A Strong Team Effort but Thunder Fall Short

EDMONTON, AB (February 3rd, 2023) - Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) Thunder welcomed the Lakeland Rustlers for a Friday night matchup. Both teams played with intensity and battled to the very end for the win. It came down to the final seconds, but the Rustlers were able to make a few key plays and take the win. The final score was 91-86.

The game started off with high energy on each side. The first quarter really set the pace for the game, and they continued back and forth, with both teams showing their skill. Thunder took the lead and finish the first 24-18. In the second quarter, we saw the fast pace continue and the game stayed neck and neck. Thunder continues to lead the game and head into halftime 49-45. The Rustlers fought hard in the third quarter and earned their own lead. Hungry to finish off this quarter on top, they made some key plays and finish the third 73-64. The Thunder roll out of the gate strong in the fourth with eight straight points for the Thunder in the first two minutes holding the Rustlers scoreless. But the hot start doesn't stop them, the Rustlers will keep the lead and despite the strong effort, they fall to the Rustlers 91-86. Coach Reagan Wood commented "Guys battled hard, but we came up short in the end. Some self-inflicted wounds at the wrong time late in the game cost us opportunities that we needed. Overall, we executed our game plan, but Lakeland made a few more plays than us."

The One Team Sport players of the game were #23 Noah Horobetz Simpson from the Rustlers, with 29 points in the game. From the Thunder, #7 Yaadvir Dhaliwal with an outstanding 33 points in the night. The next home game for the Thunder marks the last of the regular season. Thunder will take on the SAIT Trojans on February 11^th at 8 PM.