Rattlers Bite Broncos in the snake pit.
On Superbowl Sunday the Olds College Broncos headed into Medicine Hat to take on the Rattlers in ACAC Men's Basketball. The first quarter started with the Broncos making 2 quick inside baskets before the Rattlers could respond. The Broncos were able to maintain their lead as the teams exchanged baskets and misses on both ends. Both sides went cold with their shooting in the middle of the quarter and scoring stalled for 3 and a half minutes. Once the scoring restarted there was not much time in the half and the Broncos had been able to maintain a small lead going into the break up 18-14.
The second quarter started again with the Broncos able to score quickly. This time they did it from beyond the arc hitting 3 of 4 right at the start of the quarter. This opened up the lead once again and forced the Rattlers to take a timeout. Out of the break the Rattlers started to click and play a faster pace. This saw them start to quickly chip away at the Bronco lead. At 3 minutes on the clock the Rattlers took their first lead going uip 31-30. Another 2 turnovers saw the Rattlers add 4 more to their lead right away before the Broncos could answer. The Broncos were able to close the gap quickly and tie the game at 37 with less than 30 seconds on the clock. With a miss to end the half the teams went into the break tied at 37.
The Broncos were first to break the deadlock in the third with the Rattlers missing their second chance points in the paint. Olds scored again and pulled ahead 41-37. A long 2 finally got the home side on the board 3 minutes into the quarter. Finally finding their groove the score was re-tied at 44. Both teams found some offence in the middle part of the quarter and both sides traded points as the score continued to rise. Once again the Broncos were able to etch out a small lead as time continued to wind down. They held on to this advantage heading into the break and held a narrow margin 59-56 at the break.
The Rattlers started the quarter playing tough d and shutting the Broncos down on their first 2 trips down the floor. A few Rattler misseson offence saw the game down to a 1 point differential. The Rattlers scored 2 quick baskets and were able to take a 3 point lead. This was quickly answered by Olds, but the Rattlers kept making second chance points and led by 5. Another 2 points from the line and the Rattlers had expanded the lead to 7 with just over half of the quarter to play. This saw the Broncos take a timeout to regroup. A quick 2 baskets from Olds out of the break saw the Rattlers lead diminished and down to 2. Another trip to the line for the Broncos saw them tie up the game at 68. The Rattlers finally found the basket again and were able to hold a small lead. This was quickly erased by a Bronco 3, once again tying the game. The Broncos took a 2 point lead with 2 min on the clock, but the Rattlers got to the line and tied it up. 2 back to back steals and fast breaks from the home side put them up 4, 78-74 with 1:01 on the clock forcing the Broncos to take a timeout. The Rattlers again shut down the Broncos offence and were able to take a 6 point lead with 37 seconds on the clock. Medicine Hat ran out the clock and took an 81-76 win.