The Kings move to a winning record after a battle with the Lions

Calgary, January 20, 2023 – After starting their season 0-4, the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Basketball team has put in the effort to sit with a .500 record and sit in the mix as they work towards making championships at the beginning of March.

The Kings started out very slow but quickly turned their game around in Calgary and came out with a 26-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. It wasn't even just one player that had an incredible first. Seven players all contributed to this lead which really shows that anyone that Head Coach Darren Graham puts on the court can really score points.

RDP would open the scoring wide open in the second quarter but that didn't stop the Lions from battling back. The Kings had a slight 48-39 lead at halftime. Guard Cole Wicker (Bachelor of Education) at the half had 12 points which were a team-high, but his teammate Josh Jean (Open Studies) finished the second quarter going two-for-two from beyond the arc and 10 points. Lions guard Isaac Gray had an impressive first half as he led his team with 16 points.

The Lions were able to make it a much closer game and come within striking distance of the visiting Kings. Ambrose was able to win the third quarter with a score of 19-16 and come within six points of RDP to make it a fight right until the finish.

Ambrose University really put on their defensive game in the fourth quarter as they were able to come up with multiple stops on the Kings and go on an impressive 10-0 run to tie it up with three minutes left. But the Kings were able to get some stops of their own on defense which transitioned to points of their own to regain their double-digit lead enroute to an 84-71 victory.

The Kings player of the game went to guard Josh Jean, who finished his night with an impressive 25 points. 21 out of his 25 points came off three-pointers as he finished seven for eight from downtown.

The Kings and Lions will be back in action tomorrow evening for a rematch in Red Deer. The game will start following the end of the Queens game.