Bandits Defeat River Lions 87-78 in second half of back-to-back on the road

By: Dillon White (@dillon_white)

A seismic third quarter helped the Vancouver Bandits right the ship and earn an 87-78 win over the Niagara River Lions at the Meridian Centre on Saturday night. 

Bandits big man Nick Ward played bully ball in the paint against the CEBL’s reigning defensive player of the year E. J. Onu on his way to 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks. After an efficient 21 points off the bench on Friday night against Brampton, Ward went 11-15 from the floor and 3-7 from the free throw line against Niagara.

“It's all about feeling,” Ward said. “I just got to get the feel of the defence, how they’re defending me and how the refs are calling it.” 

Giorgi Bezhanishvili bounced back from a poor performance against the Honey Badgers with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks in the victory. MJ Walker chipped in with 20 points for the Bandits, including seven in target score time. 

Edward Ekiyor came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points for the River Lions on 5-11 shooting from the field. Reigning CEBLMVP Khalil Ahmad struggled with his shot on Saturday and finished with 12 points on 4-15 shooting. However, Ahmad contributed eight assists and three steals in the loss. No other Niagara player reached double figures with Jahvon Blair, EJ Onu and Patrick Whelan all netting eight points. 

“In this league, whoever plays harder usually wins,” Niagara head coach Victor Raso said. “The talent is pretty good across the board and I thought [Vancouver] played with the desperation that we needed to play with.” 

The Bandits kept pace with their league-best rebounding average by hauling in 51 during Saturday’s contest – 17 more than the River Lions. Vancouver shot 47 per cent from the field in the victory including an improved 32 per cent from three. The Bandits won despite 19 turnovers and a 57 per cent night at the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Niagara’s offence shot 42 per cent from the field, 22 per cent from three and 95 per cent from the line. 

“I thought we played really well on a back-to-back since we were really terrible last night,” Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said. “Overall, I can see that there's something in that locker room, there's something there that we can really build on.”

The first quarter saw Ward impose his will on the River Lions at both ends. The big man started with a lefty hook, a mid-range jumper, a drop-step finish, a putback tip, a block and two assists. The Bandits took a 20-13 lead into the second quarter, powered by Ward's performance. 

Vancouver scored a pair of quick buckets to begin the second and forced the River Lions into a timeout. Bezhanishvili helped the Bandits extend their lead to 10 points with a trio of pick-and-roll finishes but Niagara fought back with a 10-0 run to tie the game. Ward completed a putback and hit a free throw to regain a three-point lead for Vancouver, but Onu hammered home an alley-oop to close the quarter. The Bandits carried a narrow 36-35 lead into halftime. 

Both teams struggled from long range in the first half at below 20 per cent, but the Bandits shot 44 per cent overall through 20 minutes. 

The River Lions went three and a half minutes without a field goal to start the third quarter and the duo of Ward and Malcolm Duvivier fueled Vancouver to a 10-0 run. Niagara finally got a bucket with another Onu alley-oop but the Bandits went on another big run to end the quarter. An and-one from Walker capped off a 17-4 run and gave the Bandits a 22-point lead. However, TJ Lall dialed long distance for Niagara to cut the deficit to 65-46 heading into the fourth. 

Niagara went on an 11-3 run to start the fourth and cut into the Bandits’ lead. Ward continued to succeed inside against Onu, but the River Lions caught fire from three and went on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to single digits. The Bandits went into target score time with a 77-72 lead. 

Walker slashed to the hoop and got the shooter’s roll on a three to score the Bandits’ first five points of target score time. Niagara hit four consecutive free throws to cut the lead back down to six points, but Walker hit another jumper to put the Bandits one bucket away from victory. 

Duane Notice drilled the open wing three to win the game for Vancouver. Niagara drops to 2-4 on the season, while Vancouver improves their record to 2-4.

The Bandits will continue their road trip on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MT against the Calgary Surge while the River Lions host the Montreal Alliance on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET. 

All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.