By Scott Roblin

Rattlers benches come alive in pair of routs over Red Deer College

Jan 19, 2019 | 12:11 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Bench scoring came in handy on Friday night for the Medicine Hat College Rattlers basketball teams, earning a pair of wins over Red Deer College.

Both of the Rattlers’ top scorers on Friday came in as reserves, as women’s team member Kiana Mintz and men’s product Jusci Thompson led their squads to 85-55 and 103-76 victories, respectively.

Trailing 19-18 after the opening quarter and allowing 13 points alone from Lauren Cardinal, the Rattlers women’s team was able to adjust in the second with eight straight points and relied on some stingy defence to lock down the Queens’ attack.

Mintz took over in the second quarter with 12 of her team high 21 points, while Kate Rozdeba went 4-for-4 from the field in the third quarter to help boost Medicine Hat’s lead to 68-46.

Medicine Hat was extremely opportunistic as the game went along, scoring 32 points of Red Deer turnovers to win their second straight game by 30 points.

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Getting 45 points from their bench players on Friday, the Rattlers also saw a double-double from Rozdeba and a 12-point showing out of rookie Rhiannon Ware.

Holding onto first place in the South Division with a 12-2 record, the Rattlers are now tied with the University of Alberta-Augustana for top spot in the ACAC with 24 points.

Scoring wasn’t an issue for the Rattlers men’s team either, as they reached the century mark with ease over the Kings in a 103-76 victory.

Kicking off their weekend set against Red Deer, the Rattlers rebounded from a rough opening quarter to rally back from a five-point deficit to lead at halftime 45-40.

Medicine Hat shot 58 percent from the floor in the third quarter to extend their lead to 11 at one point, with Omon Edobar and DShawn Tyrell combining for 12 points.

Coming off the bench in the fourth quarter, Thompson shined for Medicine Hat with four shots falling from the floor and hitting six out of seven free throws to finish his night with 23 points in just 15 minutes of action.

Burgess recorded his fifth straight double-double in the win, while Jaamel Slack and Jon Sappleton also had solid nights with 19 and 14 points each.

Earning their third consecutive victory, the 9-5 Rattlers were able to hold tight in second in the South Division with the Ambrose University Lions, who also picked up two points on Friday.

It’s a quick turnaround for the Rattlers basketball teams however, as they’re back at the ‘Snake Pit’ on Saturday afternoon for the rematch against Red Deer.

The women take to the court at 1:00 pm, before the Rattlers and Kings wind up the afternoon at 3:00 pm.