It's been two years since the Royals have felt the pain of a loss on their home court. Friday night's defeat at the hands of the Niagara Knights ended Redeemer's run of 727 days without a home loss.
The incredible feat for the Men's Basketball team is the longest in Royals history. The last loss at home for Redeemer was on January 14, 2017, against the Sheridan Bruins. The Bruins went a perfect 16-0 that season.
After that loss, Redeemer finished the 2016-2017 season going 3-0 at home with wins against Lambton, St. Clair, and Mohawk.
The following year, 2017-2018, the Royals completed their first-ever perfect season at home, going 11-0 on their way to a 19-1 regular season record. Redeemer went on to win a home playoff match as well to advance to the OCAA Championship for the 2nd straight year.
This year, the Royals went the entire Fall semester without dropping a home match, tallying wins against Sheridan, Fanshawe, Conestoga, and Lambton.
The Royals will have an opportunity to start a new streak on Saturday afternoon when Redeemer hosts the St. Clair Saints at 3:00pm.
The Knights opened the match with a 12-2 run and took a 31-18 lead into the 2nd quarter. From there, the Royals battled back, winning the 2nd (24-16) and 3rd quarters (19-15) to close the gap to 62-61 heading into the 4th.
The 4th quarter saw 6 ties and 5 lead changes. Redeemer grabbed their first lead of the game with 5:50 left in the quarter. The Royals looked like they might complete the comeback, up 84-82 with 1:23 left in the game, but the Knights finished with a 7-1 run for the victory.
While the streak ending is significant, Friday's match was very important in terms of the 2019 season.
In a match that featured a playoff-type atmosphere, the win for the Knights was significant as both teams came into the match tied for 2nd in the OCAA West with identical 8-3 records. With the loss, the Royals drop into a tie for 4th in the West (with Fanshawe) as the Knights move ahead and a pair of Sheridan Bruins wins on the weekend moves them up.
Spencer Kerssies tied his season-high with 29 points. He also added a dominant 22 rebounds and 3 blocks.
The Knights were led by Van Hutchinson Junior. Niagara's leading scorer had 21 points and 12 rebounds. He added 6 assists.
Redeemer will have no time to focus on the weekend's loss as the Royals will travel to Fanshawe College on Wednesday in another important matchup. The game is scheduled for 8:00pm in London.
