FLBC opening weekend recap

On Friday night, the Conqueror Men got behind early and struggled to catch up for the rest of the game, falling to the Red River Rebels 61-81. However, the contest was much closer than the final score would indicate. At one point in the third quarter, the Conquerors pulled even before the Rebels responded with a run of their own. Despite the consistent effort from the team all night, this final deficit was too much to overcome as the Rebels closed out the 20-point victory.

The Conquerors played a good game overall, leaving some room for improvement in several key areas including interior and fastbreak defense along with overall defensive discipline, On offense, the team struggled to identify and adjust to the Rebel’s varying man to man and zone defenses. Once adjustments were made, it turned out to be a little too late to affect the final outcome. Micah Moan led the Conquerors with 18 points followed by Mikah Olsen with 17. Phil Berge and Luther Zeltinger chipped in with 8 and 10 total rebounds respectively. All eleven players saw the court on Friday evening and contributed meaningful minutes.

On Saturday afternoon, the two teams squared off again. This time, it was the Conquerors who got out in front early by playing extremely aggressive and efficient defense, holding the Rebels to a remarkable 7 points in the first quarter. The second quarter was almost as good and the Conquerors led by a score of 28-21 at the half. Unfortunately, steady pressure and improved shooting by the Rebels allowed them to close the gap to 4 by the end of the third quarter and they pulled away in the fourth to secure a 62-72 victory over the FLBC Men.

Micah Moan led all scorers with 21 with Mikah Olson contributing 14 points. Rebounding was led by Micah Moan with 8 along with 4 assists and 6 steals. Phil Berge and Luther Zeltinger each had 7 rebounds for the game. The 3-point shooting percentage in the 2nd half really hurt the Conquerors as they were unable to hold off the hard-charging Rebels. Both games were fast-paced with great effort from both teams. The Conquerors will play NHSC at home this upcoming weekend with games on Friday, November 8 at 8:00 and

Saturday, November 9 at 3:00.

The Conqueror Women opened the season in Canada on Friday, November 1 against Red River College. Right from the start, the Rebels played extremely physical and aggressive defense, especially with their guards. This on ball pressure was very disruptive to the Conquerors who found it difficult to get into their half-court offense. Several steals and other turnovers led to many easy baskets in transition for the host team. They went up early on the Conquerors and finished with a 27-72 victory.

On Saturday, the Conquerors could have hung their heads after being somewhat overwhelmed on Friday. Instead, they responded with more aggressive and confident play. Their offense started to take shape and showed great promise, including both inside and outside presence and options. The defense was also better, both challenging shots and stopping easy transition baskets for the Rebels. By the end of the game, the Rebels had secured another victory by a final score of 48-70. However, the heart showed by the Conqueror Women was obvious and impressive after a demoralizing loss the evening prior. This bodes well for the team as they turn the page to look ahead to their next games against NHSC this weekend at home. The Lady Conquerors play on Friday, November 8 at 6:00 and on Saturday, November 9 at 1:00.