Bandits take home opener over Rattlers behind big 4th-quarter effort

Murphy Burnatowski scored 27 points and Thomas Kennedy added a career-high 18 points with nine rebounds as the Fraser Valley Bandits defeated the Saskatchewan Rattlers 90-78 in their home opener on Saturday in St. Langley, B.C.

In what was a tightly-contested game through three quarters, it was the Bandits who proved to be too much, outscoring the Rattlers 21-11 in the final frame with Burnatowski and Kennedy combining for 16 of them.

"It's fate. I was telling everyone around me, this is the biggest crowd I've ever played in front of," Kennedy said post-game. "So to do it in front of the home crowd and get a big win like that, and to have some personal accolades, it's huge."

Both sides had met just three days prior, with the Rattlers (2-2) taking the victory on home court, Fraser Valley (3-1) set out to capitalize on its chance to take top spot in the league.

A double dose of Thomas Kenndy (<a href="https://twitter.com/Tjk35Thomas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Tjk35Thomas</a>) dunks