Kings scuttle Vikings
Kings 83 Vikings 68
The RDC Kings give up size to a lot of teams in the Alberta Colleges Men’s Basketball League, but they don’t give up athleticism, depth and speed.
That was evident as the Kings used their strengths to record an 83-68 victory over the Camrose Augustana University of Alberta Vikings before close to a full house at RDC Friday.
The Vikings held an advantage on the boards, as a 50-33 edge in rebounds indicated, but the Kings used their quickness and depth to wear down their opponents in the second half.
The Kings led 44-43 at the half, but out scored the Vikings 21-15 in the third quarter and 18-10 in the fourth. They also finished with 22 steals compared to 12 for Camrose.
Still there were things head coach Stef Labrecque would like to see them do better.
“It’s hard to play our style of game for 40 minutes and really we didn’t take advantage of the situations we had as we played to fast all the time instead of slowing down after we created a turnover,” said Labrecque. “When we did slow down we were really successful and got a lot of good looks. Now we just have to do that more often.”
An indication of the Kings ability to get inside on the drive came at the free throw line where RDC had 41 shots and made 25 while Camrose had only 13, making eight.
“It was 21-7 at the half and that indicated we were doing a lot of things we wanted to do,” added Labreque, who was pleased with his depth.
“A lot of guys on the bench don’t get many minutes, but they come in when we need them and do things that allows us to do what we want as a team,” added Labreque. “I’m not afraid to use the guys and we feel comfortable with them and it pays off.”
The game was the first time in many years the Vikings faced the Kings in a regular season game.
“We’re so close and we do recruit a lot of the same players,” said Labreque, who is close friends with Camrose head coach Dave Drabuik. “Dave had done a great job with the team and they’ll have success if they buy in to what he wants. I know their post players are much improved since we saw them in the preseason, they just never got enough touches.”
The win gave the Kings a 5-2 record as they prepare to face Concordia University College in Edmonton tonight.
“It’s important to win these games at home, but now we have to make sure we’re not satisfied with a split. We need to go into Concordia ready to play.”
Lloyd Strickland led the Kings with 28 points while Adam Shaw added 18 points, Kendell Boese 15 points and five rebounds, Eric Bakker 11 points and Stason Golden eight points, nine rebounds and six steals. David Ness and Joe Knight had 13 points each and Lee Martin 10 for Augustana.
Vikings 82 Queens 59
The RDC Queens are low on healthy bodies and it’s taking its toll.
The Queens were without guard Lisa Ivanics, who’s leading the ACAC in scoring, and second-year post player Jessica Foley-Geldart, both out with ankle injuries, then lost flashy first-year guard Karlan Majcher six minutes into the game when she was knocked into the wall and sprained her ankle.
As a result the Queens played most of the game — an 82-59 loss to the Vikings — with nine players and two of those — Madison Wilson and Hannah Nagy — were seeing their first action of the season.
“I think if we weren’t cursed with injuries things would be different so far this season,” said Queens head coach Dawn Smyth, who saw their record slipt to 3-4. “We’ve worked hard to build a program and the girls worked very hard in the off-season. It’s kind of hard to swallow, but the girls are holding their heads high and showed a lot of character.”
The Queens trailed 47-26 at the half and were only out scored 35-33 in the second.
“We still almost scored 60 points, despite missing two of our main scorersand a couple of others having an off day, so we did a good job there,” said Smyth. “The girls did a good job of fighting to the end. They could have easily given up, but we continued to coach and they continued to play. It didn’t matter who was on the floor. Even if they played a couple of seconds, or a really, really long time they contributed.”
Several of the rookies — Courtney Loyek and Katherine Thatcher — turned in solid efforts.
“It’s a big opportunity for them, with the playing time they’re getting, so there’s a lot they can go after at this time.”
Megan Ivancic led RDC with 11 points while Lauren Loyek had eight points and 10 rebounds and Courtney Loyek eight points and six boards. Trochu product Kari Kubinec had 13 points, Avalon Greaves 12 and Laura Belisle 11 for Camrose. Taryn Story had nine points and 13 rebounds.
l Ivanics is close to returning, although she may sit out against Concordia . . . Foley is on crutches and Majcher is day-to-day.
drode@reddeeradvocate.com
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