It was an up and down day today for the Redeemer Royals basketball teams. The Lady Royals were in control against the Niagara Knights before falling 74-69 after a difficult fourth quarter. The men's team took an early lead against the Knights in their game and cruised to a 81-62 victory.

With a 41-24 lead at halftime, the Lady Royals were in a position to secure the upset against the strong team from Niagara. However, the 7-3 Knights woke up and showed why they are one of the top teams in the West. Putting up 50 points in the second half, the Royals defence struggled against the Niagara offence that came up dry in the first half.

A frustrated Redeemer head coach Rob Hooper added, "They started making shots and we were unable to shut them down on defence. We have no trouble scoring points but if we can't play defence then we are going to struggle. The girls came out fired up after a difficult loss on Friday (to Sheridan) but we couldn't sustain it mentally for the full game."

Jesseca Brown (Grand Manan, N.B.) had a game-high 23 points in her second game back after missing the first half of the season. She also added eight rebounds and five steals.

Redeemer's Arica Price (Fort McMurray, Alta.) had 15 points and seven rebounds while Lindsay Moffatt (Hamilton, Ont.) had 11 points.

The teams record now drops to 3-8.

The men's basketball team was looking to rebound from a tough second half on Friday Night against the Sheridan Bruins where they saw the game get away from them after being down just 60-56 early in the third.

Against Niagara, the Royals took the lead early and never relinquished it on their way to a 81-62 victory.

Leading 48-27 at the half, Redeemer just needed to keep pace with the Knights to secure their fifth win of the season.

The Royals continue to occupy sixth place in the West, holding on to the final playoff spot.

The Royals had balanced scoring against Niagara lead by A.J. Manguerra (Stoney Creek, Ont.) who contributed 16 points. Calvin Turnbull (Burlington, Ont.) and Almar Knowles each had 15 points and had 13 and eight rebounds, respectively.

Both Redeemer basketball teams return to action on Friday when they welcome the Lambton Lions for games at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Redeemer then take on St. Clair on Saturday at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Source: Redeemer University College