Kings push Trojans with shortened bench

Brent Forster - RDC

Red Deer, AB - A strong first quarter (26-14) from the SAIT Trojans was one of the differences in Friday's matchup against the Red Deer College Kings. Despite having a short bench, the host Kings won the second quarter and tied the fourth, but dropped an 11 point decision to the Trojans (82-93). 

At the half, the SAIT Trojans held a 46-38 edge. 

"I thought we came out slow. We tried playing a zone to counteract their athleticism on the wing. Then the guys stepped up," says Head Coach Darren Graham. "We ended up changing to a man defence and played man for most of the rest of the game."

SAIT's Calvin Chambers contributed twelve points, three steals, one assist, and two rebounds. RDC's Tyronn King totaled 18 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal over two quarters.

In the latter half, the Trojans added 47 and the Kings knocked down 44. SAIT picked up a 93-82 road win. 

Over 40 minutes, the Trojans had eleven more rebounds than the Kings (55-44).

SAIT hit 41.8 per cent from the field and RDC was close behind at 40.3.

Spencer Klassen, Tyronn King and Ramiro Martinez Quintanilla Jimenez played over 30 minutes. While they were good, the high number of minutes were a necessity with several injured Kings.

"I was impressed with the fortitude of the boys with stepping up with the shortened lineup. We only had nine guys available to play and they played really good man-to-man defence," says Graham. "I was pleasantly surprised with that. That's a great step moving forward."

The Kings are hoping for several of their injured student-athletes to return soon.

"We have five roster guys out. Andrew Cunningham is on the last steps recovering from knee surgery. He practiced this week and we will try to get him in next week if he feels comfortable. Hopefully, Cody will be back from a shoulder injury next week as well. Rudy has a shoulder injury," says Graham. "Payton is recovering from a concussion and Josh is dealing with some knee and hand injuries. Hopefully, these guys are back for next week. They are all week-to-week injuries other than Payton's concussion is a little bit longer term." 

Spencer Klassen scored 18. Ramiro Martinez Quintanilla Jimenez chipped in with seven points and four rebounds. Jouvon Edison had 13 and led the Kings with eight boards.

Tyronn King was named the Collegiate Sports Medicine Kings Player-of-the-Game, stacking up 24 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and one steal. Charlie Connor picked up the honour for the Trojans, finishing with 10 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists and four steals. 

"I liked Tyronn's aggressiveness. He was being d'd up hard by a great defensive player and he took the ball right at him, got to the paint for some high percentage shots and layups right in the key, so I was impressed," says Graham. "If he's going to do that, it's going to make our offence as a team much more effective. That's going to go a long way throughout the season."

"As much as it's a loss I was impressed with the fortitude and guts the guys showed," says Graham.

In Calgary, the Red Deer College Kings (1-1) will compete against the St. Mary's University Lightning (1-2) at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, November 1.