You can be forgiven if you've forgotten.

The Hamilton Honey Badgers finally get back to their home court Saturday after a 23-day absence that included four road games.

The 7-5 Badgers open the second half of their 10-game home schedule — they've got only three left on the road — against cellar-dwelling Fraser Valley Bandits at 5 p.m. at FirstOntario Centre.

But after being skunked through their first nine games, the Bandits now seem to be moving in the right direction with two straight wins.

Hamilton, meanwhile, has lost two straight including a 102-92 setback in Edmonton Thursday night to drop a half-game behind the Stingers in the race for third place.

The top three teams, plus host Saskatchewan Rattlers, qualify for the CEBL Championship Weekend in Saskatoon Aug. 24-25. That wrap-up of the CEBL's inaugural season will use the Final Four single-knockout competitive structure and will be surrounded by street festivals, the league awards gala and tailgating events.

"It's similar to the Memorial Cup," said Badgers president John Lashway , in reference to the concept of a pre-determined site. "It makes it easier to plan and prepare well ahead."

With a three-and-a-half game lead on fifth-place Guelph, the Badgers are well-positioned to reach the championship weekend. Two games back of 9-3 Niagara, they still have a chance to finish first overall. And they'll be happy to be playing at home at a good time on a good day. Their first five games fell on Mother's Day, the Victoria Day weekend and three consecutive Wednesday nights.

Hamilton head coach Chantal Vallée has her team thinking both offence and defence and that balance will be important for the stretch run, and beyond. Hamilton is second in three-point success and points per game with 98.5, behind high-octane Niagara's 103. Defensively, they lead the league in steals and are second in rebounds and blocks.

The Badgers' Demetrius Denzel-Dyson is second in CEBL scoring at 19.9 points per game, while Ricky Tarrant Jr. is fourth. That dynamic pair also stand second and fifth, respectively, in three-pointers. Their teammate Ryan Ejim is the league's top rebounder.

Hamilton has had very little roster movement so far, but Lashway points out that all CEBL teams are likely to be impacted in the coming weeks by NBA summer mini-camps and international play. The Badgers, for instance, brought in Burlington's Caleb Agada from the Spanish League last week and he had a great debut with a dozen rebounds in a loss to Niagara. But after Saturday's game, the two-way guard will begin workouts with Nigeria's national team as it tries to qualify for the World Cup.

Agada, Denzel-Dyson, Tarrant Jr., Ejim, Justin Edwards and Sampson Carter are all averaging double digits in scoring.

Fraser Valley brings the CEBL's assist leader Marek Klassen into Hamilton and recently-added Chris McLaughlan, the Oakville native who has helped upgrade their scoring. The Bandits are coached by Peter Guarsci, who was one of the league's touted acquisitions. On the floor, the Niagara Falls native played for Jay Triano — who was at the game the last time the Bandits played here in late May — with the Canadian Men's National Team at both the 1998 Worlds and 2000 Olympics. An elite defender, he played with legendary Steve Nash as well as Rowan Barrett, vice-president of Canada's senior men's program, and NBA analyst Sherm Hamilton.

Lashway says the Honey Badgers have averaged 1,700 fans per game, but concedes that is slightly skewed by the 3,300 who showed up for a game that was followed by a Raptors viewing party.

"But I'm pretty happy with it so far," he says, adding that Raptor fever hurt some crowds but will, in the long run, help interest in pro basketball here.

And after Saturday's game it will be only 15 days, not 23, until their next home date.

smilton@thespec.com

905-526-3268 | @miltonatthespec

Steve Milton | July 5, 2019 | The Hamilton Spectator