MAC RUNS WILD IN CONSOLATION FINAL
Championship web site: http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/m_basketball/2006
McMaster, which claims the consolation final at the CIS tournament for the second time in three years, returns home with a 2-1 record. The OUA champions lost a heartbreaker in overtime to No. 4 StFX in the quarterfinals, before earning a berth in the fifth-place game by defeating Saskatchewan by two points on Saturday.
UBC goes back to the west coast with a 1-2 mark. The Canada West finalists were upset by No. 7 Cape Breton in the quarters, and beat UQAM on Saturday.
Ajayi, a fourth-year guard from Hamilton, was named player of the game for the winning side. The 5-foot-8 floor leader tallied his 23 points on 6-for-10 shooting, including 3-for-5 from long range. He also chipped in defensively with five assists.
Obrovac, a 6-foot-5 guard also from Hamilton, was almost unstoppable on the day, sinking nine of 13 field-goal attempts. Toronto natives Ben Katz and Toms Lokmanis contributed 19 and eight points, respectively, with Lokmanis adding a game-high 12 rebounds.
For UBC, player-of-the-game honours went to fifth-year guard Pasha Bains of Richmond, B.C. who had a team-high 23 points in his final university outing. Bains was CIS player of the year in 2003-04 while at Simon Fraser, led the nation in scoring on two occasions, and finished second in the CIS this season with 22.1 points per game.
Canada West player of the year and first-team all-Canadian Casey Archibald of Salmon Arm, B.C. added 16 points, while 6-foot-8 sophomore Bryson Kool of Pitt Meadows, B.C. and Chad Clifford of White Rock, B.C. had 12 apiece.
The teams were tied at 48 at the half.
The Marauders shot over 53 percent from the floor in both periods, finishing at 53.3 percent. The T-Birds also hit the 50-percent mark in the opening frame (50.0) but dropped to 41.9 percent in the second stanza to end up at 45.9 percent.
STAT LEADERS
No. 5 McMaster Marauders 48-48:96
No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds 48-39:87
McMaster
Points - Martin Ajayi (23), John Obrovac (23)
Rebounds - Toms Lokmanis (12)
Assists - Ben Katz (6), Justin Gunter (6)
Minutes - Martin Ajayi (31)
Player of the game: Martin Ajayi
UBC
Points - Pasha Bains (23), Casey Archibald (16)
Rebounds - Bryson Kool (10)
Assists - Casey Archibald (6)
Minutes - Casey Archibald (33)
Player of the game: Pasha Bains
SEEDING, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL / Atlantic Time)
1. Victoria Vikes
2. UBC Thunderbirds
3. Carleton Ravens
4. StFX X-Men
5. McMaster Marauders
6. UQAM Citadins
7. Cape Breton Capers
8. York Lions
9. Saskatchewan Huskies
10. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks
Thursday, March 16
Game #1: Cape Breton 62, Wilfrid Laurier 53
Game #2: Saskatchewan 75, York 74
Friday, March 17
Consolation (9th place): Wilfrid Laurier 76, York 65
Quarter-final #1: Carleton 62, UQAM 59
Quarter-final #2: Cape Breton 80, UBC 62
Quarter-final #3: StFX 81, McMaster 77 (OT)
Quarter-final #4: Victoria 79, Saskatchewan 64
Saturday, March 18
Consolation #1: UBC 85, UQAM 79
Consolation #2: McMaster 81, Saskatchewan 79
Semi-final #1: Carleton 68, Cape Breton 57
Semi-final #2: Victoria 67, StFX 63
Sunday, March 19
Consolation final: McMaster 96, UBC 87
16:00 Championship final (Live on The Score): Carleton (3) vs. Victoria (1)
- CIS -
Source: CIS Communications.)
(Photo: John Obrovac, McMaster Marauders. Photo by Nick Pearce.)