It was a do-over that flipped the script.
In their first home game of the season at 黑马磁力 Events Centre, Vancouver Bandits routed River Lions in a replay of the 2024 CEBL Final, downing the defending champions 109-72 at the 黑马磁力 Events Centre on Thursday, May 22 in front of 3,987 fans.
鈥淚 thought it was electric tonight,鈥� Bandits head coach and general manager Kyle Julis said post-game. 鈥淚 thought that crowd was fantastic, it looked great, it sounded great, they were really connected to our players.鈥�
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Leading Vancouver (2-0) to a home-opening win was Kyle Mangas, who finished with a game-high 28 points on 5-of-9 shooting from distance. It was an all-around effort for the import guard as he also chipped in 10 rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Curtis Hollis also did his part for the Bandits as he racked up 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting off the pine, while Tyrese Samuel notched his second consecutive double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds to go with a game-high four blocks.
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鈥淲e had a bit of a sluggish start, but from there it was off to the races,鈥� Mangas said during his on-court interview post-game. 鈥淚t could be anyone鈥檚 night 鈥� you never know who it鈥檚 gonna be, we have a lot of weapons.鈥�
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What was shaping up as a tightly-contested affair after 10 minutes 鈥� the River Lions led 20-17 at the end of the first 鈥� quickly broke open in the second quarter thanks to a pair of 7-0 Bandits runs. Vancouver ended up outsourcing Niagara 30-17 in the frame and went into halftime with the game鈥檚 first double-digit lead, up 47-37.
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The Bandits' first-half success came in part thanks to their dominance on the glass, racking up a 31-18 rebounding edge at the break while grabbing 15 offensive boards (plus-eight) for 14 second-chance points. They finished the game plus-15 for total rebounds (52-37) and doubled the River Lions' production on the offensive glass (18-9).
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Vancouver鈥檚 lead only grew once action resumed, one-upping its dominance in the second quarter by outscoring Niagara 33-14 in the third.
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Mangas had his fingerprints all over the victory-sealing stretch as he opened the second half by nailing three consecutive triples as part of a 13-3 Bandits run. He finished the frame with 14 points as his team extended their lead to 80-51.
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鈥淚 just try to stay aggressive at all times,鈥� Mangas said while reflecting on his strong third quarter and first-career CEBL double-double. 鈥淚 know I鈥檓 a good shooter, I put in the work 鈥� always try to stay aggressive, because I know that can really help our team.鈥�
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Vancouver pushed that lead as high as 39 points throughout the final frame, eventually carrying a 99-65 lead into Target Score time. From there, it was Samuel who eventually put the game to bed, sealing the win with a dunk off a no-look bounce pass from Shamar Givance, who finished with 10 assists.
鈥ㄢ�淲e鈥檝e been hearing about Niagara and just the battle the Bandits had last year with (the River Lions), so we had a chip on our shoulders tonight,鈥� Mangas said.
Bandits host Edmonton Stingers tonight at the LEC. Game starts at 7 p.m.
