Scarborough Shooting Stars take season series with Fraser Valley Bandits after 101-86 win

The Scarborough Shooting Stars dominated the fourth quarter to defeat the Fraser Valley Bandits 101-86 in the final regular season game at Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre on Thursday night. The win gave the Shooting Stars the advantage in the season series over Fraser Valley, after splitting two games in Langley earlier in the season. 

Scarborough improves to 11-8 and Fraser Valley drops to 11-8 with just one game remaining for both teams. Because of the head-to-head advantage, the Shooting Stars sit in third place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) standings while the Bandits sit in fourth place. Edmonton and Saskatchewan sit just one game behind at 10-9. 

Jalen Harris scored a game-high 31 points that included the game-winning three to power the Shooting Stars to victory, going 12-18 from the field and 6-8 from beyond the arc. Isiaha Mike chipped in 12 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists for Scarborough, while Kalif Young and Kyle Alexander each added 10 points. 

“I think [Jalen] did a great job on both ends,” Scarborough head coach Chris Exilus said. “Offensively and defensively, he was able to execute towards the end and made some great plays. We saw his talent really come through.” 

Shane Gibson netted a team-high 28 points for Fraser Valley on 12-20 shooting from the field and 4-8 from three, while hauling in 6 rebounds and dishing 6 assists. Thomas Kennedy was strong inside for the Bandits, scoring 15 points on 7-9 shooting and snagging a game-high 13 rebounds. Marek Klassen rounded out the Fraser Valley attack, with 14 points and 8 assists. 

The Shooting Stars were on fire on Thursday night, shooting 50 per cent from the field and three, while hitting 16 triples. After getting outrebounded in the first half, Scarborough closed the gap in final two quarters and were only outrebounded by one. 

“The lineup that you saw today—it’s their first full game together,” Exilus said. “We have a couple practices and a game on Sunday in Newfoundland. The season’s not over. We want to watch the film and make sure we get better.” 

The first quarter saw the Bandits jump out to a 13-0 lead to start the game. The Shooting Stars were able to make a run of their own after a timeout and cut the lead to two. However,  a two-handed and-one jame from Brandon Gilbeck started another run for the Bandits and Fraser Valley carried a 26-19 lead into the second quarter. 

Thomas Kenndedy showed off his inside skill to start the second, finishing an up-and-under and snagging a lob pass for an easy layup. The Bandits led by as much as 12 points in the second quarter, but the Shooting Stars got hot from three. Triples from Isiaha Mike, Jalen Harris, and JV Mukama were able to tie the game and a floater from Teddy Allen gave them their first lead of the night. Malcolm Duvivier tipped in a putback for Fraser Valley to tie the game at 47 heading into the locker room.

Shane Gibson led all scorers at half with 11 points while Thomas Kennedy had 9 points and 7 rebounds for Fraser Valley. Jalen Harris led the way for Scarborough with 10 points at half, with the team hitting 10 threes at a 50 per cent rate. Fraser Valley dominated the paint in the opening 20 minutes, outrebounding the Shooting Stars 24-13 and winning the points in the paint battle 24-6. 

Gibson had a hot start to the third quarter for Fraser Valley and led them on a run that gave them an 8 point lead. However, Scarborough fought back again and an and-one three from Kassius Robertson completed a four-point play to tie the game at 62. A Jalen Harris spin move and a buzzer-beating Kameron Chatman floater gave Scarborough a 75-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Scarborough were hot to start the final frame and gained an 11-point lead, forcing a Mike Taylor timeout. Shane Gibson came out of the timeout hot for Fraser Valley, but the Bandits struggled to get stops. Harris hit a huge triple to extend the Scarborough lead to 92-81 heading into the Elam Ending with a target score of 101. 

The Shooting Stars were able to close out the the game efficiently, with Kalif Young opening the final stretch with a slam dunk and a Chatman mid-range jumper. Jalen Harris finished off the game by banking in a mid-range jumper and hitting a stepback three to earn the win and a bow to the crowd. 

The Bandits close out their season at home on Saturday against the two-time defending champion Edmonton Stingers while the Shooting Stars travel to Newfoundland for their final game against the Growlers.

Scarborough Shooting Stars tickets are available at https://www.scarboroughshootingstars.ca/tickets554a5865 while Fraser Valley Bandits tickets are available at https://www.thebandits.ca/tickets.   

Fans will be able to live stream all games including the playoffs on the CEBL’s OTT streaming service CEBL+, the CEBL’s official app, CEBL Mobile for iOS and Android devices, cbcsports.ca, the free CBC Gem streaming service, the CBC Sports App for iOS and Android devices and on NXT Level Sports in the U.S. As part of its playoff coverage, CBC Sports will broadcast the quarterfinal games Sunday, August 7, semifinal games Friday, August 12, and the Championship game on Sunday, August 14. For the complete broadcast and streaming schedule, click here. All times are subject to change. 

The CEBL’s fourth regular season began May 25 and ends August 1. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL is the largest pro sports league in the country with 10 teams located in six provinces. It has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 71 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August. Head to CEBL.ca for more information or follow us (@cebleague) on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.