Rattlers win Tight contest with Thunder

The Concordia Thunder Headed into the Snake Pit to take on the Rattlers. Medicine Hat was coming in on a win streak they looked to extend the streak. With this in mind they came out hot, going on a 10-0 run to start the game and forcing Concordia to take a timeout. The Thunder were able to come out of the break and score a quick 3, but the Rattlers were able to maintain their 10 point cushion as the quarter passed the midway point. This continued to hold as both defences tightened up and scoring became more of a task. The teams were able to trade baskets coming in as the quarter ended with the Rattlers up 12, 26-14. 

The second quarter started with the Rattlers scoring a quick 2 buckets inside. The thunder responded with a 3 point play on the other end followed up with a dagger from deep. The teams again tightened up on d and scoring was again at a premium. As the midway point passed the scoreboard read 40-24 with the Rattlers in the lead. Medicine Hat took a timeout to give the starters a quick breather. Medicine Hat came out of the break and added to their lead with a few quick baskets. The Rattlers continued to get second chance points and led 49-28 with 90 seconds on the clock. 8 quick points to end the half from the Thunder saw them close the gap, 49-36 at the half. 

The Third quarter started with the Thunder nailing a corner 3 to once again cut the lead to 10. Medicine Hat continued their misses from the field, yet continued to look from beyond the arc coming up empty. Failing to score for the first 2 minutes the Rattlers opened the door for the thunder to get back in the game. Finally the Rattlers worked the ball into the post and got their first bucket of the frame. From here the play was again much more even with the ball going back and forth and teams scoring on each end. The Rattlers went on another small run increasing their lead back to 15 with 2 minutes left in the quarter. The Rattlers bench came on and the Thunder went on a 6-0 run before the Rattlers could answer. Another buzzer beater from the thunder saw the score 70-61 at the break.. 

The fourth quarter started with a defensive stop from both teams. MHC was first to score in the frame but the Thunder followed up with 2 quick baskets. The score and play in the game tightened as defence became increasingly more important. The scoring was coming at a premium and the Thunder took advantage with 2 quick baskets reducing the lead to 6. A three point play from the Rattlers was quickly followed by a Thunder basket and the lead was down to 7. With 3 players in foul trouble the Thunder had to play clean on D which allowed the Rattlers to be able to score while going at those players in the paint. The game slowed down with lots of whistles as the Rattlers held on to a 9 point lead. A thunder 3 once again cut in to the lead but the Rattlers quickly answered, causing a foul out in the process. The Thunder however continued to chip away, hitting 3's or getting to the line for a bonus point. With 1:43 on the clock the rattlers were up 87-80 and took a timeout to regroup. This seemed to help as they once again increased their lead to 10 and looked to burn up clock or score an easy 2 inside. As the final horn went the Rattlers had taken it 95-86