The Redeemer Royals threw everything they had at the top ranked Humber Hawks in their home opener on Tuesday night in front of an excited home crowd. A short bench ended up being the difference as the Royals ran out of steam in the 4th quarter and the Hawks capitalized. Redeemer dropped the game 98-72 as the Hawks outscored the Royals 30-11 in the final 10 minutes.

Redeemer looked strong from the opening tip-off, matching Humber point for point and controlling large parts of the game. A balanced first half saw Redeemer up by 1 point after 2 quarters. John Woldue (London, ON) had 11 first half points and Josh de Schiffert (Strathroy, ON) shot well front beyond the arc with 4 3-pointers in the 2nd quarter.

Humber came out with a new energy to start the 2nd half and as the game progressed, it was evident that the Royals began to tire with the majority of starters seeing big minutes. Redeemer was stuck with a short bench due to a number of key injuries sustained in early exhibition matches.

The Hawks shot over 50% in field goals, free throws, and 3 pointers throughout the match and the Royals shooting percentages declined as the game progressed. A big first half of the 4th quarter for Humber put the game out of reach as the final score of 98-72 was not a true indication of how competitive the match was.

Woldue was effective all over the court on Tuesday night finishing up with 16 points for Redeemer and adding 11 assists and 8 rebounds. Josh de Schiffert added a team high 17 points while brother Taylor de Schiffert (London, ON) had 13 in his first OCAA league game of his career.

The Royals travel to Fanshawe College on Saturday for their first road game of the season. Tip-off is at 3pm.