By Mitch Ferreira

Clipper nation was electric following a three-pointer by captain Matt Myers with 0.3 seconds left on the clock, overcoming a two-point deficit and beating Red Deer 96-95 OT.

In a battle of the top two teams in the ACAC, the Briercrest Clippers and the visiting Red Deer Kings opened with a tight first quarter, with the Clippers leading 19-18. It was a physical affair all night, especially under the hoop. The second quarter was much the same, though the Kings managed to pull ahead with a small lead. Gradyn Childerhose had one of his game-high 24 points to beat the buzzer and end the half 45-39 for the Kings.

The second half was just as exciting as the first, with a huge dunk by James Wohlgeschaffen to highlight the third frame. Wohlgeschaffen had a strong game, amassing a team-leading 10 rebounds, an astounding seven of those on offence. The fourth quarter was a nail-biter, ending in an 89-89 tie to send the game to overtime. Briercrest got into some foul trouble in the quarter, which allowed the Kings to even the score.

In overtime, Briercrest lost Wohlgeschaffen to fouls. Briercrest struggled to score in OT, though they forced multiple turnovers. Matt Myers, narrowly missed the three-pointer with just over a minute left. Yet, the captain did more than redeem himself with the incredible last-second three to win the game. The stands were jumping as the Clippers celebrated their 15th win of the season, and arguably their biggest, as they swept the third ranked team in the nation.

Head coach Rod Adrian on the game.

"What a thrilling night in the Hangar!  Getting our 15^th win of the season didn’t come easy as we went into overtime.  The end of OT saw us down by two and a last second drive by Caleb Klassen with an assist to Matt Myers who hit a 3 pointer under pressure from deep in the corner, won the game!  And the fans went wild – great support.

"The game saw 5 players in double figures, and we only missed two free throws on the night.  We struggled with protecting the ball and had 34 turnovers.  The men battled hard through the adversity and rebounded well enough to win and shot 1.1 points per possession.

"With a focus on team play, playing with No Fear, and recognizing that “If we died…live…endure…reign…He remains faithful” (2 Timothy 2:11-13), we were able to focus on the right things."

Players of the game were Mari Peoples-Wong for the Kings (21 points, 11 rebounds, five steals, and two assists) and Matt Myers for the Clippers (16 points, eight assists and seven rebounds).

Game notes: Red Deer outshot the home side 82-78, making 40% from the field to 48.7% for the Clippers. The Kings only managed to sink three of their 19 attempts from the arc (15.8%) to 7-22 (31.8%) for Briercrest. Rebounds favoured the visitors, 40-39, as well as turnovers, where they committed five less than the Clippers (29-34). Steals were even at 19, and assists heavily favoured the Clippers 27-14. Team leaders for the Clippers were Gradyn Childerhose (24 points), James Wohlgeschaffen (10 rebounds, six steals, two blocks) and Caleb Klassen (nine assists, six steals).