It just wasn’t in the stars for Scarborough.
The Hamilton Honey Badgers, led by star Christian Vital’s 27-point effort, spoiled the Shooting Stars’ home debut with an 84-69 win on Saturday night.
In front of a huge crowd at Toronto’s Pan Am Sports Center that included Canadian rap star Drake and Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, it was Hamilton (3-1) who came out looking like he had something to prove.
“I saw an open rim and an open court. And I saw other players in the same jersey that I believe in. We stuck to the game plan and we all believed in each other,” Vital said after the game. “We stay with that [even] when they went running.
“We did what great teams are supposed to do: you have to win away from home.”
.@Duck in the building. And, of course, he’s wearing a @JColeNC t-shirt 🙌@sss_cebl @CEBLeague 🇨🇦🏀 pic.twitter.com/tO3HYpSXgD
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Minutes before the Elam Ending began, trailing 68-50, Scarborough (1-3) went on a 9-0 run that had the crowd on fire again and igniting hopes of a comeback.
But Hamilton slammed the door on the Shooting Stars by responding with a 6-0 run to head to the Elam finish 74-59.
Scarborough tried to make another push, slowly chipping away at the lead on a 10-4 run. But the Shooting Stars were still down 11 with Hamilton only needing three more points to win, and the Honey Badgers closed it out with two easy baskets.
Fourth quarter final highlights#LetsBall #Our game pic.twitter.com/eXRDcr7KpR
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The Shooting Stars were led by Scarborough native Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who scored a game-high 28 points, followed by 10 from Isiaha Mike and former Raptors guard Jalen Harris, who added nine.
Rap star Jermaine Cole was scoreless in six minutes of play for Scarborough.
Former Ottawa Gee-Gees star Caleb Agada added 14 points, including four of the Honey Badgers’ last eight down the stretch.
In the first quarter, Scarborough got off to a very promising start, going up 7-2 in less than two minutes of play.
HOUSE VIEWS 👀🏀
Kalif Young has the first basket at home for the @sss_cebl 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/XYDeOzqBlL
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That quickly faded as the Honey Badgers went on a 20-3 run, taking it to a 26-14 lead going into the second.
Rathan-Mayes scored 13 of the Shooting Stars’ first 14 points of the period, cutting the lead to eight. A seven-point deficit was the closest he came as Hamilton led at halftime 43-36.
In the third frame, things quickly turned ugly for Scarborough once again, as Hamilton went on an 18-3 run through the first six and a half minutes. From there, the Honey Badgers never looked back.
Hamilton will next play the Fraser Valley Bandits at 2 pm ET on Tuesday. Scarborough next plays the Newfoundland Growlers on Tuesday at 7:30 pm ET. Both games will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and the CBC Gem.
The bandits take the first goal to the Rattlers
Murphy Burnatowski scored 27 points and Thomas Kennedy added a career-high 18 points with nine rebounds as the Fraser Valley Bandits defeated the Saskatchewan Rattlers 90-78 in their home opener Saturday in St. Langley, BC
In what was a closely fought game through three quarters, it was the Bandits who proved to be too much, outscoring the Rattlers 21-11 in the final frame with Burnatowski and Kennedy combining for 16 of them.
“It’s fate. I was telling everyone around me this is the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of,” Kennedy said after the game. “So to do it in front of the home crowd and get a big win like that, and have some personal accolades, is huge.”
The two teams had met just three days earlier, with the Rattlers (2-2) taking the win on home court, Fraser Valley (3-1) setting out to capitalize on their chance to take the top spot in the league.
A double dose of Thomas Kenndy (@Tjk35Thomas) math 💊⬇️@FVBandits
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The opening frame of the game was back and forth as both teams got into an offensive rhythm with little time lost. Neither team managed to lead by more than six, with the Rattlers leading by no more than four and the Bandits by six.
Trailing 24-22, Malcolm Duvivier put Fraser Valley ahead by one on a contested shot that beat three to close out the first quarter.
🚨 Buzzer Alert 🚨
Malcolm Duvivier beats the clock to close Q1 and give @FVBandits The Lead.
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In the second, Burnatowski made a switch, scoring the first nine points of the Fraser Valley quarter, including five inside a 7-0 Bandits run that put them up 36-29 at the 6:39 mark.
Fraser Valley was able to maintain that lead even though Saskatchewan cut the deficit to just two, leading 51-46 at the half. In addition to Burnatowski’s nine, Kennedy also had seven points in the inning.
“Every game, it’s going to be a different member. I just have to be ready and when it’s open, be ready to take them down,” said Burnatowski, who scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting at the half.
The Rattlers found some momentum to build on as they did so defensively and kept the lead from growing to more than four during the first five and a half minutes.
At the 4:32 mark, things heated up between Rattlers forward Jordy Tshimanga and the Bandits’ Maxie Esho, following a block by the former.
With players from both teams jumping in to help defuse the situation, and both sides falling apart, Tshimanga was ejected, while Esho received an unsportsmanlike foul.
After the fight, Saskatchewan appeared to have gained momentum, going on an 8-0 run to go up 62-56 for their first lead since the opening frame.
Highlights of Q3️⃣@FVBandits 🆚 @SASK_Rattlers
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#LetsBall #Our game pic.twitter.com/f17SaF6Hug
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The race woke up the Bandits as they found themselves struggling to keep the Rattlers from building up too much momentum. Fraser Valley, after trailing 65-58, closed the quarter on an 11-2 run to go up 69-67 heading into the quarter.
That energy carried over to Fraser Valley, as they completely took charge of the fourth, holding Saskatchewan to just five points before the Elam Final while scoring 12 of their own. A 6-0 Rattlers run that cut the lead to 87-78 at the Elam Ending proved too little, too late, as Burnatowski closed out the game with a 3-pointer.
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Saskatchewan was led by Malik Benlevi’s 18 points, with Tony Carr scoring 15, Scottie Lindsey contributing 14 and Devonte Bandoo shooting 12 points.
The Rattlers’ next game will be against Hamilton on Friday at 7:30 pm ET. That game will be broadcast live on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and the CBC Gem.
Source: www.cbc.ca