Report: The Saskatchewan Rattlers Play Like Champions And Avenge Their Nest!

After a dominating victory against the Hamilton Honey-Badgers, the Niagara River Lions faced off against the Saskatchewan Rattlers in hopes of going 2-0 in the regular season. With every game mattering the most, every team in the CEBL is desperate to win every game to be eligible for the playoffs. Niagara won their first competition with ease and looked like the champions of the league. However, Saskatchewan rattled their way into this game with intimidation while spreading a message to the entire league that the champions are back!

In the first quarter, Niagara continued their momentum and started to dominate the game early on as they managed to score a quick 10 points. Saskatchewan was struggling as they had problems scoring the ball and allowed Niagara to build momentum. Unfortunately for the Lions, this momentum would quickly die as Negus Webster-Chan, and Rashawn Browne scored countless shots even out the playing field. As a result, the Rattlers made a quick run and shocked the league, considering how low Saskatchewan projected to be. Entering this game, the River Lions were expected to be the early favourites in winning the championship while Saskatchewan was planned to be the worst team in the entire league! This was not the case as Saskatchewan brought fear to the River Lions roster. Even though this quarter ended with an even score of 28-28, the Rattlers appeared to be just getting started.

The second quarter outlines the importance of depth. Even though the Lions have an outstanding bench unit on paper, the Rattler’s depth appeared to be more familiar and made an immediate impact. From Kemy Osse hitting threes left and right to Kevin Bracy-Davis being the perfect glue piece in the rotation, the Rattlers looked like a team with years of experience. Their chemistry brought fear to the Lions as they failed to convert on offence and started to turn over the ball countless times. The Lions played sloppy basketball in this quarter, and despite Kassius Robertson and Samuel Muldrow catching fire early on, the rest of the roster was ice cold. This quarter’s faces were easily Negus Webster-Chan and Rashawn Browne as they led the Rattlers to a score of 50-39.

Kemy Osse entered the third quarter with a type of vengeance for the Lions. His consistent shooting and impressive rebounding elevated the confidence early on for the Rattlers and led the team to an impressive scoring run. On Niagara’s side, Samuel Muldrow, the defensive center, shot three’s as if it was a lay-up for him as he went 4-5 throughout the entirety of the game. Muldrow was the only player consistently scoring while the rest of the team were playing sloppy defence and missing easy shots. Saskatchewan realized this early on and quickly started to dominate with Negus Webster-Chan and Shane Osayande. Negus would continue to score the ball, but Osayande’s defence and impeccable ability to catch offensive rebounds allowed Saskatchewan to convert second-chance shots. However, the Rattlers and the Lions were fairly even in scoring despite the struggles that Niagara had. The Lions scored 16 points in this quarter while the Rattlers scored 18 points, leaving the score at 68-55 entering the fourth quarter.

Niagara looked lost for the entirety of the game. Their lacklustre offensive schemes led them to failure in this game as they even struggled to keep up with the Rattlers offence. The River Lions looked like a completely different team compared to when they played the Hamilton Honey-Badgers, a quick defeat. However, the tables were turned in this game as the projected last seeded team dominated the projected first seed throughout the game, making the Lions weaker than they appeared. Playing small ball basketball wins games in this league, precisely what the Rattlers did when it came to scouting their roster. Saskatchewan exposed Niagara in almost every aspect of the game as other teams can now formulate a scheme to get past NIagara’s scoring line-ups and their defensive line-ups. Virtually every player on the Lions struggled this game as Negus Webster-Chan led the Rattlers to victory and was crowned the MVP of this match. The Rattlers decimated the Niagara River Lions with the final score of 96-79.