SAIT Trojans Defends ACAC Men's Basketball Crown
by ACAC Sports Writer Curtis J. Phillips
SAIT Trojans become the fifth team since 2001-2002 to defend its Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men's Basketball crown as they triumphed over the Lakeland College Rustlers 88-77 Saturday evening at Val Matteotti Gymnasium in Lethbridge, Alberta.
"I'll take every championship I can get," said Trojans head coach Marty Birky, in a post-game interview with SAIT Trojans Sports Information & Media Consultant Brody Mark. "Two in a row is something special. We started with a good group of guys last year, and then we brought in some new guys, and that same culture remained. I love these kids so much."
The Trojans had beaten the host Lethbridge College Kodiaks 85-65 for the 2016-2017 men's hoop title in Medicine Hat.
Trojans opened the 2017-2018 post-season with a Thursday 82-81 overtime thriller against the Keyano College Huskies.
The Huskies, from Fort McMurray, had made five consecutive free throws in the last 13 seconds to send the game into overtime.
A Murphy Beya free throw with 2:49 remaining was the winning point in overtime.
Friday followed with another overtime victory, this time an 80-79 decision against NAIT Ooks.
A 5th- year, 6-foot-3 guard from Ottawa, Ontario it was Beya who drained a three-pointer with two seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
"We drew up a play, and NAIT did a great job of taking away what we wanted, but at the end of the day, our best player had the ball in his hands and he made a play," said Birky in an interview. "I love that kid."
The gold medal match would feature the 16-8 Rustlers against the 16-5 Trojans.
Lakeland had advanced to the finale with a Thursday 86-81 decision over Medicine Hat Rattlers, with second-year guard Adrian Richards dropping in 24 points.
In the semi-final it was Rustlers against Concordia University of Edmonton Thunder, who were on an 11-game win streak.
During the four-game regular season series between the two teams, the split was two early season wins for Lakeland and two late season Ws in the column for Concordia.
Lakeland would win the tie-breaker 92-82, with Brandon Isaac coming off the bench for a game-high 23 points on seven-for-12 shooting from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
It matched his season high which was also against Concordia.
In the 60-minute gold medal game, it was the golden arm of Trojans rookie guard Charlie Conner from Lacey, Washington with a game high and personal ACAC high point production of 33 points.
"He was huge for us tonight, and we knew he would be," praised Birky. "Lakeland likes to pressure and get into you, and Charlie is very hard to stay in front of. He got into foul trouble in the first half, and when he wasn't on the floor we really noticed it."
Trojans down 45-38 at halftime, rallied back to outscore the Lloydminster school 25-12 in the third quarter.
Richards had 20 points in the loss.
Bronze went to the Thunder 102-94 against Edmonton rival Ooks.
Mike Malin had 24 points in the win.
Trojans and Rustlers travel to participate in the 2017-2018 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championship, hosted by Montmorency College in Laval, Quebec, March 14-17, 2018.
The wildcard spots are awarded to CCAA member conferences based on their performance at National Championships over the past three years.
NAIT Ooks won the CCAA Men's Basketball banner in 2015-2016 while the Mount Royal Cougars were the previous ACAC recipients in 2008-2009.
SAIT captured their lone CCAA Men's Basketball gold in 1981-1982 beating Dawson College.