Trojans 76 Kings 70
To have success the RDC Kings need to play a fast-paced style and not get involved in a game that’s determined by size and strength on the boards.
The SAIT Trojans can play a high-tempo game as well, but also have a solid inside game which in the end was the difference as they edged the Kings 76-70 in Alberta Colleges Men’s Basketball League play before close to a full house at RDC Friday.
“It didn’t work out well for us in terms of the flow and tempo of the game and how it was being called,” said Kings head coach Stef Labrecque. “We had to make some adjustments and didn’t do it . . . it happens.”
The Kings didn’t have the height to control the Trojans six-foot-nine post Sean Landry, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds. The Kings asked six-foot-four guard RJ Wells to handle Landry most of the game, or on occasions would insert six-foot-six Jason Lowe, who is just back from a knee injury that kept him out of the first half of the season. They’re also missing six-foot-seven Eddy Sanchez, who has a torn ligament in his shoulder.
The Kings also ran into some foul trouble, with six-foot-five Eric Bakker spending most of the second half on the bench. When he did return in the fourth quarter he picked up his fifth foul immediately.
“That hurt as Eric is good at pulling out some of the big guys and we can attack them,” said Labrecque. “But it wasn’t meant to be. There was a couple ticky-tac ones and we didn’t react well. We’ll just have to do a better job tomorrow.”
Even through the Kings gave up significant height, they led until midway through the fourth quarter. However, they didn’t shoot well in the final 10 minutes, managing just nine points as they missed several easy shots including a pair of layups.
On the other side the Trojans nailed three long outside shots at the buzzer.
“We call them elephant threes, but give them credit they hit the shots they had to and we didn’t,” added Labrecque. “Overall we didn’t shoot well enough. We managed to hit just 28 per cent of our threes and they hit 44 per cent. That won’t cut it, we have to D up with a little more enthusiasm.”
Still it wasn’t all negative for the Kings, who saw their record drop to 6-7 while the Trojans moved to 7-6.
“We definitely played hard I wasn’t disappointed with that,” said Labrecque. “We played with a lot of emotion and passion, so I was pleaded with that, we just need to shoot a little better. Tomorrow (at SAIT) will be a true test of our character.”
Adam Shaw finished with 18 points for RDC while Lloyd Strickland had 11 points and nine assists while Well had 11 points, Lowe nine and Jordan Stevens eight. Gabriel Diggs added 16 points, Scott Peris 14 and Aloysius Callaghan 11 for SAIT.
Trojans 81 Queens 50
The final score may not have indicated it, but the Queens showed a lot of heart against the No. 2 ranked team in the country.
In fact the Queens led 33-32 early in the third quarter before the Trojans started to find their outside shooting game and pulled away to the 81-50 victory.
“Their No. 7 (Taylor Pillsworth) got hot in the third quarter from the outside, which made a big difference,” said Queens head coach Dawn Smyth. “Plus I thought we played a little tired in the third and fourth quarters compared to the first and second. The first half we played with a little more grunt, which is an improvement over the way we’ve played some games. There were a couple of games we lost because we didn’t have that intensity. It’s consistency we’re looking for and there was a bit more of that tonight against a very good team.”
The Queens, who are playing with only 10 healthy players, lost their scoring touch in the third quarter and were outscored 23-7 which was the end.
Their two starting guards — Katlyn Olsen and Megan Ivancic — ran into foul trouble in the third quarter, which didn’t help matters, especially with point guard Karlen Majcher out with a broken bone in her leg.
“Karlen would make a big difference, especially when our guards were in foul trouble, plus she moves the ball well and can score, but she’s not available, so someone else has to step up,” said Smyth, who didn’t want to comment on the officiating.
“They’re a ticker team than we are . . . muscular and strong and the style of play tonight was an advantage for them,” she did say.
Ivancic led the Queens with 18 points while Olsen had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Pillsworth and Rachel Caputo had 19 points each for the Trojans.
RDC hosts Lethbridge next Friday and Saturday.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com