The Olds College Broncos men's basketball team rebounded Thursday from an earlier defeat at the hands of the Canadian University College Aurora by dumping the visitors 79-70 at the Ralph Klein Centre.
The team lost the season opener to the defending Alberta Colleges Athletic League champions on Nov. 21 by 19 points in Lacombe.
“It was a great game because CUC is a very strong team and … we played them three weeks ago and lost (to) them by 19 points. It was pretty difficult to prepare for that game but the guys (Thursday) played really good,” said Sergey Shchepotkin, head coach of the team.
Sam Kirkness led the Broncos with 25 points. Colton Short also played well, scoring 18, and Jason Nysten gave a good effort, adding 10.
In addition to the shooters, Shchepotkin said everybody played excellent defence and showed great teamwork.
The game was a seesaw battle with the teams tied at 19 after one quarter. Short got 11 of his 18 points in the first. The Broncos took a one-point lead going into the second half, 37-36.
The Aurora then took the lead heading into the final quarter, 61-60 after 30 minutes. Midway through the third, the Aurora had a nine-point lead before Kirkness scored 10 points, including a four-point play in which he dropped a shot from beyond the arc and converted the shot from the foul line.
The Broncos then pulled away in the final 10 minutes, outscoring the Aurora 19-9.
The Broncos are now off until Dec. 28 when they travel to Calgary for the SAIT Holiday Classic through Dec. 30. The team will then host the Olds College New Year's Classic from Jan. 5-7.
"It was a great game because CUC is a very strong team and ... we played them three weeks ago and lost (to) them by 19 points. It was pretty difficult to prepare for that game but the guys (Thursday) played really good."Sergey Shchepotkin, head coach, Olds College Broncos team 1, men's basketball
