Gameday Preview: May 24th

Round two, anyone?

Just over two weeks ago, the Niagara River Lions won the first game in CEBL history, defeating the Saskatchewan Rattlers in a thrilling 99-97 victory. Tonight, they’re back in the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon for another matchup with the Rattlers.

“The win doesn’t help as much as (it is) a chance to watch ourselves and study areas of the game in which we can improve,” head coach Victor Raso said about their game against the Rattlers on opening day. “(We can see) what they’ll do to us, what they did to us that we didn’t take advantage of, etc.”

Since their last meeting, the Rattlers have won three straight and sit at the top of the early CEBL standings with a 3-1 record.

All three of the Rattlers victories have been double-digit deficits, including a 130-110 win over the Guelph Nighthawks and back-to-back wins over the Hamilton Honey Badgers.

“I think their main guys are playing well, and they’ve started to figure out who they are,” Raso said of the Rattlers win streak. “They’re a very talented group and they have enough playmakers at enough different positions to make you worry.”

The Rattlers have got tremendous production from Alex Campbell and Tavrion Dawson in their most recent game, a win against Hamilton.

Campbell posted 23 points, six rebounds and three assists while shooting 43% from the field, 40% from behind the three-point line and 80% from the free-throw line.

Dawson, on the other hand, put up stats of 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals. Asides from the previous win, the River Lions have the benefit of rest on their side as well.

After opening up the season on a back-to-back, (splitting the games with one win and one loss) the River Lions had the luxury of six days of rest. After the extended rest, the River Lions won their home opener 108-66 against the Edmonton Stingers. That was on May 16, eight days ago.

“I gave the guys two full days off and two days of optional skills and lifts,” Raso said about how the team handled the days between games. “I think the nicest part of it for us was that we finally set the standard of how good we believe we can be. Up until that game it was just a feeling we had from our practices, but we hadn’t put it together in a game quite that way yet (home against Edmonton).”

The 108-66 victory saw impressive performances from sharpshooter Ryan Anderson and playmaker Trae Bell-Haynes.

Anderson dropped 21 points and hit five of seven three-pointers. He also added five rebounds and was a plus-24 on the court.

Bell-Haynes, a steady presence at point guard, chipped in with 16 points, five assists and only one turnover while shooting 60% from the field.

“We did a much, much better job rebounding against Edmonton at home than we did on the road in our first two games,” Raso said about positive trends this season. “That’s something that has to continue for us. I like our compete level at practice as well and how that spilled over into our win last week, and that (mentality) has continued into this week.”