Men's Basketball Huskies top Wolves twice at home to stay perfect

For the second-straight weekend, the Keyano Huskies Men’s Basketball team took care of the task at hand at home, winning two key games to stay perfect on the season.  

“It was a battle,” Head Coach Anthony Skepple said. “The guys really battled through some ups and downs in the game, but it was good to come out with two solid wins.”  
 
Hosting the Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves, the Huskies won by scores of 99-79 on Friday and 85-60 Saturday to slot themselves in as one of five perfect teams left in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) to date.  
 
Friday’s win was led by a 30-point performance by Keenan Miller, with four other Huskies finishing in double digits. Deandre Rowe dropped 19 in the game and Sammuel Nkassa had 17 off the bench. DJ Haynes scored 13 and Tafari Carefoote-Jones added 10 to round out the quintet of Huskies.  

After a tight first quarter, the Huskies broke open the game to lead by 12 at half. Following an even third quarter, the Huskies extended their lead by eight in the final quarter.  
 
The Huskies once again utilized the long-ball, shooting 44.4 percent (12-for-27) from beyond the arc, their highest mark of the season to date.  
 
“When we move the ball well, it’s really beautiful basketball to watch,” Skepple continued. “There’s times where it’s not where we want it to be. It was good for us to still get a win when we felt we weren’t playing our best.”  
 
Saturday’s win was led by matching 22-point performances by Rowe and Haynes. Nkassa came off the bench to deliver once again, scoring 13 points. Carefoote-Jones had his second double-digit performance of the season with 10 points in a starting role, adding four steals and two assists.  

At 4-0, Skepple is still being cautious of the team’s valleys. If there’s a nitpick to be made, Saturday’s 49.3 percent (34-for-69) performance from the field and 26.1 percent (six-for-23) from three-point range were technically their worst shooting performance of the season to date, but can be easily adjusted in the weeks to come.  
 
The Huskies also missed out on nine extra points, not that they needed them, from missed free throws through each game.   

“There were different valleys,” Skepple said. “There’s always ebbs and flows to each game and highs and lows and we’re trying to do our best to be consistent.” 
 
The Huskies will face a different challenge this coming weekend with their first road games of the year. Although their opponents, The Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Olds College Broncos, are 0-2 and 0-4 respectively, the Huskies will have to prepare for the challenge of two teams eager for their first win of the year in their own home building.  
 
The Huskies take on the Kings in Red Deer Friday at 8:00pm followed by a 3:00pm date with the Broncos Saturday.