Lions Sweep Rattlers

The Ambrose Lions headed south to take on the Medicine Hat College Rattlers in the Snake pit for the second half of a home and home. The Rattlers hoped for a better result than the night previous and the Lions looked to sweep the weekend. The game started with both teams taking advantage of second chance points early. The teams were balanced early with neither taking any real advantage early. The Lions seemed to be taking their shots from deep while the Rattlers looked to get to the basket. The Lions led 12-11 with 4:00 on the clock. Ambrose added another bucket only to be answered by Medicine Hat. The teams remained close as the quarter drew to a close the Lions were up by 3, 18-15.

The second quarter started with the Lions missing on their first possession, the Rattlers got to the line and narrowed the lions lead to one. The Rattlers tied the game at 21 with the help of some second chance points from Zavier Croft. The Lions re-took their 3 point lead on a deep 3 pointer. Adding a quick bucket they increased their lead to 5 forcing Medicine Hat to call a timeout with 5:40 on the clock. The Rattlers started to again hit on offence but the Lions were able to hold on to a slight advantage. With 3:04 on the clock, the Rattlers took their second timeout down 31-28. The teams went cold with only the lions scoring 2 in the next minute thirty. With 1:27 left in the half the Lions took a timeout up 33-28. The Lions scored again twice to open up a 9 point lead late in the half. The Rattlers trailed 29-37 at the half.

The third quarter started with the Rattlers chipping away quickly at the Lions lead. They had cut the lead to 5 quickly and looked to continue to execute. The Lions got a few fortunate calls and were once again able to pull ahead up 45-37 with 5:50 on the clock. The Lions were able to stay ahead with the help of some strong defense. They increased their lead to 10, up 43-53 with 2 minutes on the clock. The Rattlers were ice cold for the last few minutes of the quarter with only 2 points for a stretch but were able to close out the quarter with a bucket to bring the Lions lead to 8, 55-47.

The Rattlers started the fourth on a run. In less than a minute they brought the Lions lead to 4, trailing 51-55.  This outburst forced the Lions to use their first timeout. The Rattlers got the game within 2 on their next possession, but with both teams trading misses, the Rattlers took their first timeout with 7:08 on the clock. The Lions scored on their next possession bringing their lead back to 4. Medicine Hat answered once again to bring the score back within 2. The battle intensified as the teams were battling for every ball and point. The Lions still held their small lead until a 3 from Rattler David Kent-Canalejo tied the game at 64. This is where it was with 2 minutes on the clock in a very close contest. The Lions re-took a 2 point lead on a pair of free  throws going up 66-64 with 1:38 on the clock the Rattlers tied it at 66 on the next possession making a tight game even tighter. The Lions went up 68-66 then a steal and a trip to the line gave them a chance to extend. They hit one for two and were able to increase their lead to 3. With a Rattlers miss the Lions had a good chance to ice the game and were able to increase the lead to 4 the final result of the game Lions 70, Rattlers 66.

The ACAC players of the game were Nhial Phillip for Ambrose and Josh Magpantay for MHC