Men's Basketball News Articles

02.22.12  -  King’s Men’s Basketball drop final two to Grant MacEwan, Say goodbye to Ben Battjes

The Eagles were in a must win position this weekend, having to sweep the Grant MacEwan Griffins in the home and home two game series and get help just to secure the final wildcard position.  The Eagles had to win at MacEwan on Friday night against one of the hottest teams in the ACAC, as the Griffins were winners of 4 of their last 6 and had beaten two playoff teams in that stretch.  While the Eagles started off well, taking an early lead, the MacEwan Griffins quickly erased it and took a lead of their own which swelled to 16 by the half.  The Griffins controlled the glass, and made it very hard on the Eagles with strong defense, holding them to 24 first half points.  In the second half, more strong shooting by the Griffins and tough defense helped the Griffins build a lead of 20, and the Eagles playoffs hopes slipped away as they lost the game 82-61.  

With the hope of playoffs now gone, the Eagles took the floor at home with one goal, to send Ben Battjes off victorious in his last ACAC game of his 5-year career.  Before the game Ben, along with Team Manager Conor Clark, were both honored in their final game with the Eagles.  Then, in almost a carbon copy of Friday night’s game, the Griffins used swarming defense and strong shooting to build a fifteen point lead going into half time, again holding the Eagles to only 24 first half points.  In the second, behind some inspired play by Ben Battjes and first year players Spencer Grove (12 points) and Keaven Simes (10 rebounds, 3 assists) the Eagles closed to within 12, only to fall 77-62.  Player of the Game for the Eagles was Battjes, who had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in his final game in an Eagles uniform.

With the loss the Eagles season is over, and with that the coaching staff will be setting their eyes on the Eagles Men’s Basketball ID camp on March 23rd and 24th at King’s University.  Thanks go out to all the supporters of the Eagles Men’s Basketball program this season and we hope you will be back to cheer us on when we take to the court again next school year.

02.13.12  -  Eagles split on weekend trip to Caronport and Medicine Hat

On Friday, the Eagles made the long trek out to Caronport, SK to play the Briercrest Clippers.  The Eagles were clinging to faint playoff hopes that required them to win three of their final four to get in.  The long bus ride seemed to have adverse effects on the team as they started slowly and had difficulty maintaining control of the ball.  23 first half turnovers and poor shooting led to a 49-32 deficit at half time, with the Eagles trailing by as many as 23 in the half.

Needing a huge second half the Eagles came out and started to chip away at the Clippers lead.  A more energetic Eagles squad started to put pressure on the Clippers but were only able to cut the lead to 13 by the end of the third quarter, and trailed 66-53.  It was in the fourth quarter that the Eagles played some of their most inspired basketball of the season.  Led by one of their captains Dillon Knoll with 12 points and 3 assists in the quarter, the Eagles scrapped and fought their way back and even took an 85-81 lead with 1:06 left in the game only to have the Clippers come back and tie the game 85-85, forcing overtime.

In Overtime, the Eagles never had the lead until the final 30 seconds when Ethan Wollmann took a steal the length of the court and converted the lay-up to put the Eagles up 94-92, and it was Wollmann who finally secured the rebound with 2 seconds left that sealed the victory.  Player of the Game for the Eagles was Dillon Knoll, with 23 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Ben Battjes (15), Joel Holmes (13), Craig Batterham (13), Ethan Wollman (12) and Damian Yeboah (12) all contributed with double digit scoring efforts as the Eagles shot an unbelievable 59% in the second half and overtime, and had their second highest scoring effort of the year.  With the win, the Eagles were 1 step closer on their difficult road to a playoff spot as they headed to Medicine Hat.

In Medicine Hat, the Eagles seemed primed for another come back victory as they battled back from being down 8 to take a two point lead 58-56 with five minutes left to play.  From then on the Eagles could only manufacture three points while the Rattlers executed in the offensive end and finished off the Eagles 70-61.

The Player of the Game for the Eagles was Ethan Wollmann with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals.  Ben Battjes had a strong game with 13 points, 4 rebounds 2 assists and a steal, and Craig Batterham chipped in 10 points in action limited by foul trouble and an ankle injury.

The loss put the Eagles squarely behind the eight ball, as they now have to sweep the Macewan Griffins, one of the hottest teams in the ACAC, having won 4 of their last 6 including wins over 3 playoff teams.  The Eagles will have to dig deep and leave it all on the floor as they make the push to make the playoffs.  The action starts Friday at MacEwan at 8 pm, then the Eagles play their final regular season game at home on Saturday at 8pm at King’s.  It will be the final regular season game for Ben Battjes as he wraps up his 5 year ACAC career on his home floor.

