Lions Pull Off 16-Point Comeback

            The Ambrose Lions faced off against the Medicine Hat Rattlers on Saturday afternoon. Their last meeting was a nail biter in Medicine Hat where the Lions came out on top 90-84.

            The Lions struggled from the field in the first quarter shooting just 31% while the Rattlers set the tone offensively. The Lions struggled to contain #23 Cooper Ward down low who got to the line 8 times in the opening frame which eventually forced the Lions to drop into a zone defense. The adjustment wasn't enough as the Rattlers won the opening quarter 26-16

            Ambrose picked it up offensively in the second but continued to struggle defensively. This time it was Ethan Robertson pulling the weight for the Rattlers putting up 8 of his 15 first half points in the quarter. The Lions were cold from three in the first half shooting just 21%. Medicine Hat edged out the Lions in scoring 21-19 in the second to carry a 12-point lead into the break up 47-35

.  Medicine Hat continued to build the lead to start the third quarter going ahead 59-43 midway through the quarter. From there, the Lions locked it down defensively and held the Rattlers scoreless over the remaining 5:43. Over that span, the Lions went on an 11-0 run to cut the lead to 5 going into the fourth quarter only down 59-54.

Ambrose would bring it within 2 after a 3 from Mateja Vukic to start the fourth. The Rattlers responded with a run of their own to gain a bit of breathing room but at 5:22 Ty Schenk converted a 4-point play to bring it back within five. Not long after, a three from Isaac Gray followed by a steal and dunk in the backcourt by Guilherme Ferriera gave Ambrose their first lead of the game at 74-73 leading to a Rattlers timeout. The Lions followed that up with three consecutive three pointers taking a 10-point lead with a minute to play after an untimely foul followed by a technical on Rattlers' Fred Kabore. The Rattlers kept it tight, but Ambrose eventually closed it out 88-82.

Player of the game awards were given to Rattlers #23 Cooper Ward who had 27 points and 26 rebounds, and to Lions #10 Isaac Gray who scored a game high 37 points including 16 in the fourth quarter. With the win the Lions improve to 7-5 after winning their last 3 consecutively. The Lions will look to keep the streak going next week when they take on the 6-6 Red Deer Polytechnic Kings.