Lethbridge College proudly hosted the Cora 2018 ACAC Men's Basketball Championships from March 1 to 3 in the Val Matteotti Gymnasium.
The top eight teams from the ACAC played 11 games over three days to determine the conference champion. Both finalists will move on to play in the CCAA national championship tournament hosted by Collège Montmorency in Laval, Que.
Here are the results from the third and final day of play:
ACAC fifth-place game
Keyano Huskies (North #4) 96
Lethbridge Kodiaks (South #4) 93 (OT)
The Keyano Huskies came into the Cora Breakfast and Lunch 2018 Men’s Basketball Championship as underdogs. But they showed their bite is as big as their bark, chomping the fifth-place game away from the host Lethbridge College Kodiaks. Both teams looked on the verge of victory at various points in the game, but it was the Huskies (16-11) that triumphed in overtime, 96-93 over the Kodiaks (14-10).
Beginning a trend that would continue throughout the first half, the Huskies were hot from beyond the arc in the first quarter. Chris Oppong (fourth year, Education Assistant, Toronto) and Jack Redden (third year, University Studies, Quesnel, B.C.) both hit for three back-to-back as part of a 10-0 run that put Keyano up by nine. With the lead into double digits in the second quarter, Keyano continued to fire from long range, with Dante Dinter (first year, Business Administration, Tofield, Alta.) and Stefan Jovcic (first year, University Studies, Mississauga, Ont.) connecting for threes just 27 seconds apart. Keyano shot an incredible 8-for-13 on threes in the first half to lead by as many as 19. But 10-straight points by Lethbridge to close the half, including four by Keanu Funa (second year, Business Administration, Lethbridge) who had 16 in the first half alone, closed the Huskies lead to 45-36 at the break.
In the third quarter, the host Kodiaks picked right up where they left off, continuing to drive the lane for baskets. A 13-2 run was capped by a highlight reel offensive rebound and tip-in by Cody Chipman (first year, General Studies, Magrath) as the Kodiaks stormed all the way back to take the lead, outscoring Keyano 27-17 in the quarter. In the fourth, a Grady Taylor (fourth year, General Studies, Magrath, Alta.) three gave Lethbridge its largest lead of the game, 71-65 with six minutes remaining, but the Huskies had a comeback queued up. Oppong hit a lay-up with under two seconds to play to tie the game up and force overtime.
In the extra frame, Dinter hit a pair of three-pointers to give the Huskies the edge they needed for the victory.
Oppong was just an assist short of a triple-double for Keyano with 26 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Funa and Taylor each had a game-high 28 points for the Kodiaks.
Players of the game:
Lethbridge - #23 Keanu Funa (28pts, 14reb)
Keyano - #11 Chris Oppong (26pts, 14reb, 9ast)
ACAC gold medal game
Lakeland Rustlers (North #3) 77
SAIT Trojans (South #1) 88
Winning a championship is tough. Winning two in a row is even tougher. But the SAIT Trojans (19-5) weren’t deterred by the challenge as the club came up clutch to win its second ACAC men’s basketball championship in as many years, with an 88-77 win over the Lakeland Rustlers (18-9). The victory marked the end of an entertaining week of basketball at the Cora Breakfast and Lunch ACAC Championship Tournament, hosted by Lethbridge College.
Both teams were making shots in the opening quarter, with neither side able to put any distance between themselves and their opponent. SAIT was able to take a slight 26-24 lead after ten minutes thanks to a 10-point effort by Gemie Muya-Ntalaja (first year, Journalism, Toronto). The teams remained even through most of the second quarter, as the game was tied at 38 with just over two minutes remaining. But Lakeland's Prentice Gardner (fourth year, University Transfer, Oakland, Calif.) single-handedly broke the game open, scoring seven-straight points, including a last-second three, to give the Rustlers a 45-38 lead at the break.
Three minutes into the third quarter, Akeem Phillip (third year, Business Administration, Toronto) hit a three, pushing the Rustlers lead to 10 points. But from there, the Trojans erupted. SAIT scored 16 straight points, six of them by Muya-Ntalaja to storm ahead 57-51 late in the third. A three-pointer in the final minute by Murphy Beya (fifth year, New Media Design and Production, Ottawa) cemented an excellent quarter for the Trojans where they outscored the Rustlers 25-12 to lead by six after three.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Rustlers put on a comeback push as a Terrell Murdaugh (fourth year, University Transfer, Saskatoon) three moved Lakeland back within two of the Trojans. But that’s as close as the crew from Lloydminster would get, as Charlie Conner (first year, Business Administration, Lacey, Wash.) scored five-straight points to restore the SAIT edge. Beya, the tournament MVP, added the exclamation point, drilling a three with one minute remaining to clinch the Trojans victory.
Conner, a freshman, led the Trojans in scoring with 33 points, while Muya-Ntalaja finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Adrian Richards led the Rustlers with 20 points.
The championship exemplifies the return to prominence of the Trojans basketball program, after it ended a 17-year championship drought last season.
Both teams have qualified for, and now move on to, the CCAA National Championship Tournament from March 15 to 17 at Collège Montmorency in Laval, Que.
Players of the game:
Lakeland - #2 Prentice Gardner (17pts, 4reb)
SAIT - #1 Charlie Conner (33pts, 7reb, 5ast, 4 3pts)
Tournament MVP
Murphy Beya – SAIT Trojans
All-tournament team
Brett Jakubec – Concordia Thunder
Paul Smith-Profit – Lakeland Rustlers
Terrell Murdaugh – Lakeland Rustlers
Gemie Muya-Ntalaja - SAIT Trojans
Charlie Conner – SAIT Trojans
ACAC bronze medal game
NAIT Ooks (North #2) 94
Concordia Thunder (North #1) 102
The Concordia Thunder came into the Cora Breakfast and Lunch ACAC Championships as the gold medal favourites. While that wasn’t meant to be, the Thunder (21-6) still turned in a championship-caliber performance in a 102-94 win over the NAIT Ooks (17-10) in an all-Edmonton battle to earn the ACAC bronze medal.
The first quarter was played about as evenly as basketball can possibly be played, with multiple lead changes and neither team ever leading by more than four. After ten high-scoring minutes the teams were tied at 27. In the second, the defenses tightened up, but Concordia found a way to start building a lead. A 9-2 run to open the quarter put the Thunder up by seven. NAIT was able to hang around, with a Ryan Delwo (third year, Occupational Health and Safety, Regina) three bringing the Ooks back within two. But Concordia immediately replied with an 8-2 surge, including a Ryan McLaren (fourth year, Bachelor of Management, Sherwood Park, Alta.) triple to lead 49-43 at half.
In the third quarter, the Thunder scored ten straight points early on to take a 14 point lead. They continued to drive on the offensive end and a Bevan Purnell (third year, Bachelor of Science, Edmonton) three in the final seconds gave Concordia a 75-60 lead through three quarters. But NAIT wasn’t going to let the game get away that easily. Back-to-back three pointers by Wyatt Beaver (fourth year, Business Administration, Edmonton) and Delwo to open the fourth set the tone for a comeback. A 12-3 NAIT run tied the game up at 89 with under three minutes to play. But Mike Malin (fifth year, Bachelor of Management, Red Deer) responded with a three for Concordia, re-storing the Concordia lead, which they never surrendered.
A whistle with under a second to play allowed Concordia coach Reagan Wood to pull his seniors, giving them a special send-off in their final ACAC game. Malin led the Thunder with 24 points and 11 rebounds while Brett Jakubec (fifth year, Open Studies, Viking, Alta.) added 20 points. Jackson Jacob (third year, Pre-employment Auto Body Repair, Nassau, Bahamas) of the Ooks led all scorers with 29 points, while Samson Cleare (fourth year, Millwork and Carpentry, Nassau, Bahamas) had 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Players of the game:
NAIT - #21 Samson Cleare (20pts, 13reb, 10/13 FG)
Concordia - #8 Chad Oviatt (12pts, 6reb)