Niagara Completes Comeback to Win 102-99 Over Fraser Valley

Niagara one point away, Fraser Valley three points away, Khalil Ahmad attacked the rim and got to the free throw line where he made his first to give Niagara the win.  Niagara won 102-99 over the Fraser Valley Bandits to tie the Bandits at 8-4.

The Bandits and River Lions started evenly trading opportunities around the paint to make it 7-7.  Once Shane Gibson made a three to make it 10-7, it sparked the Bandits to extend their lead slowly out to double digits where another Gibson three and a pair of threes from Malcolm Duvivier helped keep it there.  Fraser Valley forced five River Lions turnovers in the first quarter leading to seven points and they shot an efficient 53 per cent in the quarter, 60 per cent from the perimeter.  Going into the second quarter, Fraser Valley led 29-18.

Fraser Valley used their defense and rebounding to take away River Lions chances and create offence off of their defence.  With their three-point shooting and ball movement, Fraser Valley found Alex Campbell lanes to the rim and Gibson on the perimeter to extend their lead to 41-22 with 5:09 left in the second quarter.  Ahmad made a contested layup to give the River Lions 24 points and that was followed by a Campbell layup then eight unanswered River Lions points to make it a 11-point deficit for Niagara, 43-32. 

After a Bandits timeout, Niagara continued to slow their pace and focus on execution, and it paid off with a Tidjan Keita layup to make it a 43-34 game.  Murphy Burnatowski helped maintain the Bandits lead and fend off the River Lions run, but Ahmad free throws kept the pressure on Fraser Valley.  At halftime, Fraser Valley led 53-40.

Gibson entered halftime with 12 points and Burnatowski followed with 11 points to lead the Bandits on the scoreboard.  For the River Lions, Ahmad scored 10 points while Antonio Davis Jr recorded eight defensive rebounds.

Gibson’s three for five from the perimeter improved right away in the third quarter as he knocked down another one to keep the Bandits lead at double-digits.  Just as the second quarter went, Niagara went on a run minutes into the third quarter.  Sparked by Jaylen Babb-Harrison, the River Lions got out in transition and picked up the pace driving the hoop where Babb-Harrison was able to find his spots to give him eight points in the first five minutes of the third quarter.  The River Lions pushed back to a single digit deficit, 60-56 with 6:02 left in the quarter after losing by as much as 19 in the second quarter.

Three Ahmad free throws put the River Lions three points away from a lead but Fraser Valley continued to attack the interior with their spacing and a Gibson layup followed by a Marek Klassen free throw put the Bandits up 65-59 with under five minutes to play in the third quarter.  Both sides traded small runs and two free throws from Kyle Adnam kept the Bandits on top, 74-72 going into the fourth quarter.

Niagara started the fourth answering a Karnik three with a Babb-Harrison three and Waldin-Mullings steal leading to a layup.  They took a 77-76 lead over the Bandits and their defence was applying pressure on the ball movement of the Bandits.  Niagara’s defence and improved effort on the glass in the second half continued to pay dividends as they got in transition and got to the free throw line where Davis and Mitrou-Long scored to give the River Lions a 83-78 lead.  Going into Elam time, the River Lions led 93-87 with the target score set at 102.

Campbell started Elam time with five points to make it a 93-92 game in favour of Niagara.  A back and forth Elam time featuring a Babb-Harrison and Karnik layup kept this at a one-point game as Niagara got within seven of victory, Fraser Valley eight.  Munis Tutu extended the River Lions lead to seven off a pair of free throws and Niagara was within five points of victory.  Waldin-Mullings putting the ball back on two straight possessions put the River Lions at 101 and a Klassen three put Fraser Valley at 99, target score at 102. Niagara one point away, Fraser Valley three, the game winning basket came from Ahmad at the free throw line.  Niagara won 102-99. 

Ahmad finished with 23 points to lead the River Lions off 61 per cent shooting, he added to that with four assists and a steal.  Davis led the River Lions on the boards with 12 rebounds complemented by 22 points and an assist on 57 per cent shooting.  Babb-Harrison scored 14 points while Waldin-Mullings scored 13 points to go with 10 rebounds to round out the starters.  Niagara got 12 points from Mitrou-Long and 10 points from Keita off the bench.

Leading the Bandits scoring was Gibson with 24 points, complimented by two rebounds, four assists and two steals.  Campbell shot 61 per cent from the field for 19 points and grabbed four rebounds, assisted on two baskets and recorded two steals.  All five Bandits starters finished in double-digits, with Adnam and Burnatowski recording 13 points and Karnik recording 12 points.  Karnik and Burnatowski led on the boards for Fraser Valley with seven and nine rebounds. 

Niagara head coach Danielle Boiago talked about what changed in the second half, “our defensive intensity, in the first half Fraser Valley hit a lot of tough shots down in the shot clock with our hands down so we talked about getting out at shooters and cleaning up the boards and we were able to run from there.”