The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings basketball team’s season has come to an end.
After beating the Medicine Hat College Rattlers on Friday to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Kings needed to beat the St. Mary’s University Thunder in their second play-in game.
A win would have booked their ticket to the 2023 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men’s Basketball Championship but they fell just short 80-77 in a fantastic effort on the road.
The Lightning led 40-39 at halftime and in the third quarter, St. Mary’s pulled away after a 27-point quarter. However, the Kings stormed back in the final quarter notching 23 points in a do-or-die situation.
Red Deer was led by a 32-point performance from Mauro Barrozo Junior. He shot 13-19 from the field and added 15 rebounds to boot.
Payton Baltzer had a near-double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. Cole Wicker contributed 10 points and Bernardo Coller provided a spark off the bench adding nine points.