Bandits Emerge Victorious In An Early Battle Of Undefeated Teams

The BC native headed the charge for Fraser Valley. Klassen pushed the pace and finished both at the rim and from the three-point line, shooting 71 per cent from beyond the arc. As one of the lone returning players from Fraser Valley’s team that made the CEBL finals last year, Klassen has played a large role early on this season.

“He’s treated them like brothers and welcomed them in, showed them around a bit, and he just understands the game, what the league is like and how to play out here,” said head coach Dave Singleton. “He’s been a really good leader for us overall.”

Fraser Valley carried the momentum from their opening night victory into tonight’s contest, dictating the pace early. The Bandits set the tone with their defensive play applying heavy on-ball pressure and forcing the River Lions into turnovers. Fraser Valley was able to get out in transition and make layups and three-pointers, opening up a 13-point lead after the first quarter, and a 20-point lead at the half. The Bandits shot an impressive 60 per cent from three-point range through two quarters and totaled a CEBL season high 60 first half points.

Another strength on display for Fraser Valley was their rotation depth. Alex Campbell and Ryan Ejim provided a boost for the Bandits off the bench and kept the team’s momentum strong in the first half. After the break it was Kenny Manigault who stepped up, hitting a corner three and finishing an ally-oop pass to maintain the Bandits’ control of the game. 

Fraser Valley had seven players who finished in double digits and with double the games this year, coach Dave Singleton believes their depth will be a strong point this season. Despite only two returning players from last year in Klassen and fellow guard Malcolm Duvivier, the Bandits have been able to build chemistry quickly and have translated this full-team effort into two wins to open the season.

“One of the most important parts of being a professional basketball player is you have to move into a new team and gel right away,” said Klassen. “What this team does exceptionally well is we make each other better. We’re physical, we have an incredible shot-blocker and rim protection, we have a lot of really good pieces here it’s just a matter of working together to understand the referees, the system, and the way this league is going to work.”

Xavier Sneed led the charge for Niagara scoring 35 points and going 11 for 18 from the field. The former Greensboro Swarm guard drained seven of his nine attempted three-pointers in an attempt to keep the River Lions in the game early on. Niagara had difficulty finishing at the rim, and had they made some of these transition layups, the narrative of this game would have been much different.

“We have to execute better. We had a game plan that fit exactly what these guys did and we just didn’t execute,” said head coach and general manager Victor Raso. “This league is all about energy, teams who play harder win games and that team beat us until mid-way through the third quarter when our energy matched theirs and then it was a bit of a game from there on in.”

The matchup was a fast-paced, high-flying affair, something the River Lions found success with in their season opener in Ottawa. Niagara has an athletic roster, so while they may not have made some of the good looks in transition tonight, this style of play is something we may see from Niagara moving forward. 

Next up for the River Lions is the reigning CEBL Champions, the Edmonton Stingers (1-0) on July 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET/ 7:00 p.m. local time at the Expo Centre.

The Fraser Valley Bandits will take on the Saskatchewan Rattlers (0-2) at the Abbotsford Centre in a rematch of their opening night showdown on July 1 at 5:00 p.m. ET/ 2:00 p.m. local time.

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.