The Lakeland College Rustlers Men's basketball team earned back-to-back wins over the Concordia University Thunder this past weekend.
On Friday, the Rustlers took an early lead and never looked back, winning 84-72. They followed it up with a dominant 76-55 victory on Saturday at home.
“It was a good weekend for us,” said Rustlers head coach Sheray Thomas. “We needed those two wins to start the new year.”
The Rustlers jumped out to a big lead on the road on Jan. 17, going up by as much as 20 points in the first quarter. Concordia came back in the second half, but Lakeland pulled away late.
Chance Samuel led Lakeland with 21 points. Matthew Bryant added 13 points and eight rebounds. David Dimaano played off the bench to score 11 points, including three three-pointers.
“Chance was our leading scorer, and David gave us a big spark,” said Thomas. “Matt played really well too.”
The rematch at home Jan. 18 was close early, with Concordia leading 18-16 after the first quarter. Lakeland took over in the second quarter, outscoring the Thunder 30-16 to build a commanding lead.
“We held them to 55 points, the least we’ve allowed this season,” said Thomas. “Defense was the key.”
Forward Allayasa Bray had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Riley Rathwell led the Rustlers with 14 points, including two three-pointers.
“Riley hit some big shots and got us going,” said Thomas. “Allayasa led us in scoring and rebounding. It was a much-needed game for him.”
The Rustlers are now 10-3 on the season and in a tight race for first place. They face the defending national champion Keyano Huskies next weekend in Fort McMurray.
“It’ll be a tough battle,” said Thomas. “Keyano is number one in the league and ranked nationally (#9) as well.”
With strong defence and contributions from all players, Thomas is optimistic.
“Good defence leads to wins and championships,” he said. “If we can stop other teams from scoring, we’ll have a chance.”
Due to only the Men's team playing going forward, all evening home games will be played at 7 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.
Read more: Rustlers wrangle Rattlers in 8-0 shutout
Locally owned and community driven, the Lloydminster Meridian Source is the online news source in the Border City. Whether it’s breaking news, features or sports, if you have questions about what’s going on around town, Source it with us.
Since online platforms no longer support the sharing of news, we encourage you to bookmark meridiansource.ca. Whether you’re having a coffee or enjoying a meal, check in any time for the most up-to-date news in Lloydminster.
