to get to the hoop. Guelph went on a run of their own and led by as much as 11 before a pair of free throws from Devonte Bandoo cut the lead to 47-38 heading into the locker room.

Tshimanga and Benlevi opened the third with buckets to cut the Nighthawks’ lead to five. Giorgi Bezhanishvili started balling out for the Nighthawks on the inside. Returning to Saskatchewan, Bruce Massey picked up back-to-back buckets late in the third and narrowed the deficit to 64-58 heading into the final quarter.

Tony Carr scored five straight points to open the quarter for Saskatchewan and a Massey three tied the game. From there, the Rattlers and Nighthawks exchanged blows. A lefty layup from Ahmed Hill gave Guelph a 75-74 advantage heading into the Elam Ending with a target score of 84.

Bandoo opened Elam time with a triple to regain the lead for the Rattlers. Giorgi Bezhanishvili picked up back-to-back clutch buckets but Tony Carr answered with 6 points of his own for Saskatchewan. Ahmed Hill finished a layup to make the score 83-81 for Saskatchewan with Guelph desperate for a stop. A game-winning putback from Tshimanga was called back due to a foul and Bruce Massey finished the game at the free throw line.

The Nighthawks play again on Saturday ay 12:00 MT at Edmonton Exp Centre in a matchup witht the Stingers, while the Rattlers travel to Scarborough for a matchup with the Shooting Stars on Sunday at 7:00 ET.

Saskatchewan Rattlers tickets are available at https://www.therattlers.ca/tickets while Guelph Nighthawks tickets are available at https://www.thenighthawks.ca/tickets .

Fans will be able to live stream all games including the playoffs on the CEBL’s OTT streaming service CEBL+, the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile for iOS and Android devices, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices and on NXT Level Sports in the U.S. As part of its playoff coverage, CBC Sports will broadcast the quarterfinal games Sunday, August 7, semifinal games Friday, August 12, and the Championship game on Sunday, August 14. For the complete broadcast and streaming schedule, click here. All times are subject to change.

The CEBL’s fourth regular season began May 25 and ends August 1. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL is the largest pro sports league in the country with 10 teams located in six provinces. It 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.