The Saskatchewan Rattlers rode a 13-3 run in Elam time to come back and defeat the Scarborough Shooting Stars 91-85 at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre on Sunday night.
“This is a great group of guys,” Saskatchewan head coach Dean Demopoulos said. “I’ve been doing this since 1977, so I’ve been doing this a long time and this is as good a group of people I’ve ever been around. They’re not the best team I’ve ever been around but they’re a really good group of guys that put in an honest effort every day and who knows—maybe the best team at the end of [the playoffs].”
The Rattlers extend their winning streak to three games and improve their record to 10-8 on the season, while the Shooting Stars have their two-game win streak snapped and their record falls to 10-8. However, Scarborough stays ahead of Saskatchewan in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) standings in fourth place with a plus/minus advantage over fifth place Edmonton and the sixth place Rattlers. Fraser Valley sits in third place at 10-7 with a game in hand on the trio of 10-8 teams.
Tony Carr was the engine that powered the Rattlers to victory on Sunday, scoring the game-winning and-one bucket and notching a rare triple-double. Carr scored 19 points, hauled in 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists after flirting with a triple-double in Saskatchewan’s past two games.
Devonte Bandoo netted a game-high 25 points for the Rattlers, going 9-13 from the field and 6-9 from beyond the arc, while collecting 5 rebounds. Malik Benlevi contributed 14 points and 9 rebounds, while Jordy Tshimanga added 11 points in a starting role and Michael Nuga scored 11 points off the bench.
Isiaha Mike continued his stretch of impressive play, scoring a team-high 20 points for the Shooting Stars on 7-12 shooting and 3-6 from three. Recent Scarborough acquisition Teddy Allen had 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals in a losing effort, while Jalen Harris returned to the lineup with 12 points on 5-16 shooting.
“I thought we didn’t play hard enough,” Scarborough head coach Chris Exilus said. “We didn’t play with the same maximum effort that we usually play with. You have to respect the game and I don’t think we did that tonight.”
After a tough start, the Rattlers finished the game shooting 50 per cent from the field and 46 per cent from three and won the points in the paint battle 42-30. Scarborough shot 43 per cent from the field and 39 per cent from three in the loss.
The first quarter saw the Rattlers get off to a cold start from beyond the arc. Tony Carr faced some full-court pressure from Marcus Anderson but he still found a way to score. Carr hit an elbow jumper, an and-one layup and a pair of free throws in the opening frame. The Shooting Stars started to get hot late in the quarter, with a Jean-Victor Mukama tomahawk jam, a Jalen Harris finish, and a Kameron Chatman three giving Scarborough a 24-15 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Shooting Stars were able to extend their lead to as much as 16 points in the second quarter. A pump-fake and side-step three from Isiaha Mike put Scarborough ahead 45-30 late in the quarter. However, a pair of free throws from Jordy Tshimanga and Malik Benlevi, followed by a buzzer-beating Benlevi putback cut the deficit to 45-34 heading into the locker room.
Tony Carr led all scorers with 12 first-half points to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists, while Teddy Allen led the Shooting Stars with 9 points. The Rattlers were just 2-13 from three in the first half at a 15 per cent rate while the Shooting Stars hit seven threes at a 43 per cent rate.
Scarborough were able to increase their lead back to 16 in the third quarter, but the Rattlers stayed resilient and cut the deficit to as low as four points. Tony Carr continued his all-around performance, and posted up before faking out a defender and finding Tshimange for a dunk inside. A Jalen Harris jumper late in the third gave the Shooting Stars a 69-63 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Devonte Bandoo was red-hot to start the fourth quarter, nailing three triples that included a contested corner jumper and a transition pull-up three to cut the lead down to two. Approaching the four-minute mark, Bandoo finished a tough transition layup to cut the lead back to two but a beautiful reverse finish from Allen gave Scarborough an 82-78 lead heading into the Elam Ending with a target score of 91.
Bandoo continued his blazing hot second half with a catch-and-shoot three to kick off Elam time. A Jordy Tshimanga reverse finish gave the Rattlers their first lead since the first quarter, and a Bruce Massey floater continued their run to start Elam time. Tony Carr found Bandoo in the corner for another three to complete a triple-double and give Saskatchewan an 88-83 lead with a chance to win. Teddy Allen made a beautiful pass to Young to cut into the Rattlers’ lead, but Carr ended the game with a spectacular and-one finish from a euro-step floater.
The Shooting Stars will have t heir last home game on Thursday against the Fraser Valley Bandits at 7:30 p.m. ET while the Rattlers will face the Guelph Nighthawks at the Sleeman Centre Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Scarborough Shooting Stars tickets are available at https://www.scarboroughshootingstars.ca/tickets554a5865 while Saskatchewan Rattlers tickets are available at https://www.therattlers.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.