STINGERS ON A SPECIAL RUN IN THIS INAUGURAL SEASON
Win Thursday brings team’s winning streak to nine games
The Edmonton Stingers are on the type of magical runs movies are made of.
Although film executives are not beating down the Stingers’ door looking to secure their story rights, the local Canadian Elite Basketball League team is onto something special, winning its last nine games.
The Stingers extended the streak Thursday, holding off the Fraser Valley Bandits 108-104 in a wildly entertaining contest at the Edmonton Expo Centre.
They’ll look to make it 10 straight in their final home game of the season on Thursday against the Saskatchewan Rattlers before concluding the regular season with two road games.
“We haven’t had two wins that have looked the same, we’ve been able to win in a variety of ways,” said Stingers forward Jordan Baker, who had 19 points in the win against the Bandits. “We have different guys stepping up every night.”
The win against Fraser Valley gave the Stingers first place in the CEBL standings with three games to go. They have already qualified for Championship Weekend in Saskatoon on
Aug. 24-25, but want to go into the final-four tournament as the top seed.
The Stingers have not lost since falling 90-87 at home to the Hamilton Honey Badgers on June 14. Since then they have rolled through the league under the guidance of head coach Jermaine Small, who took over from Barnaby Craddock shortly after the loss to Hamilton. Craddock stepped away to concentrate on his head coaching role with the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
Since being promoted from assistant to head coach and general manager, Small has yet to lose a game.
“I didn’t sit back and think we were going to win nine in a row, my main focus was to get better and we’ve gotten better,” Small said. “Our depth is really starting to show here. I feel like we can go nine or 10 deep when we really need to, and once we get Brody (Clarke) back into what we’re doing as well, that’s going to help.”
Clarke returned to the Stingers after competing for Canada at the World University (FISU) Games in Napoli, Italy, in July. Clarke returned to the Stingers lineup Thursday, but foul trouble kept him from making his usual contribution to the club. The Stingers were also missing 6-foot-8 forward Travis Daniels, which hurt them inside.
Regardless, they were still able to hold off the Bandits, who battled back from a 15-point halftime deficit and had two free throws to tie the game late, but guard Joel Friesen was unable to convert from the foul line. The Stingers were able to come up with a critical rebound late and then put the game out of reach with Baker converting from the foul line.
“That’s a testament to our character and how close our guys are on and off the court,” Small said. “We talk about it a lot; the games are going to be tight and when they’re tight, we have to stick together. The closer the games get, the tighter we get.”
The win lifted the Stingers ahead of the Niagara River Lions for top spot, with a game in hand.
Edmonton’s depth proved to be the difference against Fraser Valley on Thursday. Forward Mamadou Gueye had 23 points in the first half on his way to a game-high 26. Barker had 19, while Adika Peter-mcneilly had 18, Akeem Ellis 14 and Xavier Moon 12.
“We’ve got confidence in everyone who steps on the floor for us,” Barker said. “If you’re open, you shoot the shot and if you have a lane, you drive it and try to score. We don’t have anyone who is hesitant or not sure about their abilities. If you step on the floor for the Stingers you’re ready to play and you’re ready to contribute.”
Last week, the Stingers were able to pull out an overtime victory in Niagara after the River Lions thought they had won the game on a three-point shot at the buzzer.
River Lions guard Guilluame Payne-bouchard was ruled to have had his foot on the threepoint line, which negated the three-pointer and made it worth two, sending the game into overtime, where the Stingers dominated.
Throughout the run, they are finding ways to win. It’s something the hope continues through the regular season into the championship tournament.
We haven’t had two wins that have looked the same, we’ve been able to win in a variety of ways ... We have different guys stepping up every night.