Clutch late shooting lifts Kings over Clippers

Brent Forster - RDC

Red Deer, AB – There were shades of Friday as the RDC Kings and Briercrest College Clippers met in the second half of the double-header. With several swings in momentum and each side taking an advantage, it came down to the final few possessions Saturday afternoon. The Kings led by eight at the half and eventually wrapped up an 89-83 home win. 

The Clippers jumped out to a hot start, knocking down 27 points in the first quarter. The Kings responded in the second quarter with their best offensive showing, outscoring the visitors by 11 (26-15). At the half, RDC held an eight point margin (50-42). 

"I saw a sloppy start defensively. I thought the guys recovered, went into man-on-man and I challenged them personally to take care of defence and they accepted that challenge," says Kings Head Coach Darren Graham. "They played really good defence specifically in the second quarter. They erased an 11 point deficit and turned it into an eight point lead. I was impressed with that."

RDC drained 52.8 per cent of its shots from the field. Briercrest College was 31.3 per cent successful.

Spencer Klassen led the home team with 14 points. Brandon Tolentino had 13 for the Clippers.

Spencer Klassen (21)

After 30 minutes, Briercrest pulled within five (66-71). 

The visitors drew even in the fourth quarter and pushed the Kings to the end. RDC hit a couple of late shots and finalized an 89-83 home win. 

Cody White was named the Collegiate Sports Medicine Kings Player-of-the-Game, accumulating 16 points, three assists and one rebound. Shayne Foster earned top honours for the Clippers, recording 11 points, two assists and two rebounds.

Cody White (6)

The Kings held a slight edge on the boards (45-44).

Both teams had nine three-pointers.

With time winding down, Spencer Klassen nailed a pair of free-throws and Tyronn King came up big.

"In terms of the end, I think they just had to grit it out against a really gritty team. I was impressed with the boys, specifically Ty really got us on his back in the last couple minutes," says Graham.

"He has the mindset he can score when he needs to and he's got a nice inside and outside game. Those two shots were kind of the mid-range floater type shots and he nailed them."

Tyronn King contributed 17 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and one steal. The RDC Legal Assistant student was eight-for-14 from the field.

Spencer Klassen led the way with 27 points.

On Friday, November 29, the RDC Kings (5-3) will face the Rattlers (1-6) in Medicine Hat at 8:00 p.m. Then on Saturday, the Kings will play the Clippers in Saskatchewan.

"It's actually a really important weekend for us. It's two games that we would like to clean up in the fall schedule," says Graham.

"It presents challenges just based on travel - four hours to Med Hat and another four hours to Briercrest. We will have to make sure we are pushing ourselves throughout the week, but have enough rest to manage that travel and compete at a high level."

Kevin Szymanek (11) had four rebounds