On Monday, January 15, the Loyalists travelled to St. Catharines to face off against the Eastdale Eagles, the number one ranked team in their league, for their second matchup of the season.

Like their previous matchup, the Loyalists got off to a slow start. Within 3 minutes the Eagles scored 10 unanswered baskets. The speed and skill level of the Eagles showed why they are ranked number one, however, the RLA teams was determined to put up a fight. The Eagles closed out the first quarter (14-4). 

Newcomer to the team Stephen-Obama Delva got his name on the scoresheet in his debut game showing speed and agility to get to the basket, scoring two points on his fourth attempt. Will Kulidjian stepped up to give the Loyalists a boost of confidence on the defensive end. Still, the Loyalists were outmanned by the Eagles’ height and precision around the basket and in transition. There were several costly turnovers that widened the lead and made it difficult for RLA to close the gap. Substituting for Kulidjian, David Cheung drove to the baseline and dropped a one-handed floater over Eagles’ forward for his first two points of the game. The Eagles outscored the Loyalists (12-6). 

With only a few minutes into the 3^rd quarter, a few spectators started heckling Kulidjian, and he responded with a wild 3-point bomb which quickly silenced the heckler, but only for a moment. Soon after Cheung responded with 2 big points for the Loyalists. RLA had a short run, including several defensive stops by Delva, (4 steals in the 3^rd quarter), and a wicked layup off the glass as he blew past Eagles guard to convert for his 8^th point of the game. Despite the short run, the Eagles closed out the 3^rd quarter (16-8). 

With a meager bench and limited substitutions, the Loyalists continues to struggle to compete against teams with full rosters and bodies with fresh legs. Exhaustion played a role as RLA made several attempts to contain the Eagles. The Eagles outscored the Loyalists (21-7) in the 4^th quarter. Even though the Loyalists knew they were outmatched, they would not go down without a fight. Kulidjian refused to give up and continued to pressure the Eagles’ #2 guard. But again, came the hecklers from the stands, and again, Kulidjian picked up the phone and answered the call with another 3-pointer. 

Overall, a worthy matchup with a strong motivation for this young team to further grow and improve, build resilience, find courage and comradery. Contributing scorers for RLA were Stephan-Obama Delva 8 points, 6 steals, 1 block; Will Kulidjian 7 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists; David Cheung 7 points, 4 steals; Bryant Ogoh 3 points, 5 rebounds. Big shout outs to the entire team effort in the back court: Tom Zunik, Steven Tang, Chubee Ihedioha, and Chimaobi Ohiaeri for allowing Delva to get a quick break from the bench. 

The Eagles claimed the victory 67 – 25 over the Loyalists!