01.30.12 - Eagles men drop two to NAIT Ooks

Excited by the challenge of playing the #4 ranked team in Canada, the King’s Men’s Basketball team headed to NAIT to take on the Ooks.  The Eagles showed they had come ready to play and after being down 18-13 in the first quarter they battled back to tie the game going into the half 32-32.  In the third both teams came out firing, with the Ooks putting up 30 third quarter points, and the Eagles scoring 29 of their own as the Eagles headed to the final quarter only down 1, 62-61.  In the final frame, the Ooks showed why they are the #4 ranked team in Canada, coming out with smothering defense and shooting the lights out, as the Ooks won the 4th quarter 34-10 on route to a 97-72 victory.  The Eagles showed a lot of heart in the loss, and had contributions from a number of players including Player of the Game Tyler Fournier with 12 points and 5 assists.  Other key contributors included Ethan Wollmann with 11, Ben Battjes with 10, Dillon Knoll with 9, Craig Batterham with 8 and Phill Wilson with a career high 9 points on 3 of 4 from the 3-point line.

On Saturday the Eagles got the chance to once again challenge the Ooks but this time on their home floor.  This time the Ooks jumped out to a quick lead, and held the Eagles down forcing a number of turnovers and turning those into quick baskets.  At the half the Eagles were down 17, 44-27 and not doing a very good job of scoring.  With some adjustments, the Eagles started to find their range and were able to score 39 second half points, but were never able to cut into the Ook lead, falling by a final score 85-66.  Tyler Fournier once again led the way with 13 points, 7 assists and two steals, earning a second straight Player of the Game award.  Ben Battjes again scored in double figures, contributing 12 points, Craig Batterham scored 10 and Damian Yeboah chipped in with 9 points. 

The Eagles will have their bye weekend next weekend and will hit the road for their longest trip of the year as they head to Caronport, Saskatchewan and Medicine Hat, AB.  The Eagles will close the regular season on home court against the Griffins of Grant MacEwan on February 18th.

01.23.12 - Eagles drop two to Concordia
The King’s Men’s Basketball team lost both in a home and home with the Concordia Thunder this weekend.  In the first game at King’s, the Thunder got out to a 21-10 first quarter lead on back to back threes by Ethan Sir to end the quarter.  The Eagles battled and won the second quarter to go into the half down ten 26-26, but were unable to make a move in the second half, losing 76-55.  Ethan Wollmann led the way for the Eagles with 17 points and 5 rebounds, while Ben Battjes and Joel Holmes pitched in with 9 each.

On Saturday, the Eagles came out flying, quickly opening up a lead on the Thunder, up 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.  The Eagles held on to their lead through the second and third quarter, going into the final frame up 42-34.  In the fourth, the resilient Thunder made their move and took the lead with under seven minutes left in the game and the Eagles were never able to get it back.  Ethan Wollmann led the way again with 16 points and 7 rebounds, Craig Batterham had 13 points in only 11 minutes limited by foul trouble, and Ben Battjes had 12 points.

The Eagles next action will be this Thursday at NAIT and the next home game will be this Saturday against NAIT. 

11.21.11 - Tough Weekend Against CCAA's #1 Team
The King’s Men’s Basketball team was in tough this weekend going head to head in a home and home match-up with the #1 ranked team in the Country, the Lakeland Rustlers from Lloydminster.  On Friday, Lakeland quickly jumped out on the Eagles and took a 24-13 lead after one quarter and never really looked back.  The Eagles never quit battling with the Rustlers, but just weren’t able to find their range from the field, struggling to knock down shots they are used to converting.  While the Eagles were happy with how they defended the dynamic Rustlers players, they were not pleased with the anemic offensive output.  Craig Batterham led the way for the Eagles with 14 points, while Jarred Wenzel took home Player of the Game more for his intensity, energy and defense than for his 4 points and 9 rebounds. 

The Eagles hopped on their bus and headed out to Lloydminster for the second half of their home and home with Lakeland on Saturday, and while they started to find an ability to knock down shots, they were not able to hold down the Rustlers potent offense for two nights in a row, giving up a huge 113 points against.  Craig Batterham again led the way with 15 points and 8 rebounds, first year player Will Belliveau found his range knocking down three 3-pointers on his way to a 13 point performance, and Jarred Wenzel was all over the glass again with 11 rebounds including 6 offensive boards.

The Eagles have next weekend off and finish the first semester with two home games against Keyano College from Fort McMurray on Dec. 2nd and 3rd.  Come out and cheer the Eagles on as they close out the first half of their season.

11.7.11 - Eagles Drop 2 Games in the South
The Eagles Men’s basketball team made their first trip to play teams from the South division this weekend, starting the trip off with a match-up against former King’s coach Clayton Pottinger and his Red Deer College team.  The first half was a defensive battle that went back and forth.  Keith Marshall scored 7 of the Eagles first 9 points and finished the first half with 13 points as the half ended with RDC up 28-27.  In the second half the Eagles' defense, which had been so strong in the first half and the first four games of the season, broke down and Red Deer was able to take advantage putting up 53 points and taking control of the game.  Spencer Grove received Player of the Game with 10 points and 6 rebounds while Keith Marshall led the team in scoring with 13 points.

