Matthew Winick
The Edmonton Stingers (5-0) used an outstanding second quarter to pull away and defeat the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-6) 87-56 on Saturday afternoon at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon. With the win, Edmonton pushed its lengthy win streak to an impressive 12 games dating back to last year’s Summer Series championship run.
The Stingers began the second on a 17-0 spurt, and wound-up finishing with a 29-5 advantage in the frame. It turned a one-point deficit into a 23-point halftime lead and allowed Edmonton to coast to the finish line.
A blowout victory wasn’t too difficult to predict, as the Stingers beat the Rattlers 101-60 – the second-largest margin of victory in CEBL history, just two nights ago. While it didn’t look like it early-on, Edmonton proved once again that it was the superior team.
“We try to just focus on one practice, one game, and one possession at a time,” said Stingers’ head coach Jermaine Small after the win, “It’s breeding success and we’re very fortunate to be where we are.”
Jordan Baker led the way for the Stingers with a season high 20 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Known as a steady presence on the court, Baker paced his team throughout the game and finished with his first double-double of the season.
“The biggest thing for us is we’re a group of unselfish guys,” said Baker, “Nobody’s looking to go get 20 points. If the ball ends up in your hands, we trust you to make a play.”
Marlon Johnson was also a standout for Edmonton, scoring 19 points including the Elam Ending game-winning three-pointer, and adding 11 rebounds of his own. With both Baker and Johnson dominating the interior, the Stingers can run efficient, high-quality offence. Naturally, they doubled-up the Rattlers in paint points, 44-22.
The loss for the Rattlers marked the team’s first game with interim head coach Conor Dow leading the charge. Dow, a former G League assistant, takes over after previous head man Chad Jacobson stepped down from his position on Friday.
“Coach Chad (Jacobson) was very generous with giving me a big voice on this team,” said Dow about his new position, “The guys are respecting what we’re saying, they’re trying to do what we ask of them. We just have to execute for a full 40 minutes and not just in spurts.”
Despite the staff change, the results stayed mostly similar for Saskatchewan. The CEBL’s last-place scoring offence only mustered 56 points, the lowest total of any team in CEBL history.
The Rattlers were paced by D’Andre Bernard and Devonte Bandoo, dropping 12 points apiece. It was an overall struggle to put the ball in the hoop, with Saskatchewan shooting just 32% from the floor and 26% from beyond the arc.
“One positive is we got a heck of a lot more open looks than we had previously,” said Dow, “It’s just about knocking down those shots and continuing to make the extra pass when the shots aren’t falling.”
While the Rattlers would love to get away from the dominant Stingers b unch, that reality will not be the case. The two squads are set to face off for a third straight time on Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m local time, once again at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
For Saskatchewan, Monday’s game allows the team a third chance to show it can compete with the Stingers, looking to improve on the 36-point average margin of defeat through the first two games of the regular season series.
On Edmonton’s side, it will look to finish off the Rattlers and remain undefeated as it continues to march through a long road trip.
All CEBL games will be available for live streaming on the CEBL’s new OTT streaming service CEBL+, cbcsports.ca , the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and android devices, and on Twitch.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 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 typically runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube