Men's Basketball Huskies embrace new normal in home weekend sweep of Rustlers
The rivalry between the Keyano Huskies and Lakeland Rustlers in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men’s Basketball is a peculiar one.
It has kept growing as both teams have risen to their current standing with both clamouring for the top spot in the North Division, though it’s been a rivalry strictly confined to the regular season even as both programs make multiple playoff runs that place them on the ACAC podium with their paths never aligning in the post-season.
On the home court of the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre this weekend, the Huskies received a strong challenge from the Rustlers but still managed to emerge with a sweep from the pair of contests.
“Every game is a grind; that’s how we want to play,” Head Coach Jeremy Wielenga said following Friday’s 67-62 win. “We pride ourselves on playing defence. Sometimes you don’t score.
“You only score 20 points in the second half and still find a way to win, we’ll take it. All credit to the guys for continuing to battle and find a way.”
The first half of Friday’s tight battle looked like a usual Huskies win. After allowing the Rustlers’ first bucket of the game, the Huskies went on a 12-0 run to make it a 15-2 game early before ending the half up by 17.
However, the Rustlers tightened up against their hosts in the third and fourth quarters, forcing the Huskies to grind more for their opportunities and challenging them more, resulting in just five buckets for the Huskies during the third quarter, two of which came from free throws.
That set the stage for a comeback bid from the Rustlers in the fourth quarter, as their offence chipped away at the lead. On offence, the Huskies continued to struggle. Keenan Miller led the Huskies in fourth-quarter scoring with five points, all off free throws, while Nahshon Hurst and Yasser Abdullahi were the only other Huskies to score baskets in the final quarter.
“It was tough,” Wielenga said after the narrow win. “A credit to their defence; they did a good job.
“They definitely started to double at the end of the game, and we turned the ball over lots. They played extremely hard. We found a way to win. Sometimes it’s not pretty so we’ll take it.”
Saturday’s 98-67 win for the Huskies started with a 27-point first quarter by the Rustlers. It would have also been a double-digit deficit at the end of the opening quarter if not for a superb half-court shot by Ben Simmons to bring the Huskies within seven.
That shock the system was enough to flip a switch for the Huskies, who shot 61.22 percent (30-for-49) from the field for the final three quarters, ending up with a season-high 18 three-point shots made. The Huskies wrestled back control of the lead to go ahead by 10 at the half, then outscored their visitors 50-29 the rest of the way.
“We know the pressure’s going to be there,” Wielenga said Saturday. “We’ve got to do a better job handling it. I still don’t think we did a good enough job.
“It’s something we’ve got to work on and we’re just trying to get better and be the best team we can be by the end of February.”
It’s another reminder that while the Huskies fully deserve their current record and rank, teams will be playing them tighter than ever in hopes of ending the repeat bid by the defending ACAC and CCAA Champions.
“I always feel like we could do more,” Omeechi Williams said. “We played very well this weekend, but still feel like we need to get back to the drawing board and do a lot of stuff we need to work on.”
Williams takes over all-time scoring record
Saturday’s 32-point effort by Omeechi Williams saw the fourth-year forward from Hamilton, Ont. officially surpass former teammate Stefan Jovcic for the program’s all-time scoring lead. Jovcic previously held the mark with 1,109 points.
To get to that point, Williams has sunk 372 shots from the field, including 165 three-point shots, as well as 228 free throws. With his weekend, Williams entered the top 40 all-time in conference scoring and is closing in on being in the top 20 for all-time three-point shots in conference history.
“He had such a good game; everything was going in, so we just rode it,” Wielenga said. “He’s capable of having those big games when we need him to. It’s fitting for him. We’ve had heartbreak, we’ve had losses, and we’ve also won together.
“For him to do that, it means a lot because he’s been here, and he’s put in the work. It’s also a testament to his teammates for him to do able to do that.”
Hall makes debut with Huskies
This weekend’s games saw the debut of Keshawn Hall, the newest addition to the Keyano Huskies lineup.
Across the pair of games, the Las Vegas, Nevada product scored eight points, adding 10 assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
“He did a good job penetrating and making good reads,” Wielenga said. “It’s been a crazy week for him in terms of getting here, getting settled, and playing.
“I thought he did a real good job in his first game and he’s only going to get better. We’ve got a month to be playing our best basketball.”
Huskies scoring steps up once again
The Huskies continued to receive strong contributions from throughout their lineup.
Nahshon Hurst led the team in Friday’s win with 18 points, adding eight more in Saturday’s win.
Keenan Miller continued to shine brightly with back-to-back double-digit games. He now leads the North Division in total scoring, also ranking third in the conference. He currently ranks fourth in the entire conference with 18.3 points per game.
Also posting double-digit games Friday and Saturday was Yasser Abdullahi, who had 12 Friday and 10 Saturday.
“That’s a positive sign going forward for him to be starting to play that way,” Wielenga said of Abdullahi. “He’s a fifth-year guy so it’s important for him to do that.”
Helping drive that offence was Keenen Caribou, who contributed 15 rebounds and 11 assists throughout the pair of games in addition to nine points of offence.
Huskies to have bye week before facing Vikings
The Huskies will now enjoy a bye week before taking to the road for their final away games of the 2024-25 regular season, challenging the University of Alberta – Augustana Vikings in Camrose on February 7-8.