The RDC Kings came up just short in a back-and-forth battle with the Medicine Hat College Rattlers on Friday night in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference play.
Both teams scored in bunches throughout the night, but the Rattlers hit several clutch free-throws down the stretch to close out an 88-83 victory.
Overall, Kings head coach Clayton Pottinger was satisfied with the performance against the second best team in the ACAC south division but, knows his team will need to find another level if they want to earn a win in the rematch Saturday.
“It was a battle, back-and-forth all game. We played a little bit better in the first half than the second. We were able to do most of the things that we wanted to. They’re a tough team,” he said.
“We’re going to have to make some adjustments. In games that are this close, it’s going to be about some minor adjustments that can maybe sway things one way or the other.”
The Kings were down 44-42 at the half, then outscored 19-17 in the third quarter and 25-24 in the final 10 minutes.
Daniel Powell had another huge contest for the Kings with 17 points and 16 rebounds. The six-foot-seven forward was also three-for-seven from three-point range. Two of those came late in the fourth quarter.
Kings first-year guard Omon Edobar from Calgary poured in a game-high 24 points in the loss. Eric Bakker also had a big night with 18 points and nine boards.
Pottinger said while the performance from his starters was solid, RDC only picked up six bench points in the loss.
“Omon ended up being player of the game with 24. Eric with another solid performance and Danny had another 17 and 16. Our starters are playing well, we need to get a bit more out of the bench,” he said.
In the rematch Saturday, the Kings head coach said they’ll tweak the game plan a little bit and be ready to go.
“When we prep for these weekends, we always have a game plan A and B for the next day,” Pottinger said.
RDC will take on the Rattlers Saturday at the Main Gym with tip off set for 3 p.m.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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