Szymanek and Kings push Trojans but fall in rematch at home

Brent Forster - Red Deer Polytechnic Athletics

Red Deer, AB – Missing several student-athletes, the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings put forth a strong effort against the defending Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Champions.

The RDP Kings held a slight lead over the opening half and then the SAIT Trojans' offence started to gain traction. SAIT eventually picked up a 79-67 win at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.

"SAIT's a four-time returning [ACAC] champ, so they have an excellent program. They are a tough test on any night," said Darren Graham, Red Deer Polytechnic Kings Basketball Head Coach. "I thought last night was the accumulation of a couple of factors, being off for a couple of months, then the Briercrest trip last week, some illness within the team, some injuries, and we really didn't have a good performance. We shot poorly."

The home team started the first quarter on an 11-0 run, but the visitors chipped away. At the half, the Kings held a two point edge (34-32).

RDP's Tyronn King contributed 14 points over two quarters. SAIT's Charlie Conner also scored 14 by the break.

"Tonight, we had the energy," explained Graham. "We held them in check for the most part and then they got away from us a little bit in the third quarter."

The Trojans outscored the Kings 47-33 in the second half, including 26 points in the third quarter, eventually wrapping up the road decision.

"They have really good defence. They held us to under 70 points two games in a row," said Graham. "Tonight, the difference was the energy on defence. Quarters one, two, and four, I thought we played really good team defence. We played a little bit of zone and mixed in a little bit of man. The guys were very engaged defensively." 

Stauffer's Kevin Szymanek was recognized as the North Star Sports Kings Player of the Game. The Bachelor of Business Administration General Management student recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 of his team's 43 boards.

"Kevin had two really good games against some really big competition inside," added Graham. 

Antonio Benjamin (15)

Marcus Masters picked up the honour for the Trojans, totaling 17 points, four rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists.

Toronto's Tyronn King led Red Deer Polytechnic with 21 points. Eduardo Crespo chipped in with 20.

"Offensively, Eduardo gave us a little bit more. Ty was back to his usual form and they were keying on him," stated Graham. "It was a tough matchup, because their defensive scheme is built on stopping him. All-in-all, I thought it was a good performance." 

SAIT's Charlie Conner had a team high 20 points. Amin Suleman recorded eight of the Trojans' 47 rebounds.

The Kings were without the services of a handful of student-athletes.

"Cole Wicker, Brett Hochhausen, and Logan Roberts are on COVID-19 hiatus. MacGregor Manyluk has a broken ankle, so he is out for the year," said Graham. "At the beginning of the year, Azro Abuzukar hurt his knee so he hasn't played with us, so that's five off of our typical roster."

Graham was appreciative of the contributions from a six-foot-seven rookie. 

"Parker Weinrauch, a first-year local product out of Notre Dame, came in and played some great minutes tonight. He had a basket and a couple of foul shots. He did the same last night, playing against a guy that's six-foot-10, probably 250 pounds," said Graham. 

"Parker held his own. He played really strong basketball for us, so that was impressive to see. He filled in some of those gaps in terms of buying us some minutes, playing really good defence, and being physical. He is a big strong kid and used those attributes to his advantage." 

Weinrauch (13)

"Last night we just wanted to flush that one and move forward," said Graham. "Obviously, we wanted to come out with the W. It didn't happen, but there are some things that we can build off of tonight." 

The fourth place Red Deer Polytechnic Kings (6-4) will host the second seed SAIT Trojans (9-2) at 8 pm on Friday, February 11.

The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men's Basketball playoffs have been delayed until March 4. The final four ACAC teams will compete for the championship on March 11 and 12.

Humber College will host the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Basketball National Championship in Etobicoke, Ontario from March 24 to 27.