Kings 104 Clippers 53
In a perfect world the RDC Kings would have finished their Alberta Colleges Men’s Basketball League regular season in a battle against one of the other top teams in the South Division.
But that’s not the way it was set up. Instead the Kings final two games were against the last-place Briercrest Bible College Clippers.
“If you look across the conference several of the teams were playing more meaningful games and we miss being involved in games like that,” said Kings head coach Clayton Pottinger. “But that’s not the way it was so we have to make the most of this opportunity and work on a couple of things to prepare for the playoffs.
The Kings wrapped up first place in the South Division with a 98-60 victory Friday then disposed of the Clippers 104-53 on Saturday afternoon at RDC.
Two members of the Kings — fifth-year guard Jacob Cusumano and third-year forward Brian Prenoslo — were honoured prior to Saturday’s game. The two will move on after this season.
Cusumano made the most of his final appearance before a home crowd as he pumped in 27 points, nailing six of ten from three-point distance.
“Jacob lit it up,” said Pottinger. “At one stretch in the third quarter he nailed five threes in a row. It was a great final game for him at home.”
JP LeBlanc added 13 points while Matt Mateur had 13 points and eight rebounds, Tyler Wise 10 points, two rebounds and three assists and Benny Bankazo 10 points and five boards. Prenoslo added eight points, Justin Jarvis six points and 10 rebounds and Matt Johnson nine points, four rebounds and five assists.
The Kings head to Keyano in Fort McMurray Tuesday for the ACAC finals, which open Thursday. The Kings meet the host Huskies in their first game.
Queens 69 Clippers 50
After battling to beat the last-place Clippers 78-76 Friday the Queens turned in a better defensive effort Saturday to record a 69-50 victory.
The Queens trailed 18-16 after the first quarter, but outscored the Clippers 21-13 in the second period and 13-12 in the third. They held a 19-7 margin in the final 10 minutes.
Winning their final two league games, even though it was against a last-place team, is a boost to the RDC program.
“For sure,” said Queens head coach Ken King. “It’s something we can build on, something we can get excited about for the girls returning and the recruits.”
King will have conversations with his players over the next couple of weeks about who will be back next season.
Desirae Paterson led the team with 15 points while impressive rookie Morgan Dool had nine points, 10 rebounds and four assists.