Saskatchewan Rattlers to play for CEBL championship after comeback win

The Saskatchewan Rattlers waited until the game’s final minutes to mount an 85-83 comeback victory over the Edmonton Stingers and book a spot in the first Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) championship game.

After trailing by as many as 12 points throughout Saturday’s semifinal game, the Rattlers rode a monstrous fourth-quarter performance from Marlon Johnson to wipe away a six-point deficit and hang on for the victory.

Head coach and general manager Greg Jockims had some fun with reporters following the heart-racing ending.

“The CEBL brass instructed me to make the game exciting, so we thought we’d get down a little bit and make our comeback,” he said.

Excitement aside, Jockims was glad his players elevated their performances when the game mattered most.

“The fourth quarter often down the stretch is the players’ time. We try and get them out in the right spots, but ultimately, you have to make some plays,” Jockims said.

Johnson, who led his team with a game-high 17 points — 11 of which came in the fourth quarter — believes it was the team’s stingy defence that made the difference in the final frame, something he wasn’t rewarded for during Thursday’s awards banquet.

“I was just locked in on defence, man. I was kind of mad I didn’t get defence player of the year,” Johnson said after he was slighted for the award. “That took a toll on me, and I just locked in, got everybody together and we got it done.”

A game between the league’s two best defences didn’t disappoint, as steals, turnovers and tough shots highlighted a second half that got a few rises out of the crowd at SaskTel Centre.

After the Rattlers wrestled out of a 66-60 fourth-quarter deficit to earn their first lead since early in the second quarter, Johnson took over.

With five minutes left, he nailed a jump shot to tie the game at 73-73. A string of four straight shots from Johnson, including an awkward alley-oop and a dagger three-point shot, would put the Rattlers up 84-80 to give his team the breathing room needed to steer to the victory.

The prospect of playing for the inaugural CEBL championship is enticing for a few reasons.

“It would mean a lot (to win), especially because it’s for Saskatchewan. I would like to bring a championship here, and I would like to get one for myself. I never won one ever,” Johnson said.

Stingers head coach Jermaine Small saw poor fouls wash his team’s lead away.

“When you look at the few stats, you feel kind of slighted,” said Small, whose team took 14 free throws compared to the Rattlers’ 35.

“I give them credit. They played with great energy, and I think in some possessions they just wanted it more.”

Johnson was the leading Rattler with 17 points, eight rebounds and two assists. The Stingers’ top scorer was Grady Glaze, who had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

How it happened

Marlon Johnson started the scoring off with a three-pointer, but both teams struggled knocking down shots during the opening quarter.

The Stingers started 0-for-6 from the floor, but the Rattlers were unable to capitalize, starting the game shooting 2-for-9, and just 1-for-7 from the three-point mark to keep the game even throughout the first quarter.

Edmonton was able to shoot five attempts on one possession to trail the Rattlers 20-17 after one quarter.

The Stingers entered the second quarter on a tear, rattling off four straight baskets to start a 21-6 run that was highlighted by two consecutive Travis Daniels three-pointers. Edmonton took a 36-26 lead three minutes into the second quarter.

Alex Campbell, the Rattlers’ buzzer-beater hero from when the Stingers and Rattlers met earlier this month, started Saskatchewan’s comeback with some important free throws and a three-pointer.

Negus Webster-Chan got the Rattlers to within five points, but that was as close as his squad would come en route to a 49-41 Stingers lead at the half.

The Stingers continued to take advantage of Rattlers’ misses in the third quarter to once again build a 12-point lead midway through the third. Return trips to the charity stripe kept Saskatchewan close as it moved away from perimeter shooting and moved inside the paint to claw back to within six by the end of the third quarter.

An aggressive Rattlers team was able to earn its first lead since the second quarter at 7:21 of the fourth on a free throw by Shaq Keith. Johnson’s heroics widened the Rattlers’ lead, but a deep, clutch three-pointer from league MVP Xavier Moon got the game to 85-83 with 32 seconds remaining.

Keith missed two free throws to put the game away, but was able to stop the Stingers from getting a shot off as the buzzer sounded.