Men's Basketball Season Opener vs Kings Eagles
The Lakeland Rustlers Men's Basketball team completed the home and home sweep of the King's Eagles in the opening weekend of ACAC play.
Friday night, the Rustlers travelled to Edmonton to play the Eagles where the Rustlers came out with an 87-63 victory. Both teams were slow to start the game, struggling to find their rhythm and score. Once the teams began scoring, they were back and forth for the first quarter, with the score tied at 14 after ten minutes.
The two teams continued to go back and forth in the second quarter, with neither leading by more than three. At the half, the Rustlers found themselves down 36-33. The Rustlers took the lead early in the second half, but then allowed the Eagles reclaim the lead. The score was tied at 45 four minutes into the third quarter before the Rustlers went on an 8-0 run that gave them the separation and momentum they needed to take control of the game.
In the fourth quarter, the Rustlers never led by less than 9 and led by as many as 25 on their way to their first victory of the regular season. Fourth year forward Prentice Gardner led the Rustlers with 26 points and three assists, 2nd-year guard Brandon Isaac contributed 20 points and two steals and 3rd-year guard Lual Ateam had 15 points and four steals.
Player of the Game for the Rustlers was #2 P.J. Gardner.
Saturday night, the Rustlers returned to Lloydminster for their home opener, where they once again defeated the King's Eagles 89-47. The Rustlers led early on in the game and never looked back. The Rustlers pushed the ball, building a 28-14 lead after one quarter. 4th-year guard Terrell Murdaugh, who did not play Friday night, led the Rustlers with 9 points in the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Eagles struggled with the defensive pressure the Rustlers applied, turning the ball over many times. The Rustlers looked to capitalize on the Eagles turnovers, pushing the ball in transition, and running the offense when the fast break was not there. At the half, the Rustlers led the Eagles 54-20. The Eagles continued to struggle with the pressure applied by the Rustlers in the third quarter, while the Rustlers struggled to execute on the offensive end. The Rustlers increased their lead to 70-26 after three quarters.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles began to apply full-court pressure that left the Rustlers scattered. With both teams pressuring, lots of turnovers were forced, leading to fast breaks and easy scoring opportunities. The Rustlers, however, had built too much of a lead and were too strong for the Eagles. The Rustlers were led by Murdaugh who had 19 points, five assists, three rebounds and one steal. Third year forward Artavis Holiday also had 19 points, five rebounds and two assists for the Rustlers.
Player of the Game for the Rustlers was #3, Terrell Murdaugh.
Rustlers Head Coach Sheray Thomas was pleased with what he saw from his team over the weekend.
"Defense looked better this week," Thomas said. We did a better job in transition, keeping King's from getting easy baskets. Offensively, we are still shooting a lot of threes and there is still a lot to work on, but we are running our systems better.
When asked about the play of Murdaugh, Thomas said he sees him returning to the player he was last year. "I was pleased with how Terrell responded after not playing for a few games," Thomas said. He can give our team a boost whether he is starting or coming off the bench."
The Rustlers travel to Grande Prairie October 20th and 21st to take on the Grande Prairie Wolves.
The Rustlers next home action is on October 27th against the NAIT Ooks.