Bowden, Rattlers stun Stingers with comeback in target time

It’s spoiler season.

The last-place Saskatchewan Rattlers stunned the Edmonton Stingers in a 90-88 win on Sunday at the Edmonton Expo Centre, putting a dagger in the Alberta squad’s hopes of hosting a playoff game.

Edmonton fell to 12-9 with its second straight loss, and now sits two games back of the Calgary Surge for second place in the West.

Saskatchewan, which has already been eliminated from playoff contention, improved to 6-15.

“All season our guys have competed hard, game in and game out, so I know tonight was no different,” Rattlers head coach Eric Magdanz said. “In Target Time, our guys just fought and battled and got us some extra possessions down the stretch and we finally got a shot to go in and it got us the win.”

The Stingers led 80-77 entering Target Score Time and extended their lead to five points at 86-81 to move within three points of the Target Score.

But the Rattlers did not go away quietly, launching a 5-0 run to tie the game and put the pressure directly back on the Stingers.

Sean East II then nailed a pair of free throws to put the Stingers one point away from victory, and intentionally fouled Rattlers forward Tevian Jones to ensure Saskatchewan couldn’t win the game with a three-pointer.

Jones missed both, and after East II missed a layup, another intentional foul was committed against Devonte Bandoo, who split the pair.

But the Stingers just couldn’t get a bucket to go — and after a frantic few possessions, Rattlers guard Jordan Bowden capped a massive night with the game-winning three-pointer.

“It was a hard-fought game for both of us. Tough, physical game. Both teams wanted it. We made a couple buckets at the end, got some stops and hit a shot,” Bowden said.

Stingers head coach Jordan Baker said his team’s execution could have been better on both ends.

“For us it’s a learning experience. We know we’ve got the playoffs that we’ve gotta prepare for, so every bump in the road we’ve gotta try to leverage to get better,” Baker said.

The hard-fought battle will have a sequel, too, when these teams line up against each other in a rematch on Wednesday in Saskatchewan.

While the Rattlers won’t be competing in the playoffs, you wouldn’t have been able to tell from their compete level throughout the contest.

Saskatchewan weathered a few small Edmonton runs and seemed to have answers whenever the Stingers threatened — most notably in Target Score Time.

Bowden paced the Rattlers with 28 points, including 20 in the first half and the game-winner. He also contributed four rebounds and three steals while shooting an efficient seven-for-nine from inside the arc.

“Obviously Jordan Bowden is a talented player and the gravity for which he pulls the defence just created open shots for other guys, but we did it as a team,” Magdanz said.

Bandoo, a former Stinger, put up 23 points for the Rattlers, while Jones added 18 points to go with six rebounds.

Bowden said things simply clicked offensively.

"Just being aggressive, trusting my work, getting to the spots I like to get and anything in the midrange, that’s my go-to. So my coaches, my teammates put me in the right position to be successful and I took advantage of it,” he said.

Nate Pierre-Louis, who leads the league with a record 143 assists, was not available for Saskatchewan after he signed a contract in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Stingers must now win at least two of their final three games to have any shot of hosting the West Play-In game, which they’re locked into since they can no longer catch the Vancouver Bandits atop the conference.

Edmonton does, however, hold the tiebreaker over the Surge.

Still, a home contest against the basement-dwelling Rattlers could now be construed as a massive opportunity gone by the wayside.

Baker said he saw room for improvement on both ends of the floor.

“They were switching everything and we need to be a little bit more unselfish on that end of the floor. But then defensively we knew who their main guys were and they put the ball in the basket, so we’ve got to do a better job of containing their main dudes,” he said.

East II, the league’s leading scorer, led the way for the Stingers yet again with 30 points to go with five assists and three rebounds.

Stingers forward Nick Hornsby notched 10 rebounds to climb past 500 for his career, including playoffs. Hornsby is just the fourth player in league history to reach the mark, joining his head coach Baker, Scarborough Shooting Stars forward Kalif Young and the late Chad Posthumus.

Hornsby accomplished the feat in double-double fashion, recording 12 points alongside his rebounding haul.

Keon Ambrose-Hylton nearly matched that double-double, instead settling for 14 points and nine rebounds.

Ambrose-Hylton said it was an “interesting” game.

“I felt like offensively we were doing what we could, but in the first half they were hitting some big shots. They were hitting a lot of contested shots and they had things going for them today, but overall we just gotta work on being more aggressive,” he said.

A contest between the league’s two worst defences lived up to its billing in the first quarter as the teams combined for 69 points, with Saskatchewan leading 30-29.

But the rest of the game was proved to be more of a dogfight.

In the second quarter, the pace slowed significantly as the teams combined for 30 points. Edmonton carried a 45-44 advantage into halftime.

Saskatchewan punched back in the third quarter and took a 65-63 lead into the final frame.

Then, it ripped the hearts out of the fans who filled the Edmonton Expo Centre with its fourth-quarter flurry.

Now, it will look to protect its own home court in just a few days’ time.

Up Next

The Rattlers and Stingers meet again on Wednesday in Saskatchewan.

Next CEBL Action

Just one game is on tap for Monday as the Calgary Surge visit Montreal to face the Alliance.