With a deep three-ball by Evan Gilyard Jr. on Tuesday night at SaskTel Centre, the Calgary Surge guard waved goodbye to the Saskatchewan Rattlers with the winning basket in a 103-81 victory over the hosts.
It was a wave which could see the Rattlers say goodbye to their chances of making the Canadian Elite Basketball League post-season, falling to a 4-13 record on the season despite a 31-point showing by Tevian Jones in his debut game with the team.
“We weren’t able to knock down those shots and get a run going,” said Jones. “I feel like that was one of the challenges going into the second half. I think another challenge was just that chemistry out there, being able to get used to the guys, the coaching staff and the offence a little bit.”
Jones was dominant in the first half for Saskatchewan, just days after being brought into the organization following previous CEBL stops in Scarborough and more recently Winnipeg before pursuing opportunities in NBA Summer League.
When those opportunities did not arrive, he returned north of the border and joined up with the Rattlers organization.
According to Rattlers head coach Eric Magdanz, however, the team was not able to stretch Jones’ hot start into sustained offence on Tuesday.
“(Calgary) did a good job of clogging up the paint and making it difficult for us,” said Magdanz. “(Jones) played really well in the first half, but they looked to take him away in the second half and we just didn’t have a counter that could match that.”
Saskatchewan guard Nate Pierre-Louis entered the CEBL record books on Tuesday with an eight-assist performance, bringing his total assists on the season to 131 and breaking the previous record of 126 assists by Corey Davis Jr.
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Pierre-Louis could have room to stretch that record even more, completing the goal in just 17 games since being moved over to a new position at point guard.
While his record-breaking performance didn’t result in a needed win, Pierre-Louis added it was a special achievement.
“A lot of great point guards have touched this league,” said Pierre-Louis. “For me to just start doing this position 17 games ago, I’m truly honoured and grateful that I could actually be in this position to do something like that.”
Saskatchewan continues to sit at the bottom of the CEBL’s Western Conference standings with just four wins in 17 games, marking a massive uphill climb for the team to reach the post-season over their final seven regular season games.
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With the Winnipeg Sea Bears (6-9) guaranteed a playoff spot as hosts for Championship Weekend next month, the Rattlers will need to hunt down the Edmonton Stingers (10-6) for third place in the conference to grab one of three post-season berths up for grabs.
“We’re chasing after not just one team, but another team,” said Pierre-Louis. “So all of a sudden these games are vital, we have to win every game.”
A daunting ascent awaits the Rattlers needing to win all of their final seven games of the regular season, including their next four games on the road beginning Friday night in Vancouver.
Requiring nearly flawless basketball to do so, Magdanz isn’t worried about a dip in the team’s hunger for the post-season with the margins now razor-thin.
“It doesn’t matter our win-loss record,” said Magdanz. “We’re coming in ready to fight and ready to compete, we’re professionals and ready to do our job. I’ve been super proud of this team over the course of the year, they’ve come in every single day with that mindset.
“I don’t expect anything to change.”
The Rattlers are at risk of missing CEBL playoffs for the third year in a row and for the fifth time in six years since winning their lone CEBL championship back in 2019.
For Pierre-Louis and the rest of the veterans in the Rattlers locker room, there’s been plenty of inward reflection this season which he believes will be a benefit for the group extending past this summer.
“In life everything is not going to be sunshine and rainbows,” said Pierre-Louis. “I think that right now we’re learning how to deal with adversity as men… I think that this season is teaching us that if you can deal with this, you can deal with anything.”
The Rattlers will begin their late-season push on Friday at 8 p.m. as they’ll try to topple the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Bandits (13-4).
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