Staff Writer, Cameron Burgess - June 17, 2019

Game Summary –  Guelph Nighthawksvs. Fraser Valley Bandits ( June 15th)

The Guelph Nighthawks snapped their five-game losing streak with a 92-86 win over the Fraser Valley Bandits on Saturday night.

The Nighthawks were in action against the Niagara River Lions the night before but showed up ready to play against the Bandits. While Guelph has had struggles early on in games this season, they were able to end the first quarter with a 15-13 lead.  Clint Robinson opened the scoring for the Bandits, but Chris Johnson and Chadrack Lufile responded with a combined four baskets for Guelph. Johnson was able to make shots from three-point range while Lufile was able to score at the rim.

After a low scoring first, both teams began to make shots more consistently in the second quarter. The Nighthawks controlled the early minutes, but the Bandits stormed back before halftime to overcome a 16-point deficit and take a 38-37 lead going into halftime.

After losing momentum right before the break, the Nighthawks got back on track with a strong third quarter. Guelph outscored the Bandits 29-23, pulling ahead for good with a three-pointer from Marcus Lewis with 6:10 left in the quarter. With just 10 minutes left in the game, the Nighthawks were up 66-61 and were in a good position to beat the Bandits for the third time this season.

Guelph opened the fourth quarter with another three-pointer, this time from Joel Kindred. The Bandits refused to let the Nighthawks pull away, and had managed to make it a one possession game with a minute left on the clock. It was Olu Famutimi who sealed the victory late for the Nighthawks. With under a minute left, he recorded a steal, offensive rebound and scored two free throws to give Guelph some breathing room.

One of the reasons why the Nighthawks were able to come away with the win was their ability to score off of turnovers, outscoring the Bandits 22-13.  

Marcus Lewis capped off his debut weekend with another impressive performance, finishing with 20 points, two rebounds, two assists and Player of the Game honours for the Nighthawks.

Tyrrel Tate did just about everything he could to will the Bandits to their first win of the season but it still wasn’t enough. He finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

The Nighthawks return to action on June 22 when they host the Hamilton Honey Badgers at the Sleeman Centre.

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