Game Day Writeup: July 11th

Looks can be deceiving.

The Fraser Valley Bandits sit at 3-9 and the bottom of the CEBL standings. They have a better record on the road (2-5) than they do at home (1-4).

While the Niagara River Lions have already beat the Bandits once this season, (108-87) that doesn’t offer much insight into tonight’s game.

The River Lions will have their hands full with the inside presence of the Bandits, as the River Lions are not known for their prototypical size. Head coach Victor Raso gets great production out of his players, however, often putting them in positions to succeed.

“We’ve been starting to experiment with playing both of them at the same time because they have both been playing so well,” Raso said about his centre rotation. “They’ve been very solid and have given us a big boost on defence and the boards. Sam is shooting the ball well and Yoyo (Dalembert) constantly puts pressure on the rim when he ballscreens.”

Since starting the season 0-9, the Bandits are winners of three straight. This includes an impressive win on the road in Saskatoon over the Rattlers, their first home win of the season beating Guelph, and then a huge upset win over then-second place Hamilton on the road.

Oh, and all those wins were by double digits.

The Bandits signed 6’6” guard Sukhjot Bains from Surrey BC on June 27, adding much needed depth and size to their backcourt. That same day they signed Oakville, Ontario’s Chris McLaughlin, a 6’10” big. Fraser Valley’s now menacing height has been a huge aid for them on this win streak, and it shows in their game-to-game stats.

The Bandits defense has been on complete lockdown recently, not conceding 90 points in their three-game winning streak.

Over that three-game span, the Bandits are holding opponents to 82/224 shooting from the field, good for only 36%.

They have been +64 in paint points over their three-game winning streak and have been a +22 on the glass in those games as well.

Since signing Bains and McLaughlin, the Bandits have been 3-0.

It will be interesting to see if Raso goes back to his hyper-efficient two-point guard lineup, featuring Trae Bell-Haynes at point and Alex Johnson and shooting guard.

“It’s nice to be able to go to Trae and Alex every now and then because they are both so dynamic,” said Raso. “When Alex is shooting the ball the way he has been recently it helps out as well.”

Bell-Haynes scored 21 points on ridiculous efficiency against the Rattlers, going nine of 12 from the field. He also dished out four assists and went eight of nine from inside the arc.

Johnson was great at spacing the floor, going three of five from downtown and being a +9 in just 20 minutes of play.

The River Lions have been on fire all year and look to improve to 4-3 on the road with their first game on the west coast tonight.

Tip-off is at 10 PM.

By Nicolas Bueno