On Saturday the Eagles matched up with SAIT in Calgary and again were unable to secure a victory, making too many mistakes in the second half.  The Eagles turned the ball over too many times in key moments, missed easy shots and gave up too many rebounds down the stretch.  Ben Battjes led the way with 16 points, Keith Marshall had 14 and Spencer Grove had 12.  Player of the Game for the Eagles was Damian Yeboah.

The Eagles have a bye next weekend and their next action will be a home game against the #1 team in the Country, the Lakeland Rustlers on Friday, November 18th at 8 pm.

10.31.11 - Eagles Sweep the Vikings!
It was a successful weekend for the Men’s basketball program as the Eagles were able to sweep the Augustana Vikings in two very exciting and hard fought games.

On Friday the Eagles travelled to Camrose and again had trouble coming out of the gates and were quickly down by 8 in the first quarter.  After battling to close the gap to 22-20 at the end of the first quarter, the Vikings again jumped out to a lead and went into the half up 8 over the Eagles 44-36.  After giving up way too many points in the first half, the Eagles came out determined to turn that around and held the Vikings to 9 total points in the third quarter, allowing the Eagles to take a 55-53 lead.  The veteran Vikings team battled back and took a 2 point lead with under two minutes to play, but the Eagles were able to tie it up and force overtime.  In the 5-minute overtime King’s again committed to their defense and it made all the difference as the Eagles outscored Augustana 16-4 to win the game 87-75.  The Eagles had 5 players with double digits in scoring: first year guard Keith Marshall had 14 points and 7 boards, Craig Batterham had 13 points and 9 boards, Dillon Knoll had 13 points and 5 steals, Tyler Fournier had 10 points and 4 assists, and Ethan Wollmann took home Player of the Game honors with 15 points and 13 boards, his third straight double-double!

Saturday the Eagles were excited for their Home Opener and after a bit of a hiccup, were able to take the lead in the first quarter -a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the game.  The Eagles defense again was the difference, holding the Vikings to 8 points in the second quarter and building their lead to 12 going into the half 38-26.  With another strong effort in the third quarter the Eagles built a 17 point lead 60-43 going into the final frame.  It was in the last quarter that things got interesting as Augustana was not going to quit, and the Eagles had to deal with the adversity of losing one of their best players and leaders Ethan Wollmann to a shoulder injury.  Augustana battled back and the Eagles played tentatively with their big lead and soon the Vikings were down only 7.  The Eagles turned once again to their defense and stopped the Viking run with big stops and clutch free throw shooting, highlighted by Dillon Knoll’s 6 for 6 and Tyler Fournier’s 7 for 10 efforts.  Player of the Game for the Eagles was first year forward Spencer Grove with 12 points on 3 of 6 shooting, 2 of 3 from the 3 point line and 4 for 6 from the free throw line.  The Eagles had a huge weekend from second year guard Damian Yeboah, who neutralized the Augustana point guards and was the defensive leader on the floor.

The Eagles head down to Red Deer and Calgary next weekend for their first action against South Conference teams at Red Deer College and SAIT.  Both games are at 8 pm.

10.24.11 - Get First Win Since Final Games of 2009/10
In their first regular season ACAC game, the team showed some nerves in the first quarter, and trailed 16-9 after 10 minutes.  Some of our younger and more inexperienced players struggled to find their rythym and their range and we suffered through some poor shooting to end up down 39-30 at the half.  The team battled through the third but couldn’t cut into the deficit and went into the 4th quarter down 60-50.  In the 4th the Eagles were finally able to cut into the Grande Prairie lead and with 1:24 left actually took the lead 79-77.  In their final four possessions the Eagles turned the ball over 3 times and missed a late three, while 6 free throws from Wolves star Josh Nicol brought the win home for Grande Prairie 83-79.  The Eagles got a huge performance from Ethan Wolmann scoring 31 points and adding 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough for the Eagles to pull out the victory.

After a quick turnaround the Eagles took to the floor Saturday afternoon looking to avenge the tough loss they suffered to the Wolves the night before.  Again the Eagles came out flat and quickly gave up a lead to Grande Prairie 24-14 at the end of the first quarter.  The Wolves built the lead to as many as fifteen in the second quarter before a late run brought the Eagles back to within 7, down 41-34 going into the half.  Knowing they had a big challenge ahead of them the Eagles came out determined not to lose, and quickly shaved the Grande Prairie second half lead of ten down and tied the game up.  From there, the Eagles took control and built their lead to 6 at the end of the third quarter.  Down the stretch, the Eagles got timely scores from Ethan Wolmann, Ben Battjes and Kevin Lewis as well as free throws from Dillon Knoll and Tyler Fournier to ice the victory 95-79.  it is the team's first win since sweeping Lakeland in the final games of 2009/10.  Ben Battjes was the Player of the Game for the Eagles with 27 points, and Ethan Wollman continued his solid play with his second consecutive double-double scoring 22 pts and pulling down 12 rebounds.

The Eagles head to Camrose on Friday to play the Augustana Vikings before hosting their Home Opener on Saturday - both games are at 8 pm.