Men's Basketball Huskies surge in second half to defeat Vikings

The Keyano Huskies Men's Basketball team faced a strong challenge in the opening half from the visiting University of Alberta - Augustana Vikings, but overcame it to the tune of a 94-72 victory Friday night at the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre.

"It's good for us; it's good to be tested," said Head Coach Jeremy Wielenga. "They're a very talented team and I think we did see some adversity in the first quarter.

"We were back on our heels a bit, but I thought the guys really responded by starting to string stops together."

The Vikings burst out for a 26-point first quarter, taking a five-point lead through the opening phase of the game.

Responding in the second quarter to level the score, the Huskies turned the five-point deficit into a four-point lead at the half. Shaquille Bedminster and Jusci Thompson helped to drive that change with six points each in the quarter while Omeechi Williams added five off the bench.

"We just weren't playing as a team," said Thompson, who was named the player of the game with 14 points at the end of the game. "They hit some tough shots in the first quarter.

"We just had to buckle down, stay to our principles, and just take our looks and our shots when we had them."

The Huskies began to swing control in their favour in the third quarter, outscoring the Vikings 24-11 to build the lead up to 17. Sean Michael-Clancey tallied 11 of his team-high 18 points in the opening quarter of the second half, adding three steals in the quarter to limit the Vikings' offensive opportunities.

"I thought we played a really good third quarter, which really spearheaded us to take over the game," said Wielenga. "I thought it was a really close game in the first half; I thought [Augustana] played very well.

"I thought they did a good job on the glass like we were expecting and I think it took a little bit of time for us to adjust to that."

Closing out the game, the Huskies extended their lead by five points in the final quarter to win by the 29-point margin.

"Tonight was a very good win; a team-oriented win," added Thompson. "We had about three or four double-figure scorers, two guys had eight points.

"It was a good team-contributing win. The effort and energy, we could've come out better in the first quarter, but we picked it up towards the end. It's a good win overall."

Nathan Bowie led the Vikings with 23 points, earning Player of the Game honours, while three of his teammates also reach double digits.

Joining Michael-Clancey and Thompson in the double-digit club Friday were Williams with 14 as well as Jacob Simmons and Mazin Tiea, who each added 12.

The Huskies finished the game shooting 50 per cent (35-of-70) from the field, including 10 three pointers on 26 attempts. They also made good on 14 of 19 free-throw attempts.