On Tuesday, Dec. 13th Robert Land Academy (Loyalists) hosted DSBN in their first home game of the regular basketball season.

The Loyalists showed up nervous as they did in their first game opener against Stamford. The pressure was on as the Loyalists sought to defend homecourt and their 2021-2022 season championship against a team they beat last year in the finals. The Loyalists struggled to convert offensively in the paint in the first and second quarter.  Without four of our key players who make up our rebounding (Ogoh), speed (Torres), scorers (Uzan), centre and defensive commander, Kaba, the Loyalists had a difficult time protecting the paint and controlling defensive boards against a taller DSBN team. With Point Guard Continnelli suffering a bruised left leg, Petit stepped in at the point guard position to give RLA a defensive boost off the bench. Both Petit and Davies’s hustle on the Horns defense helped the team rally back from to a 11 – 18 to a 19 – 27 to close out the 3rd quarter.  Yekmalian’s bomber from behind the 3-point arc gave RLA some hope to start off the fourth quarter. Not long after, Zhang followed up with another three-point bomber.  As a new and younger team, The Loyalists fought their way back, but was unable to close out their first home game against DSBN. The final score was (29 – 44) DSBN.

Up next, Robert Land Academy travels to Eastdale on December 21st for its 3rd game of the season.

AND REMEMBER, IT IS YOUR SUPPORT THAT MAKES US WHO WE ARE! GOOOOO….LOYALISTS

Photos: Lieutenant Secord