After dropping their first match of the season on Friday night to the Niagara Knights, Redeemer's Men's Basketball team moved to 1-1 with their first victory of 2018-19. After 19 wins during the 2017-2018 season, it was only a matter of time before Redeemer notched their first win this Fall.
In their second road game to start the season, the Royals were in Mississauga to face the University of Toronto Mississauga Eagles. The Eagles finished last season with a 2-18 record but entered Wednesday's match coming off a tight 3-point loss to the Mohawk Mountaineers.
The improved Eagles gave the Royals all they could handle but Redeemer came away with a 102-96 win. Redeemer outscored UTM in each of the first 3 quarters, including a dominating 2nd in which the Royals outscored their opponent 24-16. UTM made a push in the final quarter and closed Redeemer's lead to just one point at 93-92 with 56 seconds remaining.
Woods Brown countered with a 3-pointer immediately after to put the game back out of reach for UTM.
The Royals had 4 starters reach double-digit points. Spencer led the Royals with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Elijah Lostracco and Nick Green each had 19 points while
Foster Brown had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Green was 50% from beyond the arc hitting 6 of 12 attempts.
UTM's Gregory Roberts had a game-high 40 points for the Eagles.
The win for the Royals propels them up into a tie for 2nd place in the OCAA West. Niagara sits in first place as the only team currently with 2 wins and 0 losses.
The Royals will have just a few days before they head back out on the road for their 3rd consecutive match away from Redeemer to start the season. The Men's team makes the long trip to Windsor for a Saturday afternoon showdown with the St. Clair Saints. The Saints dropped their first match of the season 119-108 to the Sheridan Bruins last Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4:00pm.
