If their opening act is any indication, the Lakeland Rustlers believe they belong in the driver’s seat at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference men’s basketball championship.
Seats were at a premium in the packed and loud Lakeland College gym Thursday night as about 500 fans watched the host Rustlers defeat the Ambrose Lions of Calgary 93-74 in the closing quarter-final on the first day of the three-day, eight-team championship tournament in Lloydminster.
Read more: Rustlers net awards as Lloyd hosts ACAC men’s basketball championship
‘WE WANT TYLER’
“You’ve gotta love the playoffs,” said the Rustlers’ Jordan Horobetz-Simpson, whose 22 points were second only to teammate Taleh Wade’s game-high, 31-point performance. “Everyone is amped, everyone is ready to go. We just love it out here.
“We’ve got Wade, with 31 points, just a star. We’ve got everyone out here playing defence. We held (Ambrose) to, like, 70 points before we got the bench in there. You love to see the bench in there. We got some, ‘We want Tyler’ chants.”
Those chants, in support of hometown Rustler Tyler Gartner, gained steam in the late going and coach Sheray Thomas obliged, giving the Lloydminster Comprehensive High School graduate floor time in the dying minutes.
“I just like to be out there,” said a smiling Gartner. “It’s fun for me to go out there and contribute. There aren’t many local guys that get to come here and play. It’s just a really good experience to be out there. Having a crowd chant your name, it’s a surreal experience. It’s such a nice feeling.
“There was another time (in regular-season action against Ambrose) where that same thing happened. I went out there and I hit a three. That felt very good.
“I was a little upset I missed the shot (tonight), but I feel grateful to be out there and have that opportunity.”
LETHBRIDGE UP NEXT
Opportunity abounds for the Rustlers, back in their home gym for an 8 p.m. Friday semifinal against the Lethbridge Kodiaks, who beat the NAIT Ooks of Edmonton 75-61in the preceding quarter-final Thursday.
With another big crowd expected, Lakeland athletic director Alan Rogan said chairs would likely be added around the gym floor for Friday’s late semifinal.
The bleachers were full Thursday as the Rustlers rode the support of the community and the study body, including multiple other Lakeland teams decked out in school colours, holding signs and cheering enthusiastically.
“It means so much,” Horobetz-Simpson said about the outpouring. “Without all that support, who knows if we even get any wins this year, right.
“We always say, ‘Pack the barn,’ and people always show up. I especially appreciate the hockey and soccer teams and all those others, because we don’t even get to come see their games a lot. We’re usually playing on the road at the same time as their games.
“It means the world to us. You saw how many people were in the stands tonight, and hopefully there’s just going to be more (Friday and Saturday).”
WADE SHOWS THE WAY
On a loud night at the gym, no one was more impactful than Wade, the Rustlers’ quiet leader from Arkansas and the player of the year in the ACAC’s North Division. His offensive game was in high gear as Lakeland set the tone early, gained a solid lead and withstood a pushback from a plucky Ambrose club.
“It was a great crowd, for sure,” said Wade, also a first-team all-conference choice. “It’s an even balance between staying focused and just enjoying the moment.
“From Day 1, that was our goal, was to be able to host provincials. We’re here now and we’re just trying to take care of business.
“We believed in each other and shared the ball tonight. We just ride each other’s energy. We know that on any given night, anybody can step up.”
WORTHY FIGHT
The Rustlers showed strength from the outset Thursday and led 45-35 at the half. The Lions didn’t go away quietly.
“We knew that Ambrose was going to come out and give us a good game,” said Horobetz-Simpson, an ACAC first-team all-conference selection from Winnipeg. “Those guys, they work. Everybody has been working all year trying to get to this ’chip.”
The undefeated SAIT Trojans of Calgary showed more of that dominant form as they opened the playoffs with a 40-point victory (113-73) over the Concordia Thunder of Edmonton in an afternoon quarter-final.
In its 6 p.m. Friday semifinal, SAIT goes up against the Keyano Huskies, the Fort McMurray school that knocked off last year’s champions, the Briercrest Clippers of Caronport, Sask., 100-79 in the opening game of the ACAC championship.
In consolation-round games Friday, Briercrest meets Concordia at 1 p.m., and Ambrose plays NAIT at 3 p.m.
PLAYOFF PARITY
After a 17-3 regular season, host Lakeland went into the tournament as the top seed from the North. The Rustlers looked the part Thursday with a diligent effort on both sides of the court.
“We had the strong start,” said Horobetz-Simpson, who also grabbed 10 rebounds during his 22-point game. “We kind of fell off after that. But we know how we play. If we can keep something like that (start) up for 40 minutes, there’s no team in the league that can hang with us. We go up 20, we fall off a little bit and let them come back a little bit. But we’re always so confident. There’s never any doubt that we’re going to win these games. Yeah, you want a blowout by 40. That would be nice, if we could get the starters on the bench. But it’s playoffs, that’s just not going to happen.”
Along with the strong performances from Wade and Horobetz-Simpson, the Rustlers received 14 points and nine assists from Seth Johnson and 10 points from Bahaeddin (Baha) Salma, selected to the second all-conference team. The ever-dangerous Paulo Cuesta netted 17 points for Ambrose.
“They have a lot of scrappy guards, shooters,” Wade said about the Lions. “They play well together. We let them get some open shots here and there. But we tried to keep that lead to 15 to 20 points, around there.”
Wade expects Lethbridge to provide Lakeland with more worthy competition Friday.
“We’re going to get a good rest tonight, eat good and watch some film on Lethbridge,” he said. “We’ve got some chicken pasta and garlic bread.
“We played Lethbridge earlier in the year (a 76-71 Lakeland road victory) and they were one of our tougher games. They have a lot of strong guys. They rebound and play well together. Their leading scorer, Levi (Balderson), he’s a pretty good shooter.”
LETHBRIDGE 75, NAIT 61
Balderson, a first-team all-conference choice, scored 16 points in the Kodiaks’ victory. Second-team all-star Nathaniel Hosannah and Jackson Wright added 15 each. Owen Weaver, with 16 points, was the Ooks’ top scorer.
SAIT 113, CONCORDIA 73
First-team all-conference standouts Marcus Masters and Killian Yopa poured in 24 and 23 points, respectively, in the Trojans’ triumph. Second-team selection Marc Denault Gabriel added 19. Shak Jama meshed 17 points for the Thunder.
KEYANO 100, BRIERCREST 79
Keenan Miller posted 27 points to pace the Huskies. Gabe Vig, a first-team all-conference player, netted 24 points for the Clippers, who won last year’s championship on their home court
Read more: Raiders mine Alberta provincial curling gold
