SAIT defeats Lakeland

Calgary, AB - Saturday, Feb. 10: Lakeland Rustlers 64 at SAIT Trojans 81

The SAIT Trojans men's basketball team won their second straight on Saturday, defeating the 10-8 Lakeland Rustlers 81-64 at home to improve to 16-4 on the year.

Akoi Yuot dominated for SAIT, shooting 8-13 for 22 points while adding seven rebounds and two steals. Marcus Masters added 17 with six assists, and Kuol Kuol shot 7-12 for 17 points of his own to go along with 10 boards, netting him a double-double.

The game was extremely close until the Trojans ran away with it in the fourth. After one, the score was just 14-13 SAIT as both teams played tight defence and had trouble shooting. Kuol Kuol kept the Trojans afloat, scoring eight points on perfect shooting in the quarter.

SAIT's offence came alive in the second, with Marcus Masters scoring eight and Will Tong and Tutu Akol each adding four. Heading into halftime, the Trojans led 34-25.

Lakeland outscored SAIT by five in the third, with every starter scoring either three or four points. Not going down without a fight, Lakeland trailed by just four heading into the final 10 minutes.

But Yuot's 14 fourth-quarter points staved off any comeback the Rustlers had in mind. He shot 5-7 in the quarter, while Jaden Matthews shot 3-3 to add another nine. SAIT scored a game-high 32 in the fourth to help them grab the 81-64 win.

The Trojans will face off against the UAA Vikings in their final game of the regular season next Saturday before heading to the playoffs.

Lakeland will face RDP and OC before heading to the playoffs themselves.