MEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Winless Mustangs upset No. 9 Voyageurs
November 25, 2013
Friday, November 22
Waterloo 60 @ Ottawa 98
There are not many negative remarks that can be made on no. 2 ranked Ottawa’s offence this season. The squad is first in many major offensive categories in the CIS and Friday night was no exception as they led the Warriors from start to finish, taking a dominant 98-60 win on home court.
Mike L’Africain of Oakville, Ont., led the way on the score sheet with a game-high 23 points and two assists. It was a career night for L’Africain as his point total topped his previous career high of 21 points set in his rookie season.
“Our performance overall was good. I think there are certain things will still have to work on in order to get where we want to be as a team,” said the third-year guard. “Tonight was a great night to work on certain things and I don’t think we did as well as we could have. Overall we still came out with a big victory and we are happy about that.”
Waterloo’s leading scorer on the season, Jaspreet Gill kicked in 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from long range to pace the visitors. Ottawa sank 15 treys as a team, shooting 45.5 per cent from long distance.
The Gee-Gees were on fire in the early going as they came out of the gates scoring 30 first quarter points and shooting 7-11 from long range. The second quarter was more of the same for the Gee-Gees as they were able to stretch their lead to double digits and run away with the game early. L’Africain especially made his presence felt in the early stage of the game, scoring four treys in the first quarter alone.
Johnny Berhanemeskel was all over the court for the Gee-Gees as he contributed in nearly every category with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in only 24 minutes of play. “I think the idea around the team right now is that we are still a few strides away from where we want to be,” said Berhanemeskel. “Overall we are happy with how the season has gone so far. It’s pretty incredible to see the improvements this program has made since I started on this team and it’s an amazing feeling to be part of it.”
In the end the Gee-Gees offence appeared to be simply too strong for Waterloo as they maintained a big lead for the majority of the game, cruising to the victory.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Laurier 68 @ Carleton 104
The Carleton Ravens have started the season with seven straight wins after Friday night’s 104-68 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.
The Ravens dominated the scoreboard with 20 plus points in each quarter and had a significant rebounding advantage with Carleton coming out on top 57-32 in total rebounds.
Tyson Hinz (Ottawa, ON) led the Ravens scoring attack with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and made 10 of 15 field goal attempts.
Philip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) was right behind in points with 21 and 4 rebounds. Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) had a 15 point evening and took in 12 rebounds.
Source: Carleton Sports Info
McMaster 65 @ Queen’s 63
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 22, 2013) - Queen's Men's basketball (4-3) lost 65-63 to the McMaster Marauders (4-3), on Friday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre.
The Gaels got off to a slow start, trailing the visiting team 23-15 at the end of the first. The momentum maintained in the Marauder's favour in the second with Queen's fighting hard for every point and possession. The spark that helped the Gaels get out of their offensive rut was an assist by Sukhpreet Singh (Toronto) to the trailing Nikola Misljencevic (Ottawa) for a transition three late in the second. Queen's trailed 37-35 at the half.
The third quarter started off much better with a big three by Roshane Roberts (Vaughan, Ont.). This was followed by successive energizing plays by Mackenzie Simpson (Ottawa) who finished a euro-step left handed finger roll, half way through the third to tie the game. Queen's was unable to maintain any lead due to too many turnovers and the offensive precision by McMaster's Joseph Rocca. With 20 seconds left in the fourth, Roberts stole the ball and scored to put the Gaels within two. Seconds later, Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) stole an inbounds pass to give Queen's the last possession of the game and a chance to win.
The Gaels were unable to convert, and fell the Marauders 65-63.
Roberts had 13 points in the contest, followed by Misjencevic who added 11 points and eight rebounds. Joseph Rocca of McMaster led all scorers with 17 points.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Brock 71 @ York 85
Rookie guard Nathan Culbreath came off the bench and scored 22 points to lead the York University Lions men's basketball team to an 85-71 victory over the Brock Badgers at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night (Nov. 22).
Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) had a tremendous game, also adding five rebounds, five assists and five steals in addition to the game high in scoring. He capped off his career night with a big dunk in the final minutes of the contest.
The win was the Lion's fourth straight and improves their record to 5-2 on the year, which keeps them in fifth place in the ultra-competitive OUA East standings. The loss drops the Badgers to 0-7 on the year.
The Lions opened the game with a strong 21-13 first quarter, and increased that lead by another point at the half by outscoring the Badgers 19-18 to lead by nine at the break.
The Badgers chipped into the lead in the third quarter, and maintained that momentum in the fourth, capitalizing on several costly turnovers to take a lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Lions cleaned up their play down the stretch to get the lead back, and then made several key free throws in the last minutes to secure the win.
Ryan Ejim (Brampton, Ont.) continued his torrid scoring pace with another 20 points, and he added eight rebounds as well. Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.), the team's leading scorer, poured in 18 despite an off shooting night and also added five rebounds, two assists and one steal. Iheadindu is now 10th in OUA scoring with an average of 17.0 points per game, while Ejim is right behind him in 11th at 16.4.
Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.), the OUA rebounding leader, added a game-high 11 boards.
Brock's leading scorers were Tshing Kasamba (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Isaack Egueh (Ottawa) with 14 points each. Egueh also had nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Source: York Sports Info
Laurentian 77 @ Western 88
LONDON, Ont. – A game-high 27 points from Greg Morrow and stellar outside shooting helped the Western Mustangs men's basketball team pick up their first win of the season, downing the CIS No. 9 Laurentian Voyageurs 88-77 on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
While Morrow led the way it was far from a one-man show, as the Mustangs shot 51.7% from the field overall and nailing 45.5% of their shots from beyond the arc. The purple and white also had a big game on the boards, outrebounding their opponents 39-27, and Western head coach Brad Campbell was quick to point out that the win was a complete team effort.
