Manigat’s 21 points power Vancouver Bandits past Edmonton Stingers in 90-80 home win

The Vancouver Bandits snapped a two-game losing streak with a 90-80 win over the Edmonton Stingers on Saturday at Langley Events Centre.

Jahenns Manigat caught fire from beyond the arc in the win with a team-high 21 points for the Bandits on 7-11 shooting from the field and 5-9 from three.

“It was just a product of ball movement,” Manigat said, “Everybody was touching the ball, feeling comfortable. I thought we did a good job of just sharing the ball.”

Nick Ward and Giorgi Bezhanishvili continued to pace the Vancouver offence with 17 points and 15 points respectively. 

“I didn't know if we would win or not but I knew today was going to be better,” Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said. “I think we had a really good fourth quarter – it took me a while to find the right subs.”

Meanwhile, reigning AUS MVP Elijah Miller led the way for the Edmonton offence with 21 points and seven assists after getting the start on Saturday. 

“There's a reason [Miller]'s our starting point guard. He showing he's a professional basketball player – he's come in and proven it since day one,” Edmonton head coach Jordan Baker said. 

Isiah Osborne was effective from long range for the Stingers with 14 points that included four threes, while Brody Clarke contributed 11 points and Aher Uguak added 10. 

The Bandits finished 50 per cent from the field, 40 per cent from three and hit 13 from long range in the victory. Edmonton held Vancouver to just two offensive rebounds and scored 13 second chance points of their own in a losing effort. 

“They executed a little bit better down the stretch, they got their guys touches and that's why they won the game,” Baker said. 

In the first quarter, Uguak cut to the hoop for a layup and drilled an open three to force a timeout for Vancouver. The triple started a stretch of seven consecutive combined field goals from long range that included a 9-0 run for the Bandits. 

The teams traded leads for the remainder of the quarter and a buzzer-beating three from Manigat put the Bandits ahead 22-21. 

Miller finished a floater to retake the lead for Edmonton to start the second quarter but Bezhanishvili powered through the defence for an and-one to get it right back. The Bandits extended their lead to nine points, the largest for either team at that point. 

However, Miller quieted the crowd with a corner three and drilled contested shots off the dribble to take the lead again.  Geoffrey James beat the halftime buzzer with a transition triple to give the Stingers a 42-39 lead heading into the locker room. 

Edmonton’s Miller went off in the second quarter, scoring all 12 of his first half points in the frame to lead all scorers. Vancouver had a better half from both the field and three than Edmonton, but the Stingers had eight second chance points. 

Osborne and Ward heated up for their respective sides to start the third quarter. The Bandits and Stingers traded blows and stayed close with neither team leading by more than five through the entire third. Shaquille Keith connected from deep before a baseline floater fell for Ward to give the Bandits a 63-62 advantage after 30 minutes. 

Edmonton took the lead early in the fourth, but Manigat cut backdoor and drilled a deep three to regain it for the Bandits.  After a video review, the officials upgraded an Edmonton foul to unsporstsmanlike which allowed Vancouver back-to-back possessions to build on their advantage.  After the Bandits picked up their largest lead of the night at 10 points, the Stingers went on a 6-0 run before target score time to trail 80-75.

The Bandits’ bigs stepped up in clutch time with a Ward layup and a Bezhanishvili and-one. Manigat continued his red-hot night from three with another triple to put Vancouver a bucket away from victory. On their next offensive possession, Ward lobbed a pass into Bezhanishvili for the game-winning layup. 

Vancouver’s record improves to 5-6 while Edmonton falls to 5-7. The Bandits and Stingers will meet again Monday at the Edmonton Expo Centre at 2 p.m. 

All games are available for streaming on TSN+, CEBL+ powered by BetVictor and on the CEBL Mobile app available on iOS and Android devices.

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 per cent of its 2022 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August.  More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.