Vancouver Bandits came from behind to down Montreal Alliance in a battle between the best of both conferences on Saturday (June 14) at 黑马磁力 Events Centre.
Bandits stormed back from a 20-point deficit in the first half to earn their third straight victory.
A timely 15-0 run in the fourth quarter propelled the Bandits to the comeback, featuring clutch shooting from Curtis Hollis, along with inside finishing from Mitch Creek and Shamar Givance.
Vancouver head coach Kyle Julius said certain possessions in the third quarter set the tone for the comeback.
鈥淲e just kept talking about chipping away and we talked a lot about the power of one possession and how it can change a game,鈥� Julius said.
Creek paced the Bandits鈥� attack with a game-high 30 points to go along with seven rebounds. Hollis added 18 points, including the game-winner.
鈥淚 knew we had to get one more bucket. I knew the guys were helping off me all game, which I really don't know why, but I saw he helped off me, and Shamar made a great pass and I just had to make a shot,鈥� Hollis said.
James Karnik and Corey Davis Jr. also made their season debuts for Vancouver, adding nine points each. Julius said incorporating new faces mid-season can be a challenge.
鈥淭he chemistry of a locker room is fragile. You build your offence around a particular group, you build your defense around a particular group, and when certain pieces change, it can affect your scheme. And so, yeah, you have to tweak things all week,鈥� Julius said.
Montreal began the game on a 14-4 run that culminated in back-to-back threes from Anthony Walker and Quincy Guerrier. Creek showed off his rebounding ability on the offensive glass, keeping the Bandits in the contest with three putbacks.
Alliance closed the quarter on a 13-3 run, highlighted by a pair of Michael Diggins Jr. slams and a deep trifecta from Dunn-Martin, to take a 32-15 lead into the second.
Guerrier connected on a free throw and a spin layup to extend Montreal鈥檚 lead to 20 early in the second before Vancouver went on a quick run fueled by transition finishes to narrow the gap. However, the Alliance stayed hot with another deep triple from Dunn-Martin and a corner three from former Bandit Malcolm Duvivier.
Vancouver closed the deficit to single digits by halftime at 48-41 with a 9-2 run.
The third quarter turned into a defensive battle, with neither team scoring more than 15 points.
After Guerrier kicked off scoring in Target Score Time with a transition slam, Davis Jr. buried a three, Creek got the hoop and the harm, and Givance scored in transition to put Vancouver one point away from victory.
Hollis connected on a catch-and-shoot from the wing to complete the comeback and improve the Bandits鈥� record to 8-1.
Final score: Vancouver 91 - Montreal 82.
