BY ELI SILVERSTONE
The Vancouver Bandits defeated the Scarborough Shooting Stars 104-90 Friday night at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.
The top team in the CEBL, the Bandits came into the match with a stellar 13-5 record to face off against the 11-7 Shooting Stars.
The Bandits ran the first quarter, hopping out to a quick 12-point lead and brought it to 15 in the second, but Scarborough cut it to six at halftime thanks to 14 first-half points from Donavan Williams.
Scarborough kept the momentum going in the third as Williams exploded for 23 points and brought the game to an 80-80 tie.
Once the fourth quarter started, Vancouver took back over with a 10-0 run. They held that lead throughout Target Time and came out victorious with a 104-90 win.
The win clinched the Bandits the top seed in the Western Conference, earning them a double bye in the playoffs.
Scarborough is locked into the two-seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the three-seed Ottawa Blackjacks next Friday night, August 2, to kick off the postseason.
Here are my three takeaways from the match.
Vancouver Look Like Title Favourites
The Bandits boast the best record in the CEBL and sit atop the competitive Western Conference.
Four of the top 12 scorers in the CEBL are Bandits, including Nick Ward, the franchise’s leading scorer and third-leading scorer in the CEBL. Taze Moore, a member of the Portland Trail Blazers last season, came out and dropped 11 points in the first quarter, proving he’s just one of the many scoring options on the team. Four Bandits dropped 15 or more points in the win and Ward had 12 before he went down with an injury in the third quarter.
Moore credits a lot of their success to the connectedness of the group.
“We go out to eat, we rock climb, next week we’re going sky diving… knowing someone has your back after just knowing them for four months, it's great to have,” he said post-game.
The top seed in the Western Conference may have been clinched but the job is not done for head coach Kyle Julius or Vancouver.
“Now it’s time for playoff basketball and everyone has to be better. The coaching staff, the trainers, the water guys, and it starts right now,” Julius said.
Scarborough’s finally at full strength, but is it too late?
The CEBL always has plenty of player movement. Guys get other opportunities, have to finish seasons with other clubs, go to Summer League and more. Still, Scarborough has barely played back-to-back games with all of their main guys. Cat Barber and Donavan Williams, arguably Scarborough’s most impactful players, have only played 10 and eight games respectively out of a possible 18.
Head coach Devan Blair and Williams just arrived back from NBA Summer League and are excited to be back, but is there enough time to get everyone on the same page with playoffs starting in less than a week?
“We are just trying to reintegrate everybody…it's tricky but I think overall we’ve been good,” said Blair. “We can get a lot better but do we have a lot of time to get better?”
At only 22 years of age, Williams' impact as a 6'6 wing who can handle the ball, attack the rim and shoot the three brings a whole new dimension to the team. He dropped a game high 25 points for Scarborough Friday in his first game back.
“Watching the guys develop and build chemistry just made me want to get back more. I missed playing with the guys and wanted to get back into the flow,” said Williams.
Marcus Carr’s Homecoming Game a Huge Success
A Toronto native, Carr dropped a team-high 22 points in his first real CEBL action (he had played just six total minutes prior). The former Texas Longhorn shot 61% from the field including a huge half-court three as the buzzer sounded to end the third quarter.
“I just felt the energy today and my teammates were giving me confidence. Knocking [the half-court shot] down was just about being in rhythm.”
Carr’s older brother, Duane Notice is the team captain of the Vancouver Bandits. After four years of college at University of Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Texas, and then some time playing professionally in Israel and Greece, it looks like Carr has found a nice home in the CEBL.
NEXT: The Scarborough Shooting Stars take on the Calgary Surge on Sunday, July 28, at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre. Stay tuned for more from Intermission Sports.
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