Edobar and Kings defeat Rattlers at home

Brent Forster - RDC

The Red Deer College Basketball Kings faced the Medicine Hat College Rattlers Saturday afternoon, and a few adjustments on defence helped the Kings earn a hard fought 83-82 home victory.

The Kings hit the court with energy and captured an early lead. Solon Ellis, a first-year guard from St. Paul, Minnesota, connected from behind the three-point arc to push RDC ahead 13-6. The remainder of the quarter was even 7-7 and the Kings held a 20-13 lead.

In the second quarter, the RDC Kings built upon their 7 point lead. Dshawn Tyrell scored from the field to propel the Kings ahead by 10 (33-23). The Kings continued to press. Daniel Powell drained a three-pointer and Braiden Ousey sank a pair of free-throws to push the Kings up by 14 (47-33) at the half.

Medicine Hat chipped away at the Kings' lead but Daniel Powell kept the Rattlers' defence on their heels. The fourth-year forward was effective down low and he also connected on another three-pointer to give the Kings a 61-53 edge. At the end of the quarter, the Kings were up 65-58.

In the fourth quarter, Dshawn Tyrell hit from behind the arc to give the Kings a 72-61 lead. Moments later, Eric Bakker scored from the paint. The Rattlers started to claw at the lead and they pulled within a point (79-78) until Omon Edobar connected on a three-pointer to give RDC a 4 point edge (82-78). Eventually, the Kings won 83-82. The Kings sank 43.3% of their shots from the field and 47.1% from behind the three-point arc. The Rattlers went 41.3% from the field and 19% on their three-point attempts. 

Omon Edobar was named the player-of-the-game for the Kings. The first-year guard from Calgary finished with 23 points, 2 steals, 2 assists and 1 rebound. Jon Sappleton received the honour for the Rattlers. Sappleton recorded 26 points, 4 assists and 7 rebounds. 

Daniel Powell scored 26 points and Dshawn Tyrell had 18 for RDC.

Kings Basketball Head Coach Clayton Pottinger appreciated Edobar's effort and level of execution. "Omon plays tough. He's out there all minutes and was up against one of the best guards in the league," said Pottinger. "He shows great energy and had the poise to nail that big shot at the end which pretty much sealed it. Without that shot, we don't win."

Pottinger mixed things up defensively and it made a difference against a strong Rattlers' offence. "It was another tough one. Medicine Hat is a very tough basketball team. Our plan B worked better against their studs today," said Pottinger. "When a team is that offensively talented, we had to show them different defensive looks. We showed one thing on Friday night and today we showed a few different looks so they would be off kilter. We were able to do that for two, two and a half quarters, then they started figuring out our new signals and the changes. Then it became a game again."

The third place RDC Kings (9-6) will host the first place SAIT Trojans (13-1) Friday, February 9 at 8:00 p.m. in the RDC Main Gym. The Kings are 7-3 in their past 10 games.