The Fraser Valley Bandits host the Montreal Alliance at 7 p.m. PT on Friday night with the Bandits riding a three game winning streak.  Fraser Valley comes in at 6-2 while the Alliance sit at 3-6.

The Bandits have won three in a row, their most recent 90-85 victory over the Guelph Nighthawks on the road.  The Bandits started four guards to match the pace and style of the Nighthawks, and their shooting put them over the top.  The Bandits found their rhythm in the midrange specifically with Shane Gibson who shot 9 for 16 with 23 points.  Playing alongside Alex Campbell and Malcolm Duvivier, Gibson found his spots and the ball movement of the Bandits got him his shots.

Though the Bandits found success in the midrange, they pushed the paint consistently and used their size.  Thomas Kennedy got the ball around the rim and finished with 21 points on 10 of 14 shooting.  Against a smaller Nighthawks squad, Fraser Valley found their advantageous matchups and it came with Kennedy and Maxie Esho, and now against a similar sized Montreal Alliance, the similar attack could see more success.

Kennedy and Esho will be matched up with Nathan Cayo, James Jean-Marie and the Alliance forwards.  In a defensive game that ended with a 64-60 loss to the Edmonton Stingers, Cayo scored 12 points on 50 per cent shooting and alongside Ashley Hamilton, combined for 25 points of the 32 points the forward position offered Montreal.  Montreal showed they can push the ball inside the paint especially in their close 86-84 loss to Guelph on June 11 where they made 26 of their 32 field goals from inside and Cayo and Hamilton combined for 44 points, and the similar styles create a good matchup inside the paint between the two teams.

Montreal is 3-6 looking for a bounce back from four straight losses, but in those games the play of Isiah Osborne and Dominic Green has been a constant.  Around the perimeter, Osborne and Green add three-point shooting for the offence led by Hernst Laroche and Kemy Osse.  In the Alliance 76-64 loss to Niagara, Osborne scored 13 points on 55 per cent shooting and made three threes on five attempts.  The game before against Guelph, Green was the one in double-digits with 11 points and five rebounds making a pair of threes.  Montreal and Fraser Valley sit third and fourth in three-point percentage in the CEBL at 35.8 per cent from each, and a majority of it comes from the pairing of Green and Osborne.

The Bandits have strength inside the paint with Maxie Esho and Adam Paige and newest addition James Karnik from Surrey BC and Boston College, and the Alliance match with the physicality of Cayo and Hamilton.  On the perimeter it’s Green and Osborne against the shooting of Gibson and Campbell.  After Friday night, the win streak of the Bandits will live on or the rebound of the Alliance will be successful.

All games will be streamed live internationally on the CEBL’s OTT platform, CEBL+, and on the CEBL Mobile app for iOS and Android devices.  Games will also be available to stream live in Canada via cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, and the free CBC Gem streaming service. 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL 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.