M-Basketball Friday Roundup
The Guelph Gryphon men’s basketball team dropped a 66-55 final to the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Friday night at the W.F. Mitchell Centre. The Gryphons record drops to 3-6, while the Thunderwolves improve to 7-2.
It’s clear that injuries are catching up with the Guelph Gryphon’s squad. With three starters in street clothes, the Gryphon’s bench only had so much fire power to give. And it wasn’t until an unfortunate turnover and an intentional foul in the final quarter that sealed their fate.
The Thunderwolves were led by Yoosrie Salhia’s double-double, scoring a game high 25 points while grabbing 12 rebounds.
The Gryphon’s were led by George Mason’s (Orillia, Ont.) 15 points, while Jerald Greenidge (Brampton, Ont.) added 11 points in the losing effort. The Gryphon’s were done in by their up and down offense, who couldn’t put together successive quarters to put away a gritty Lakehead team.
Guelph was able to take an early nine point lead thanks to strong defensive pressure, holding the Thunderwolves to 28% shooting while shooting 53% themselves in the first quarter. They couldn’t continue their hot start, as they struggled in the second, going almost seven minutes without a field goal. Lakehead was able to take a four point lead into the half, as Salhia’s sizeable height advantage left the Gryphon’s struggling to match up.
The Gryphon’s were able to regroup in the third to take a three point lead into the fourth, but were outscored 22-8 in the final quarter to leave the Guelph squad wondering what could have been.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Ryerson, 64 @ Carleton, 89
To kick off the New Year, the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team grabbed a 89-64 win over the Ryerson Rams Friday night at the Ravens’ Nest.
Tyson Hinz (Ottawa) put up big numbers for the Ravens, ending the first half with 20 points and giving the Ravens a 43-29 lead.
Hinz opened the scoring in the third quarter and the Ravens went on a 10-0 run. They took their biggest lead of the game in the fourth, going up by 30 points with four minutes to go.
The final score saw the Ravens take a 89-64 win, giving Carleton their ninth straight victory of the season.
Source: Carleton Sports InfoToronto, 77 @ Ottawa, 73
It would appear to be déjà vu for the Gee-Gees once again – another close loss, this time by only four points, to another top-ten in Canada team, this time Toronto.
The Gee-Gees were trailing by one after the first frame, and turned it around to lead by two after half. The third saw the Gee-Gees pull to an eight point lead midway through, but Toronto’s buzzer-beater three-point shot would bring the game back within two to close the quarter.
Toronto jumped to a quick five point lead in the fourth, leaving the Gee-Gees scrambling to make up lost ground, and a series of tough calls by the ref did not tip things in their favour in this comeback. It’s would be third-year guard Warren Ward, London, Ont., who would bring the Gee-Gees back with a series two key three-point shots, and within one point with 42 seconds remaining. But the Varsity Blues would capitalize one again and pull just out of reach of the Gee-Gees to close the game.
“There were two or three calls that didn’t go our way at a really bad time. The timing of them were all part of run that they [Toronto] made,” said head coach James Derouin, “That was the turning point and we didn’t recover from it.”
“As soon as we hit the adversity, we haven’t been able to handle the adversity and push through for the win,” concluded Derouin.
Ward put forth a stellar performance in tonight’s game, 27 points and 14 rebounds, though his effort alone could not carry the Gee-Gees to victory. Ward also went six for eight from behind the arc.
“We had a few mental lapses, a few defensive breakdowns, and those things all add up,” said Ward, “They [Toronto] gutted one out and got the best of us.”
With a strong, well-rounded contingent of Varsity Blues penetrating the Gee-Gees defence and adding up the points for Toronto, it would be the three-pointers that would give the garnet and grey the upper hand over their Toronto competition. The Gee-Gees sank 12 shots from behind the arc with six different players contributing, to the Varsity Blues six three-pointers.
“I’m not a believer in our record,” said Ward, “Our record doesn’t show how hard we work or how close these games are.”
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Queen’s, 54 @ Laurentian, 75
Queen's Dan Bannister of Newmarket, Ont., recorded 24 points in a 75-54 loss to the Laurentian Voyageurs as the second half of the OUA men's basketball schedule kicked off on Friday.
Bannister was the games top scorer finishing 11 for 18 from the field and added two rebounds in the loss. This was the fifth time he has recorded over 20 points this season and his third highest total of the year.
Ryan Golden of Barrie, Ont., was the only other Gael to break double digit scoring tallying 13 points in the loss for Queen's.
Laurentian's Mike Hull of Victoria, B.C. notched a double double in the win posting 22 points and a game high 10 rebounds. The brother combo of Manny and Isiah Pasquale also broke into double digits. The Victoria, B.C., natives tallied 17 and 15 points respectively.
Laurentian gained an eary 19-10 lead in the opening quarter, but Queen's would post 21 points in the second quarter to pull the game to 38-31 at the half. However, Laurentian controlled the pace in the third quarter opening up a 15 point advantage heading into the final frame.
Queen's sits in a three way tie for fifth place of OUA East Division with Ottawa and Ryerson. All three teams have four points but both Ryerson and Ottawa have a game in hand.
Source: Queen's Sports Info
RMC, 42 @ York, 97
The York University Lions men's basketball team easily defeated the Royal Military College (RMC) Paladins 97-42 on Friday night (Jan. 7) at the Tait McKenzie Centre in their first game of 2011.
With the win the Lions improved to 4-6 on the season. They remain in fourth place in the OUA East standings, two points behind the Laurentian Voyageurs. The loss dropped the Paladins to 0-10 on the season.
The Lions took a 26-15 lead right out of the gate in the first quarter and did not look back. From there, the Lions defence held strong and limited the Paladins no more than 10 points in each of the remaining three quarters.
Even with a large lead after the first, the Lions continued to push on offence. Their lowest points total came in the second with 18 and they compiled a game-high 32 points in the third quarter alone. The squad closed with 21 in the fourth.
Five Lions scored at least 10 points in the game. York forwards, Dejan Kravic (London, Ont.) and Stefan Haynes (North York, Ont.) led the team with 17 points each despite seeing little court time. Kravic played just 12 minutes and Haynes 16. Haynes also had a big night defensively with five steals and four blocks to go along with five rebounds.
With the game out of reach early, several bench players saw significant court time and made the most of their appearances. Rookie Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) recorded the game's only double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Justin Bell (Mississauga, Ont.) just missed out on one of his own with 10 rebounds and eight points.
Paladins guard Jonathon Wilson led all players with 20 points. He also pulled down six rebounds and added a pair of blocks.
The Lions dominating offence was complemented by suffocating defence that created 26 turnovers, including 17 steals.
Source: York Sports Info