It was an up and down weekend for both Redeemer Basketball teams as each program grabbed a win and a loss on opposite days. Redeemer traveled to Western Ontario for a Friday night matchup against Lambton College and a Saturday afternoon tilt against St. Clair College.
On Friday, the Lady Royals controlled their game from start to finish in a convincing 75-56 over the Lambton Lions. Redeemer led big early, putting up an incredible 34 points in the first quarter. From there, the Lady Royals maintained their lead playing solid basketball and getting their first win of the season.
Saturday was a different match for Redeemer as the game was very even throughout. Both the St. Clair Saints and Redeemer Royals battled back and forth with the match tied at 48 after the 3rd quarter. From there, fatigue may have started to set in for Redeemer, playing their second game in less than 24 hours, as St. Clair dominated the 4th quarter grabbing the win 71-59.
Redeemer's record now sits at 1-2.
In their opening match of the weekend, the Men's team fell in a close match 75-64. Despite a 20 point effort from Redeemer's Calvin Turnbull and a 19 point game from Benn Ibrahim, a slow start by the Royals eventually caught up with them.
Down 20-11 after the first quarter, Redeemer had to fight back the entire game. With the score 48-40 for Lambton after the 3rd quarter, the Royals were still in the game but failed to close the gap on the Lions. Lambton was able to ride that lead to the end, winning by 11 points.
Saturday was a much different story for Redeemer. The Royals grabbed a 1st quarter lead and continued to create a bigger gap as the game progressed. Up 57-40 after the 3rd quarter, Redeemer cruised to an 82-66 win for their first victory of the season.
Redeemer felt the pressure to get a win early in the season and Head Coach Jamie Girolametto was thrilled with the team's effort on Saturday. "We had a strong defensive focus", commented Girolametto. "We were really strong on the boards against a team that defeated Mohawk the night before. I am really pleased with the effort against a strong St. Clair Saints team".
Redeemer's record now sits at 1-2.
Next up for Redeemer is their home openers set for November 8th against the Sault Cougars.
Full Story to Come
