Mauro and RDP Kings get by U of A Augustana Vikings

Red Deer, AB – The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings showed resiliency against the University of Alberta Augustana Vikings Saturday evening.

Down nine points at the half, the Kings found an extra gear in the latter two quarters and downed the Vikings 71-68 at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.

The U of A Augustana Vikings had a strong start, outscoring the home team 40-31 by the half. Vikings Player of the Game Colby Anderson scored 12 of his 17 points in the second quarter alone.

The RDP Kings started to find their game in the latter half, sinking 40 points. Efe Iyamu helped to spark RDP's offence, contributing 12 of his 15 points in the third and fourth quarters.

The Kings' defence held the Vikings to 28 points in the second half and earned a 71-68 decision.

Jose Mauro, the North Star Sports Kings Player of the Game, had a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds), along with four steals and two blocks. First-year DeAndre Rowe added 11 points, three rebounds and three steals for RDP.

Augustana's Marc Parma totaled 16 points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Jack Smilski chipped in with nine points for the visitors. 

The Vikings shot 36.5% from the field. The Kings responded with 37% efficiency.

The RDP Kings (12-7) will play the Lakeland College Rustlers (10-8) on the road at 8 pm on Friday, February 16.

On Saturday, February 17, the U of A Augustana Vikings (8-12) will tip-off against the SAIT Trojans (16-4) in Calgary at 3 pm.

The top five teams in each division will qualify for the playoffs. From there, the top two teams in each division will advance to the Final Four Men's Basketball Championship.