Game Day Recap: July 20th

Another game, another improvement.

Saturday night the Niagara River Lions defeated the Fraser Valley Bandits 80-71 in front of a raucous 2010 fans at the Meridian Centre in St. Catharine’s. They improve to 12-3 on the season, 3-0 against the Bandits and a perfect 8-0 at home.

Most importantly, they also added another strong fourth quarter performance.

What was a struggle for them mid-season they have quickly turned into a strength. After a dismal third quarter (they only scored 9 points) they won the fourth handily, 24-15. Their dominant fourth was punctuated by back-to-back Trae Bell-Haynes layups with 1:10 left, putting Niagara up 78-71.

“I think (head coach) Vic (Raso) and the coaches do a good job of breaking down the gameplan and putting us in a position to succeed,” Bell-Haynes said. “Every night there are one or two guys that do a really good job understanding what the team needs and I guess tonight it was me.”

Bell-Haynes finished the night with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, three steals and an absurd +38 in just under 26 minutes of action. On the other side of the floor the Bandits were without floor general and CEBL assists lead Marek Klassen.

“No matter who I’m lining up against the preparation doesn’t change,” Bell-Haynes said. “I have to be ready to go against every guard in this league because any night you can lose.”

Defense really stood out in this game, as both teams shot under 45% from the field (Niagara shot 44% while Fraser Valley shot 32%). The River Lions were lifted defensively by former 2012 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, Sam Muldrow. Muldrow finished the game with eight blocks, and also chipped in eight points and four rebounds as well.

The River Lions were led in scoring by Guillaume Boucard, who finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

“Well I was able to draw fouls and get to the line over 20 times in the last two games,” Boucard said of his recent scoring output. “Today was different because I didn’t go to the line once. We have so many players on the team that are offensive threats that I was able to get open looks and I’m glad I was able to knock them down.

The River Lions starters were incredible in this one, totaling 67 points and the lowest individual +/- being Dorian Pinson at +19. The bench, however, was uncharacteristically poor, only tallying 13 points. The highest individual +/- of any bench player who played more than 18 seconds was Ryan Anderson, who was a -14. Backup point guard Alex Johnson struggled in this one, with a game low -29. He scored four points on two of seven from the field.

On the Bandits side of things, they were led in scoring by Jelan Kendrick who scored 17 points. However, he shot six out of 25 from the field, a testament to the River Lions defense.

The Bandits now sit at 4-11, on the brink of playoff elimination.

The next River Lions game is on July 26, at home against the Stingers.

By Nicolas Bueno