The Montreal Alliance were able to hold on late and snap a four-game losing streak with a 93-89 victory over the Saskatchewan Rattlers.
Saskatchewan got off to a hot start, with Grant Anticevich scoring his team’s first eight points, and the Rattlers took a 16-8 lead into the first timeout. The Australian big man finished with 14 points and eight rebounds on the night.
Saskatchewan would build their lead up to as many as 10 with a 25-15 score before a 15-3 Montreal run in the second quarter gave them their first lead of the night off a Ben Stevens basket. The Rattlers would answer with an 11-4 run of their own before a 12-2 Alliance run gave them a 48-44 lead in one of the wildest halves in the CEBL this season.
“It was definitely a dramatic game, it was crazy,” Alliance head coach Jermaine Small said afterwards. “But you know what? Been in some crazy games before, and you just have to find a way to win, and we did that.”
“It feels good,” he said of putting his team’s four-game losing streak in the rear-view mirror. “Obviously, we won four in the beginning, and then we lost four, so it’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster, but I think we’re in a good place and hopefully we can just build off this.
“The expectation – obviously you want to win every game – but honestly it was just to get better, get better, get better. By mid-July, we want to be at our peak. We keep putting one brick down every time we play, and hopefully, we can build something special. We acquired a new player today, and we’re trying to get him up to speed. His experience was evident in many ways today. But we want to keep building.”
That new player was veteran center O.D. Anosike. The 34-year-old has experience in some of the biggest leagues across Europe and made an immediate impact in his debut for the Alliance. He finished with 13 points and 10 boards off the bench, even chipping in with four assists. He was impressed not only with his new teammates but also with the crowd they played in front of.
“The fan experience, the atmosphere, was unbelievable,” he said. “That’s going to help us, especially as a young team coming down the stretch and just giving us the energy, staying with us when we were down early, staying with us when we were up, pushing us to go further.
“On the court, this is a young team. I’m the oldest – by far. We’re going to have our ups and downs because that’s the nature of young players. But I was proud of our resolve. We stayed with it. We were down early, but we stayed with it and battled back. That gives me and probably those guys a lot of confidence going forward.”
Quincy Guerrier finished with a team-high 20 points, with eight rebounds, and Tavian Dunn-Martin added 15 points and five assists. Including Anosike’s production, the bench finished with 42 points. Abdul Mohamed had a CEBL career-high 15 points and six rebounds while Malcolm Duvivier had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, giving him 151 for his CEBL career.
The second half of the game unfolded much like the first, but with increased physicality as both teams sought to gain an advantage over each other. Montreal would build up a 57-51 lead before yet another run from Saskatchewan gave them a 64-63 advantage heading into the final quarter.
A strong final push from the Alliance gave them an 83-78 lead as we entered Target Time. A back-and-forth stretch saw the Rattlers have a chance to win the game, but new addition Devonte Bandoo missed a three-point shot from the corner, and the Alliance were able to take the ball the other way and score the final basket.
It was another tough outing for a Rattlers squad that fell to 2-9 on the season. They struggled to match Montreal’s speed and physicality, facing a 14-0 fast-break point deficit at halftime.
“They did a great job of attacking us on the inside,” Rattlers head coach Eric Magdanz said of the opposition. “They play really hard and aggressive defence. I think we did a great job of moving the ball and creating open shots against them. Unfortunately, this game comes down to inches, and they got the last shot.
“I’ve been super proud of our team this entire season for the adversity they battled through. They’re battle-tested. For us, we’ve got great leadership on the floor so that when things start not going our way, they battle through and get us a big stop and create a good stop for us. For me, as the coach, it’s just making sure I’m putting them in positions to be successful.”
Bandoo had a game-high 23 points and also grabbed eight boards. Nate Pierre-Louis had a 10-point, 10-assist double-double, while Anthony Tsegakele led the second unit with a season-high 12 points.
Former Montreal Alliance Jordan Bowden returned to the city for the first time as a member of the opposing team. He scored 21 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. Despite the loss, he was proud of his new team’s effort.
“I had a couple of boosts of energy today, but we knew they were going to fight,” Bowden said. “Montreal always wants to protect its home court. We just knew we had to be ready, and they were going to be out there ready to play, but I knew I had to bring it.”
“Just got to get back to the drawing board, look at film,” he said of his team. “We have to bite our tongue on this one, but we just have to keep getting better. I think we’re trending in the right direction. Our record doesn’t indicate that, but we got dogs out there and we know we can play with anybody.”
Next for both teams
The Saskatchewan Rattlers return home to host the Calgary Surge on June 26.
