Men's Basketball Weekend Recap | November 18, 2017

The Lakeland Rustlers Men's Basketball split their games against the Keyano Huskies in Lloydminster on the weekend.  Friday night, the Huskies defeated the Rustlers 78-72, while Saturday afternoon, the Rustlers beat the Huskies 94-91 in overtime.   

The Keyano Huskies defeated the Lakeland Rustlers 78-72 Friday night.  The Rustlers got out to a strong start in the first quarter, opening up a 15-3 lead.  The Rustlers would increase their lead to 19-6 before allowing the Huskies to score the final 7 points of the quarter, making the Rustlers lead 19-13 after one.  The teams went back and forth in the second quarter, trading baskets for much of it.  At the half, the Rustlers found themselves with a 39-34 lead. 

The Rustlers increased their lead to 15 in the first 3 minutes of the third quarter, going on a 10-0 run before the Huskies first scored.  The Rustlers would lead by as many as 16 in the quarter, but the Huskies were able to chip away at the Rustlers lead to make the score 59-53 after three.  The Huskies cut the Rustlers lead to 1 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter before the Rustlers regained a 6 point lead.  The Huskies would then go on an 8-0 run and would outscore the Rustlers 25-13 in the quarter to come away with the 78-72 win. 

The Rustlers were led by third year forward Artavis Holiday with 22 points, ten rebounds, six assists and two steals.  The Rustlers also got 18 points, five assists, two rebounds and a steal from fourth year guard Terrell Murdaugh, who was also named Player of the Game for the Rustlers.

Despite the loss, Rustlers Head Coach Sheray Thomas was pleased with the defensive effort. 

"We were aggressive, turning them over, applying pressure," Thomas said.  The effort was there, we just have to get it from everybody all the time.  Those lapses, times where we aren't focused comes back to bite us.  We'd go on a run, then have some substitutions, mix it up a little and then they would go on a run." 

Murdaugh echoed many of his coach's thoughts.  "They went on a run, and we just didn't respond," Murdaugh said.  "We had it at the start, and then they started coming back and getting that energy, and we didn't respond."

Saturday, the Rustlers defeated the Huskies 94-91 in overtime for the two teams to split the weekend series.  The teams went back and forth for the first quarter, exchanging baskets and the lead.  At the end of the quarter, the Huskies led 25-20.  The teams continued to trade baskets early on in the second quarter before the Huskies built a 9 point lead.  The Rustlers were able to cut the lead to 6, but the Huskies made two free throws at the end of the quarter to give them a 47-39 halftime lead. 

The Huskies opened up a 12 point lead early on in the second half and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the quarter.  The Rustlers went on a run in the final minutes of the third quarter to tie the game at 59 after 3.  The Huskies held the lead for much of the fourth quarter, but the Rustlers continued to fight.  The Rustlers took a two-point lead with 2 minutes left before Keyano took a two-point lead in the final minute.  The Rustlers were able to score and tie the game at 81, forcing overtime. 

In overtime, the teams traded baskets, but at the end, the Rustler scored the last points, giving them the 94-91 win.  The Rustlers were led by Holiday, who had 34 points, 24 rebounds, three assists and a steal, earning him Player of the Game honors.  The Rustlers also got 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and four blocks from fourth year forward Prentice Gardner and 16 points, five rebounds and three assists from third year guard Ricardo Joseph. 

The Rustlers play their final games of the semester next weekend against the Augustana Vikings.  The Rustlers host the Vikings Friday at 8:00 pm and travel to Camrose Saturday.