The Kings make it two in a row with a win against the Eagles

Edmonton, November 11 - The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings faced off with The Kings University Eagles on Remembrance Day. The Kings are coming off their first win of the season last weekend against a very tough University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings team. As for the Eagles, they have yet to win a game but came so close against the Briercrest College Clippers last weekend when they dropped an 85-83 contest in overtime.

It was a slow start for the Kings in Edmonton as the Eagles came out on all cylinders in the first quarter which meant Red Deer was forced to climb back from a large deficit early in the game. But the Kings battled to within two points of the Eagles at the quarter break but a late three-pointer by the home team extended that lead and ended the quarter with a 28-23 lead. It was a team effort for the Kings in the scoring category at the end of the first 10 minutes with seven players getting on the score sheet all under six points.  

Some back-to-back three-point plays put the Kings up 33-32 early in the second quarter. Brazilian post Jose Mauro (Academic Upgrading) was the first one to make a bucket then get fouled and a few seconds later forward Eduardo Crespo (Academic Upgrading) did the same which sparked the Kings bench with excitement. But this lead lasted only a few seconds before the Eagles offence exploded for 21 points to finish off the quarter with a 53-46 lead over the visiting Kings. For Red Deer Polytechnic, they were held to 13 points after the early lead. Mauro was the only Kings player to finish the half with double digit points with 14. He was just short of a first-half double-double as he grabbed nine rebounds as well.

It was a hard-fought third quarter by the Kings with the men able to come away with scoring 27 points to the Eagles 26 in the third quarter but still were down by six heading into the fourth. It was a quarter that saw a lot of action on both sides of the court with three-pointers being made as well as players from both teams drawing the foul and scoring two-points on the same play. Crespo of the Kings led his team after the third quarter with an impressive 23 points. Mauro was just behind him with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

An early 10-0 run by Red Deer forced The Kings University coach to call a timeout with his team down for just the second time in this interdivisional matchup. It came down right to the final whistle with the Eagles making a late surge, but their fourth quarter comeback came just short, and it was the Kings that came away with the 94-90 victory. After starting the season 0-4, Red Deer now has won two in a row.

The player of the game from the Kings went to Eduardo Crespo with a 29-point performance.

The Kings have a tough schedule ahead of them as they will face-off against the Keyano College Huskies next week Friday and then the Lakeland College Rustlers on Saturday. The Huskies are ranked third in the nation and the Rustlers came in last week at number 15 in Canada. Both matches will be at 8 pm inside the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.