Rattlers Take Close Match at Home
Medicine Hat Hosted the St. Mary's Lightning who traveled down for the second half of the home and home. The Rattlers hoped to build on a win the night previous in Calgary. The Lightning got off to a fast start scoring 9 unanswered to start. The Rattlers Roared back reducing the lead to 1 by the quarters midpoint. Medicine hat had dominated most aspects of the game but could not get the ball to fall in. the quarter was full of fouls with both teams in bonus with 3 minutes left on the clock. The Rattlers struggled offensively and trailed 19-14.
The second quarter started like a different game with The Rattlers coming out trying to control the ball and set up an offence. St. Mary's kept trying the fast break to catch the bigger slower Rattlers guard. This seemed to work as the Rattlers Trailed for the majority of the quarter. With 3 minutes left in the quarter Medicine Hat trailed by 6. This was surprising as the Rattlers looked like a better team going into the game, but trailed big, 39-26 at the half.
The third quarter started with two misses from beyond the arc from the rattlers, but good defense kept the lightning off the board early. They made the defense count with 2 fast baskets the next trip down the floor. Some Calls from the officials had both teams confused with what to expect from the officiating. At some points it was unsure what the call was even for. This was frustrating for both teams as they did not know what would be called and what would be left. Medicine Hat slowly chipped away at the lead hoping to close the gap again and comeback. With less than 2 minutes to go, the Rattlers finally closed the lead to one basket and tied the game with one minute on the clock. A single free throw for the Lightning saw them take a one point lead 48-47.
The Rattlers DeAngelo Ashley finally got the home crowd into the game with a Huge slam a minute into the frame. As the crowd exploded the Rattlers erupted with energy this sparked the players on the court, taking the lead with 4 unanswered baskets. The St. Mary's coach saw this and called a timeout in an effort to take the crowd out of the game. This didn't make a difference as the Rattlers expanded this lead to 10 with 5 minutes left. Hoping to start the comeback, St. Mary's was pushing the pace and getting their shot off within 15 seconds of possession. Rattlers Guard Jon Sappelton was the Difference maker for them as he Ran the offense and was getting to the line. The Rattlers finally showed how they can play in the 4th pulling away slowly as the clock ran down. The Rattlers pulled out a 74-65 win.