End of season for CEBL’s Saskatchewan Rattlers

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Outside of the playoffs, the Saskatchewan Rattlers concluded their season this week on the road in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.

The Rattlers, who blew another lead during Elam’s decisive scoring period on Thursday, travel to Montreal on Friday night to close out the season.

On Thursday night, Saskatchewan led by as many as eight points going into goal time, but the Ottawa Blackjacks came back to win 98-92, putting the Rattlers at 6-13 for the season.

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Prior to Friday night’s game, the Rattlers had lost 11 of their previous 12 games after a promising 5-2 start to the season.

On Thursday, Saskatchewan was outscored 29-19 in the final period, while Ottawa closed the game on a 14-0 run. The Rattlers had an eight-point lead going into the goal period, but what followed was a series of miscues, turnovers and missed shots by Saskatchewan.

“We had it in our hands and let it go at the end,” Rattlers head coach Larry Abney said after the loss. “Winning is a habit; losing is a habit, and we haven’t had enough wins to understand how to win … we’ve found ways not to win the game.”

Saskatchewan, already eliminated from the postseason, could not avoid a fourth straight loss despite five players scoring in double figures, led by Teddy Allen, who had 29 points and eight assists. James Montgomery contributed with an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Cody John added 15 points. Jaden Bediako had 12 points and nine rebounds. Emmanuel Bandoumel had 10 points and five assists.

The win, combined with a loss to the Brampton Honey Badgers just 30 minutes later, ensured the BlackJacks qualified for the playoffs.

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Ottawa beat Saskatchewan despite being minus-20 on rebounds (Rattlers had a 54-34 edge in rebounds) and making 10 fewer field goals.

Saskatchewan, which had a shooting percentage of 43 percent, committed 17 turnovers.

Saskatchewan was eliminated from the playoffs after a 97-93 loss to the Winnipeg Sea Bears on Saturday, followed by a 111-104 win by Winnipeg over the Calgary Surge on Tuesday. The Sea Bears, who once trailed the Surge by 13 points, clinched a spot in the postseason before 11,051 fans at the Canada Life Centre.

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