Bandits Spoil the Fun, Defeat Rattlers in Home Opener

Year 7 in the C-E-B-L continued into Week 2 with the Saskatchewan Rattlers hosting the Vancouver Bandits in what turned out to be a lopsided match for the Snakes in the 105-65 defeat. However, there were lots of positives to come out of the opening setback, such as the performances from newcomers Jamir Chaplin and Nate Pierre-Louis who had 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Pierre-Louis opened the scoring for Saskatchewan with a nice layup before a quick response by Vancouver. The teams traded shots early in the first quarter before Vancouver pulled away with an eight-point run, extending their lead to 29-18—the closest the Rattlers would get for the rest of the game. Vancouver went into the half leading 52-34 before really opening up the game in the second half. Tyrese Samuel led the way for Vancouver with 36 points and 12 rebounds on the night. The Bandits put up another 53 in the second while Saskatchewan only put up 31. Once the game entered Target Score, the Snakes had a decent pushback but was too late being down 40 points.

Saskatchewan was without some key players, more notably returning player Cody John who was out with injury but is anticipating being back in time for their next game. The Rattlers continue their season-opening three game homestand next Thursday against the Edmonton Stingers. Opening tipoff is 7:30 at SaskTel Centre. Below are game stats courtesy the C-E-B-L and audio from postgame media scrum featuring Elijah Ifejeh, Jamir Chaplin, and Head Coach Eric Magdanz……

Elijah Ifejeh & Jamir Chaplin: