Briercrest men’s basketball lost 91-90 on a buzzer beating shot in overtime on Friday, Nov. 1 against Medicine Hat College, but were able to bounce back on Saturday afternoon winning 87-82.

Head coach Rod Adrian describes Friday’s game.

“That was tough to lose off a last second shot by Medicine Hat in a scramble play in overtime,” Adrian explained.

“After a slow start the men fought back and were only down three at the half.  A back and forth game in the second half saw us tied at the end and went into overtime.  Big shots and hustle plays were had by both teams, but the final shot came from our opposition and that was the end.”

“Christian Sacoman was our Player of the Game and shot 50% from the three-point line making seven, and finished with 27 points.  Lucas Mannes had a solid performance with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists.  Brandon Friesen added 14 points, and 16 rebounds, and James Wohlgeschaffen grabbed a team high 18 rebounds.”

Briercrest came out of the gates strong on Saturday, building up a 56-40 lead at halftime and then held on for the victory.

Rod Adrian spoke about Saturday’s win.

“It was a great team win after a heartbreaking loss in OT.  The men started out “guns a blazing” and made our first six three-point shots in a row and ended the first half going 8-for-13 from beyond the arc.  Making up for the previous day’s slow start and poor shooting we also shot 83% from the free throw line on 29 trips to the charity stripe.  We won the battle of the boards by eight and only allowed Med Hat to get 10 offensive rebounds.”

“Player of the Game, Lucas Mannes did it on both ends of the court scoring 13 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and added 7 “dimes” (slang for assist – who said basketball isn’t educational?).  Christian Sacoman “lit up” the other team up with 23 points, six rebounds and three steals, shooting an incredible 62% FG.  James Wohlgeschaffen played inspired ball and had a double-double with 20 points, and 10 rebounds.  And the turning point in the game down the stretch came from Josiah Cockrill who sacrificed himself on the defensive end taking a charge, and then knocked down a big 3-point shot to seal the win and gave himself a season high 18 points.”

Briercrest has a bye weekend next week, which will be welcomed as they have a few players recovering from injuries, before hitting the road again to Edmonton November 22 and 23.

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