CARONPORT -- It was closer than they would have liked, but the Briercrest College Clippers didn’t finish in first place in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference men’s basketball regular season without knowing how to stage a comeback.
Despite falling behind 9-0 in the game’s first two minutes and trailing by as much as 14 in the first quarter, the Clippers rallied for a 93-84 win over the Concordia Thunder to open their run at the ACAC championship tournament in Caronport.
Supported by their boisterous supporters at Margaret P. Reimer gymnasium, the Clippers -- who went 19-1 in the regular season -- outscored Concordia 27-13 in the second quarter, overcoming a 26-19 deficit after the opening 10 minutes to take a 46-39 lead at half.
Briercrest took the lead for good with 6:07 to play in the second quarter when Francis Dogani hit a three-pointer to give the Clippers a 35-33 edge.
The Clippers held a lead of seven to 10 points much of the third quarter, though Concordia was able to close within three late in the frame. There would be no opening round upset, though, as Briercrest would outscore the Thunder 30-24 in the final quarter to secure the victory.
Jude Shepherd-Hills led Briercrest starters with 16 points and also topped the team with 11 rebounds, while Owen Shepherd-Hills came off the bench to also put up 16. Dogani capped his night with 15, Oroma Bongomin scored 13 and Carter Waind 10.
Yaadvir Dhaliwal led Concordia with 32 points and eight rebounds, O’Ryan Wallace had 21 points, Alex McLean and Roka Phalen-Baker scored 10 each.
Other results on Thursday saw St. Mary’s defeat Lakeland 93-81, Keyano rally from 14 down at half to take an 87-84 win over Lethbridge and NAIT roll to an 80-67 win over SAIT.
The semifinals will take place Friday, with Briercrest taking on NAIT at 8 p.m. The teams met once in the regular season back on Nov. 2, with the Clippers taking an 88-81 victory.
St. Mary’s faces Keyano in the other semifinal at 6 p.m., while the consolation side sees Lakeland against Lethbridge at 1 p.m. and Concordia vs. SAIT at 3 p.m.
The bronze medal game will be played at 3 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the gold medal game at 6 p.m.
If you can’t get out to Caronport, be sure to keep an eye on all the action at www.acac.ab.ca.
