Men's Basketball Huskies split home weekend against Thunder

For five-plus years, the Keyano Huskies Men’s basketball team made the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre an ominous test for any opposing team.  
 
In a weekend split with the Concordia Thunder, the Huskies took their first home regular season or playoff loss of the decade, but remained steadfast in learning from the result. 
 
“I thought we played well Friday,” Head Coach Jeremy Wielenga said. “Our guys had good energy and we had ball pressure.  
 
“Today, it was just too much back and forth. We didn’t get enough stops and they made the big plays at the end.”  
 
Starting with Friday’s 88-59 win, the game followed a familiar script to previous Huskies home wins. Keenan Miller notched 27 points, Omeechi Williams added 18 points and Nahshon Hurst was a force in the paint with a team-leading 10 rebounds.  
 
Collectively, the Huskies shot 52.2% (36-for-69) from the field, also making good on nine of 10 free throw attempts. Leading by 12 after one quarter and by 20 at the half, the Huskies kept the Thunder in check for the second half to roll to a 29-point margin of victory.
 
Saturday was a different story as the Huskies lost on home court in a regular season or playoffs for the first time since October 18, 2019, in an 80-78 result. 
 
While the visiting Thunder claimed a 44-43 lead at the half, the Huskies struck back in the third quarter like they usually do with a 22-15 frame to carry a six-point advantage to the final quarter. The visitors then struck back with a 21-13 fourth-quarter score to claim the win, secured by a clutch three-point shot from O'Ryan Wallace with 13 seconds to go that made it a 79-78 game.
 
In the loss, three Huskies still finished in double-digit scoring with Hurst’s 19 points leading the way. Tafari Carefoote-Jones lead bench players on both sides in scoring with six points. 

“Every possession counts,” Wielenga continued. “I think we traded too many baskets back and forth. Eventually that’ll get ya.  
 
“They had one more important basket than us. When you let a team hang around, their player made a great play and cost us the game.”  
 
The Huskies return to the court this coming weekend when they take on the Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves in Grande Prairie.