By Mitchell Ferreira

After exploding in the second quarter for 33 points, the Briercrest Clippers did not look back, defeating the NAIT Ooks by a score of 93-72.

Briercrest played hard from start to finish, with a large contribution from their bench. Co-captain Kendall Boese took home the player of the game honours for Briercrest; an award that was rightly deserved after a game high 20 point, five rebound, three assist and two steal effort. For the Ooks, Shaquille Bedminster earned the title, with 19 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Briercrest began the game having trouble protecting the interior, ending the first quarter all square at 16 points apiece. The second quarter, however, saw Briercrest dominate at both ends of the court, finishing off the second half with an 18-6 run. The first half was highlighted by a 14 point performance by the eventual player of the game winner, Kenny Boese, as well as an excellent defensive effort from James Wolgashaffen.

Beginning the second half was a huge block from the Briercrest captain Matt Myers. Fouls were an issue for both teams in the half, with Brandon Friesen being sent off late in the game. Building off a monstrous slam dunk from Mattieu Johnson of the Ooks, NAIT rallied a few times in the half, coming within 14 points at one point. Nevertheless, the Clippers prevailed, leaning on their tenacious defence and strong performance from the bench. Rookie Lucas Mannes continued to impress, draining 14 points on the night and handing out four assists. Rebounding proved to be a deciding factor for Briercrest, out-rebounding their opponents 48-32. Uncharacteristic of Briercrest was the team’s inability to score outside of the arc, missing all 10 of their attempts, compared to NAIT’s 4-for-18. Also concerning was the team’s struggle from the line, making only 47% of their free-throw attempts compared to 72% for NAIT. Yet in the end, it was the dedicated, whole-team effort that lead the Clippers to the decisive 93-72 victory over the visiting Ooks.

Briercrest head coach Rod Adrian was pleased with his team’s performance.

“Our best quarter of the year of 33 points in the second gave us a commanding lead,” Adrian said. “Double-doubles by Gradyn Childerhose and James Wohlgeschaffen gave us balance at both ends of the court. I’m happy with the effort the men put on the court tonight, and despite a seven foul difference in the game we kept our composure and are moving in the right direction in representing Christ in our actions and attitude in the ‘heat of the game’” 

As it passes the halfway point of November, the men’s team continue their No-Shave November/Movember progress. As was the case on the court, Kenny Boese leads the team with his beautiful beard. Captain Matt Myers is sporting more of neck beard, and fan-favourite Fred Fictorie does not disappoint with his facial hair. Always entertaining is the rookie growth, which is generally not visible without a magnifying glass. Also notable is injured player Bryn Olmstead, whose beard can only be described as scholarly.

Game Notes: Briercrest shot 53.8% from the field, had 18 assists, and 14 steals on the game, compared to 36.2%, seven and nine for NAIT. Co-captain Gradyn Childerhose had a game high eleven rebounds and two blocks to complement his 18 points and one steal, Caleb Klassen had a game high five assists, and James Wohlgeschaffen had a game high four steals to go along with his double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Briercrest resumes play tomorrow night against the Grant MacEwan Griffins, with the women’s team starting things off at 6:00 p.m. and the men following at 8:00 p.m.