The Kings fall in yet another nail biter with the Rattlers
Red Deer, October 29 - The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings have something to prove in this afternoon's match after an overtime loss last night to the Medicine Hat Rattlers set them back to an 0-3 record. After an aggressive fourth quarter leading to both teams in foul trouble, the Rattlers were victorious with an 85-83 win over the Kings.
It was a good start for the Kings with a 19-15 lead going into the second quarter. The team was led by Brazilian post Jose Mauro with seven points, but Payton Baltzer (Bachelor of Science) was right behind him with four of his own. The Rattlers point leader at the quarter was Ethan Robinison with six but last nights player of the game Jordan Biggar finished with five points and five rebounds. It was a tight, defensive, physical first quarter to kick-off the last match between these two teams of the weekend which continued into the second quarter.
Some great hustle and effort by Zachary Vidal-Henry who sprinted down the court, passing three of his teammates to make a Lebron James-like block from behind. Unfortunately, Baltzer was there to pickup the rebound and put it home to give the home team a one-point lead before a timeout was called. The Rattlers came out of the timeout with an impressive effort on both sides of the ball with an 11-0 run.
Mauro would end this pointless streak with a hard layup into the paint and draw foul. He would be sent to the foul line where he would complete a three-point play. With the Rattlers doubling up the Kings 26-13 in the quarter, the home team trails 41-32 as both teams head to the locker room for the break.
A steal by forward Eduardo Crespo (Academic Upgrading) led to a two on one with his teammate Pierce Shybunka (Bachelor of Kinesiology) who received the ball from Crespo and draw a shooting foul. Shybunka would capitalize on the foul shots and put the Kings down by two. They would later tie it at 49 with a jumper from Shybunka. It was getting quite physical half-way through the quarter with both teams taking five fouls with lots left to go in the third quarter.
The Australian centre for the Rattlers, Cooper Ward, would drain a three to get them within one point. Moments later, he would drain another one to give his team a 59-57 lead. But it was the Kings who had the edge in points at the end of the third, leading 62-61. With his three-point shooting in the quarter, Ward would jump to the top of the leaderboard in points with 16 and grabbed eight rebounds. Mauro would lead his team, the Kings, with 12 points and five rebounds. But Shybunka and forward Brett Hochhausen putting up 10 points throughout three quarters.
The Rattlers would come out of the break with a quick four points to take an early lead over the Kings. But in this match no lead is safe. Each team would draw five fouls within the first three minutes of the quarter meaning a lot of bonuses will be given. A big three-pointer by Hochhausen tied the game up at 70.
But with both teams in foul trouble, it was quite a long fourth quarter. With 40.1 seconds left in the game and the Kings down by 81-78, Head Coach Darren Graham called a timeout. The Kings would capitalize on their last possession with a dying-second three-pointer but couldn't finish it off with a victory. The Rattlers would sweep the weekend series with an 85-83 victory.
They would fall to 0-4 on the season and the Rattlers are now 3-1 on the season.
Head Coach Darren Graham said he like how his team played offensively this afternoon.
"I thought the guys executed on offence, particularly in the first quarter. But then dug ourselves a little bit of a hole before half. Coming out of the locker room, the guys played amazing in the third quarter and were able to come back. In the fourth, we just ran out of steam and got into some foul trouble."
Graham added it was nice to have Crespo back in the lineup as he is a force on offence and can play all positions on the court.
Next week, the Rattlers will take on The Kings University Eagles at home at 8 pm on Friday, November 4. For the Kings, they will head up to Camrose to play the University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings on the Friday as well.
The players of the game went to Cooper Ward of the Rattlers and Brett Hochhausen from the Kings. The Australian centre finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds. For the Kings player of the game, he completed his night with eight rebounds, 13 points and a solid effort underneath the net.