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The Saskatchewan Rattlers can’t seem to solve the Niagara River Lions.
Niagara beat Saskatchewan 108-91 Friday at SaskTel Centre for their second win in Saskatchewan less than a month into the inaugural Canadian Elite Basketball League season.
Head coach Greg Jockims didn’t hold back when examining the loss.
“We didn’t play well on either side of the ball,” he said. “Offensively, we weren’t in sync… and that fed their transition game.”
The Rattlers shot just 29 per cent from the field after a hot start to the game.
Things quickly turned ugly for the Rattlers after opening the game 5-0. The River Lions took advantage of the extra space along the perimeter and victimized the Rattlers with 59 per cent three-point shooting in the first half. By the end of the game, Niagara converted 15 long distance attempts.
“We got hurt big time from the three-point line tonight,” Jockims said. “And a lot of that was transition defence. We were scrambling back trying to find shooters.”
“When you’re constantly in transition, it’s hard to deal with.”
The River Lions quickly gained the lead with a 22-7 run that started at the end of the first quarter and leaked into the second quarter. Niagara led 58-44 at half.
Nem Mitrovic led the shooting gallery for the River Lions by converting six of 10 three-point attempts. He was one of six River Lions to score in double digits.
Those efforts put the Rattlers in a huge hole, extending the deficit to 27 points at the end of the third quarter.
A 15-2 run for Rattlers to start the fourth quarter would begin to rescue the lead back for the Rattlers, but it was as close as the team would come.
A missed dunk that rattled off the rim and started a River Lions fast break halfway through the fourth quarter symbolically captured the Rattlers performance on a night where the bounces, the blocks, and even the dunks didn’t go their way.
Newcomer Terry Thomas was guilty of the miscue, getting in just one practice with his new team after arriving on Thursday from the Halifax Hurricanes of the National Basketball League Canada.
“Jet lag,” he said with a chuckle, blaming his travels on the missed dunk. “I don’t have any excuses. I’ll get one next time.”
Both of Saskatchewan’s losses this season have come against the River Lions, making for an early rival in the young league.
“They got our number. First game was a two-point game, but this one was all them. They play really tough defence and they executed their game plan,” captain Bruce Massey said.
Jockims is hoping the remaining games in Niagara go the Rattlers way.
“We still play them I think four more times. We’ll watch game tape and we’ll make some adjustments offensively for ourselves so we can get them on their heels a little bit.”
Dorian Pinson led the River Lions with a double-double on 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Massey led all Rattlers with 21 points, eight assists and one rebound.
The Rattlers (3-2) are on the road next week for their first meeting against the Edmonton Stingers.
Niagara (3-1) will take their league-best record back home to take on the league-worst Fraser Valley Bandits.