Vancouver Bandits first game with a new head coach at the helm was a loss, a 92-84 defeat by the Calgary Surge Sunday on Envision Financial Court at Langley Events Centre.
Bandits interim head coach Rans Brempong, who was moved up after head coach Kyle Julius announced he was leaving, said the team needed to “work on our pace” after put up 33 points in the first quarter, only to fade as the game went on, scoring just 51 points the rest of the way.
“I think that’s a big thing that we just need to clean up” Brempong commented. “Getting all the guys to understand the play package, understand that we’re going to be playing with different lineups. And what are the best plays to run with those lineups.”
It was the loss in a row for Vancouver after their narrow 94-93 loss to Edmonton Stingers on Friday, July 3, and their fourth defeat in six games as they fell to 9-6 and second place in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Western Conference.
Jarkel Joiner and Lloyd Pandi led the Bandits with 16 points apiece with Tyrell Samuel and Tevin Brown adding 15 and 14 points, respectively.
Calgary’s Addison Pattison led all scorers with 19 followed by Mathieu Kamba’s 17.
Next, Bandits embark on a three-game, five-day road trip with stops in Saskatoon (July 7), Calgary (July 9) and Edmonton (July 11).
Their next home game is July 17 against the Montreal Alliance at 7 p.m.