The RDC Kings struggled in every aspect during their return from the Christmas break.
RDC (4-5) looked rusty on home court and was unable to produce any consistent offence in a 80-72 loss to the St. Mary’s Lightning (2-7) Friday in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball play.
They shot 33 per cent from the field and just seven percent from three-point range, making just two of 26 attempts. Even from the free-throw line, the Kings were subpar, making eight of 15 shots.
“We looked rusty. We weren’t working very hard. We didn’t make very many shots. We did not shoot the ball well tonight. That’s the losing trifecta,” said Kings head coach Clayton Pottinger.
“No excuses, we’ve been back practicing since last week. We felt like we should have worked the rust out and been a bit more ready to compete tonight and make big shots.”
Guard Spencer Klassen was the only King to make a three-point shot in the game, burying two of his 10 attempts. He was the Kings player of the game and also had six rebounds and five steals.
Despite the lacklustre performance, RDC hung with the Lightning through the first two quarters. With the game tied at 37 at halftime, St. Mary’s came out strong in the third quarter and outscored RDC 25-12. In the fourth quarter, down as many as 17 points, RDC cut the deficit to 75-72, but could not close the gap late.
Lightning fifth-year guard Cordell Minnifee scored a game-high 27 points in the win.
RDC rebounded in a big way on the road Saturday.
They poured in triple digits with a 108-81 win over the Lightning in Calgary.
Klassen had a massive game from three-point range, hitting eight of 11 from beyond the arc. The Kings shot 70 per cent from outside the three-point line as a team and were 52 per cent from the field. Klassen had 34 points on the night and Khurram Sultan pitched in 20. Eric Bakker added 15 off the bench and he also picked up five rebounds.
Anthony Harper also had a strong night with 11 points and 10 boards.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter