Briercrest rematch against CTA West kept fans on the edge of their Seats
Briercrest Men's Basketball returned to action against CTA West in the second preseason exhibition on Friday November 5th at noon.
In the first quarter of the second game, teams were well matched right away with equally strong defensive sets as both teams pressured hard. Quick on the rebounds, both Clippers and CTA
West traded shot for shot into the last couple minutes where the Briercrest Clippers pulled ahead with a 6-point lead at 21-15.
Carrying the momentum into the second quarter, the teams ran a lot of back and forth and Clippers had a strong offence into the last two minutes while CTA pressured hard to make up their lost ground, pulling in with 22 points to Briercrest's 13 points gained in the second quarter. Into halftime the teams sat with 37-34 for CTA.
Coming out of halftime, the Clippers knew they needed to bring a hard game and delivered a tense game with CTA holding strong. Shooting strong and presenting a strong defense, Briercrest was able to pull back ahead for a ten-point lead until a foul shot scored for CTA in the last minute. The Clippers would enter the final frame with a 58-51 lead.
Into the fourth quarter, CTA opened with an immediate three pointer in the first 7 seconds before Briercrest made it up and carried their lead into a strong run with quick rebounds despite trading baskets—Clippers gaining nine points. It was an exciting last quarter as Briercrest stroud strong against CTA's defensive pressure gaining many turnovers and keeping a ten-point lead as they closed the intense game at 83-74 for the Briercrest Clippers.
The player of the game awards were presented by Student Athletics Worker Max Summach to CTA's #22 Isaiah Murk with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 14 points, and Briercrest's #8 Jude Shepherd-Hills for his 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals, and driven 20 points.
With a year and a half of sports teams not being attended by an audience of fans and family, both Jude Shepherd-Hills and Isaiah Murk had similar things to say about the energy brought by the fans. "After two years of practicing and playing in front of no one it's a totally different atmosphere," said player of the game Jude Shepherd-Hills. "It makes it feel more like a game and less like a practice. Their energy helps us get out and run when otherwise we'd have tired legs." When asked about the game itself, he had this to say: "It was a big run—we had a tough first half, we were down by three going into half time and we felt we needed to come out and put the game away in the third quarter. We didn't want to half to end up playing a close game in the fourth."
Looking to the future for both team's growth, Isaiah Murk had some confident insights into the game when asked about the overall play, saying, "It was a competitive game, we're going into a break here so to come into that with a good game against good competition was good experience for our guys for the rest of the year." Jude had some similar goals encouraging the younger guys of his team when asked about having to come off the court: "I was glad to let some of the younger guys play 'cause they deserve the time for how much work they put into practice."
Looking forward to the growth our Briercrest Clippers will make, it seems like this season will be an impressive one. With a great strategy and supportive fans, Briercrest Clippers were able to close two wins this weekend and are excited for next weekend against Ambrose for the opening of the season.