By Scott Roblin

Rattlers tip-off home openers in front of packed crowd Saturday

Oct 22, 2017 | 1:08 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – A rowdy crowd at the ‘Snake Pit’ on Saturday night, as the Medicine Hat College Rattlers basketball teams played in front of their fans for the first time this season.

Welcoming their rivals in the Lethbridge College Kodiaks to town, both Rattlers teams were looking to complete weekend sweeps after beating the Kodiaks on Friday night.

Starting with the women’s game, the Rattlers dominated from the opening tip-off and took a 41-21 lead into halftime against the Kodiaks.

For the second straight game it was Kennedy Werre and Kendell Kuntz driving the bus offensively, combining for 21 of Medicine Hat’s 41 points in the opening half.

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In the third quarter, the Rattlers limited Lethbridge College to only nine points and were able to post seven points off the bench to increase their lead to 57-30 heading to the fourth quarter.

The Kodiaks fouled Kuntz a number of times to try and climb back into the contest, but the Rattlers veteran was able to go 4-5 at the line.

Lethbridge outscored Medicine Hat 18-10 in the fourth quarter, but the Rattlers were able to hang on for a 67-48 victory at the final buzzer.

Kuntz was named player of the game with 20 points and three rebounds on the night, while Werre posted another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Moving to 2-0 to start the 2017-18 season, the Rattlers are the only team sitting at that mark in the ACAC South Division.

Meanwhile, it was a back-and-forth contest between the Rattlers and Kodiaks on the men’s side.

Lethbridge got the better of Medicine Hat in the opening quarter, taking a 20-13 lead with Aaron Cameron and Collin Ralko scoring the vast majority of the Rattlers points early on.

The game was turned on its head in the second however, with the Rattlers playing excellent defence and allowing just four points all quarter from the Kodiaks.

Josh Magpantay had a clutch three-pointer in the quarter for Medicine Hat, as the Rattlers took a 26-24 lead into the half over Lethbridge.

The Rattlers struggled to hit their shots in the third quarter though, as they combined to go 3-14 from the floor in the third and trailed 40-39 to the Kodiaks with one quarter to play.

Medicine Hat had a slim 58-55 lead in the dying seconds of the game, but Lethbridge’s Pierce Van Gaalen hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to send Saturday’s contest to extra time.

In overtime, the Rattlers weren’t able to find their offensive spark with only five points registered, falling to the Kodiaks by a 68-63 final score.

Scoring was spread fairly evenly throughout the Rattlers lineup, as Cameron and Ralko each posted a game-high 16 points.

Dropping their first game of the season, the 1-1 Rattlers are in fifth place in the South Division behind Lethbridge, Ambrose University, SAIT, and Red Deer College.

Another home-and-home series gets underway next week for the Rattlers basketball teams, as both squads suit up on Friday at Ambrose University in Calgary.