Hot start leads Trojans to victory

MEDICINE HAT ALTA., (Nov. 8, 2019) - An unreal start helped a short-handed SAIT Trojans men's basketball team stay unbeaten.

The Trojans scored an impressive 42 points in the opening 10 minutes of play, as they beat the host Medicine Hat College Rattlers 86-66 in their Friday night Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) game.

"I was surprised," said Trojans head coach Marty Birky of the first quarter output. "I expected a dog fight for 40 minutes, but our guys came out and were aggressive. That was our game plan, and from the jump we were just that. . . Guys hit shots and shared the ball. It was a good team win."

The win keeps SAIT unbeaten at 4-0. The Rattlers fall to 1-4.

In that opening quarter, SAIT guard Calvin Chambers (4th year, Memphis, Tenn., Business Administration) scored 20 points. The Rattlers as a team, on the other hand, managed just 18.

"We made it difficult for them by packing it in on defence, and then ran at them on offence," Birky added. "It wasn't as easy after the first quarter, but they're a scrappy team. They weren't going to lay down and die."

Chambers finished the game with 28 points to lead all scorers, while adding six assists and six rebounds.

Because of their missing bodies, rookie guard Ben Kamba (1st year, Calgary, Business Administration) was asked to play a lot of minutes. In his time on the floor, he scored 12 points and four steals.

"He was a high recruit for us and we have high hopes for him," Birky stated. "His defence was outstanding tonight. Expect more of it."

Rattlers forward Kieron Burgess replied with 18 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

SAIT will return home on Saturday night, as they are set to host the Olds College Broncos in an 8pm start.