Rustlers Men's Basketball | Weekend Recap - Feb 20 & 21, 2020
The Rustlers men's basketball team lost their pair of games to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks this past weekend.
On Thursday night in Edmonton, the Rustlers would lose a tough game to the Ooks 97-100 in the final seconds of the game.
The first half of the game was a tight one, and at the half the Rustlers were down 40-45. The Rustlers would cut the Ook lead to only 1 by the end of the third quarter and would take the lead with 2 and a half minutes left to go in the game.
The Rustlers would hold onto a small lead in the remaining minutes of the game, however, when the Rustlers were up by 1, a turnover with 17 seconds left in the game would cause the Rustlers to go down by 1 (97-98). A foul on the Rustlers would put the Ooks at the free throw line where they would make both of their free throws with 1 second left on the clock, resulting in a final score of 100-97 in favour of the Ooks.
The Rustler effort was led by third-year guard, Kwantez Simmons with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals, earning him player of the game. Fifth-year guard, Ricardo Joseph had 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block in the game, and third-year guard, Rashon Russell had 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Guard, Terrell Murdaugh added 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal for the Rustlers, and fourth-year guard, Adrian Richards added 11 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
On Friday night in Lloydminster the Rustlers looked to use their homecourt advantage the bounce back from Thursday's loss. However, they would fall short of the Ooks once again, 73-62.
The first half was close throughout, and at the end of both the first and second quarters, the scores were tied at 14, and 22, respectively. The Ooks would take a 2-point lead by the end of the third quarter, and in the fourth quarter they would essentially run away with the game.
The Rustlers were once again led by third-year guard, Kwantez Simmons with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. Fourth-year guard, Adrian Richards had 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal for the Rustlers, earning him player of the game.
Third-year guard, Rashon Russell added 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists, and Terrell Murdaugh had 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 5 steals.
The Rustler basketball teams are heading into their final weekend of league to take on the Concordia Thunder to close out their season. On Saturday night on homecourt the Rustlers will be celebrating their graduating players on Senior Night including Terrell Murdaugh, Ricardo Joseph, Akeem Phillip, and Paul Smith-Profit.