"Morrow's 27 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists was a monster performance, but it took a monster game from other guys at key times as well," said Campbell.
The first half was a tale of two quarters as Laurentian got out to an early lead, eventually finishing the first quarter with a 26-19 advantage. Western turned the tables in the second frame, outscoring Laurentian 23-18, to close out the first 20 minutes of play trailing 42-44. Western connected on 50% of its shots from the field in the first half, however Laurentian's 65.4% connection rate proved to be the difference that gave the visitors the lead after two quarters.
In the second half the Mustangs put on a full defensive effort holding the Voyageurs to only 16% in three point shooting and keeping Laurentian to 43% shooting from the field. Western took the lead late in the third quarter and would never relinquish it, pulling away thanks in large part to going 6-9 on three pointers in the half, handing the Voyageurs their first loss with Western claiming an 88-77 victory.
In addition to Morrow's 27 points both Quinn Henderson and Peter Scholtes contributed consist scoring, with each recording 18 points in the win.
Source: Western Sports Info
Algoma 59 @ Windsor 83
WINDSOR- Josh Collins tallied a team-high 17 points, and the Windsor Lancers men's basketball team notched an 83-59 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday night at the St. Denis Centre.
The CIS No. 8 ranked Lancers (4-3) maintain their place at the top of the OUA West division with the victory, while the Thunderbirds (3-4) dip under the .500 mark and stand second-last in the East bracket.
Collins was 4-of-6 and notched two jump shots from beyond the arc in 25 minutes of court-time while going perfect from the free-throw line (7-for-7). Lien Phillip was one point shy of a double-double, dropping nine points and adding a game-best 11 rebounds on the night. Khalid Abdel-Gabar grabbed 14 points for the Lancers, while Bradford Parker added 10.
Reynaldo Carnakie recorded a game-high 18 points in a losing cause for the Thunderbirds, while Samy Mohamed tallied 11 points for the visitors.
The men used a dominant opening quarter to build a formidable 32-8 advantage through ten minutes of play, and finished the contest shooting just under 40% from the field compared to 33.8% from Algoma. The Thunderbirds brought down 52 rebounds, while the Lancers grabbed 43 to go along with five blocks on the evening, four of which came from Rotimi Osuntola Jr. The athletic guard put a stamp on the evening with a high-flying alley-oop dunk, finishing an arching pass from Enrico Diloreto in the second half, totalling seven points and two boards on the night.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
Ryerson 81 @ Guelph 68
GUELPH, Ont. (November 22, 2013) - The Guelph Gryphon's men's basketball team lost to the visiting CIS No. 6 Ryerson Rams 81-68 on Friday night at the W.F. Mitchell Centre.
Jack Beatty led the way for the Gryphon's with 13 points and five rebounds, while Michel Clark had 11 points and two assists.
Jahmal Jones led all scorers with 35 points, five assists, and four rebounds for the Ryerson Rams.
The Gryphon's took an early lead in the first quarter, hitting a few mid range jump shots. However, the Rams were unfazed by the early deficit. The Rams jacked up a lot of three-pointers early but failed to sink any, as Guelph held them to 0-7 from beyond the arc. The veteran presence of Yannick Walcott helped the Rams maintain their composure despite their early struggles. Two straight offensive turnovers by the Gryphon's gave the Rams ample opportunity to get back into the contest. The quarter ended with the Rams up 22-13, Trevor Thompson lead all Gryphon scorers with five points.
The Gryphon's battled hard in the second to cut the deficit. Multiple Gryphon players chipped in offensively, including four points and four boards from Jack Beatty. Defensively Guelph battled hard against the Rams players, allowing only 14 points against in the second. At the half Guelph shot 32% from the field (9-28), trailing Ryerson 36-28.
Down eight to open the second half the Gryphon's were looking for a big effort to take the lead. Guelph turned to the long ball to spur their offense. A three-pointer from Andrew Grant cut the deficit to seven with 7:34 left in the third quarter. After the Rams rallied to increase their lead to 11, back-to-back three pointers from Zachary Angus and Jack Beatty made it a 5-point contest with 5:30 left to play. After going 0-7 on 3-pointers in the opening half, Guelph managed to hit four 3's in the 3rd quarter alone. Beatty's seven points in the quarter helped the Gryphon's cut the lead to five heading into the final frame.
An early 10-5 run allowed Ryerson to double their lead to 10 to start the final quarter. A Michel Clark 3-pointer made it a 7-point game with 6:00 remaining on the clock. Despite the attempted Gryphon comeback, the Rams never seemed to let their pressure get to them. After the Rams extended the lead to 11, Jahmal Jones nailed a 3-point dagger to solidify the game for Ryerson with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Despite their best efforts to mount a comeback, the Gryphon's came up short, dropping the contest 81-68.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Toronto 55 @ Lakehead 75
The men's basketball team came out on top, 75-55, against the U of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday evening, marking their first home victory of the '13-14 regular season.
The 'Wolves opened up the game 15-9 after the first quarter, with both teams slow to get into their offensive flow. All nine Toronto points belonged to Dylan Churchill, courtesy of three 3-pointers. Churchill would finish with 15 points.
The 'Wolves showed a new line-up in playing both 7-footers, Brent Wallace (Brisbane, Aus. - photo left) and Andrew McCarthy (Scituate, Mass.) simultaneously during parts of the second quarter. Wallace would get into foul trouble and eventually have to sit, but not before a dunk and a blocked shot to his credit. McCarthy had a breakout game, going 7-of-7 from the field for a team-high 16 points in 21 minutes of play, his best output yet as a Thunderwolf.
Toronto kept within striking distance until the fourth quarter when Lakehead would run away with the game in the final 6 minutes.
The Blues were led by Alex Hill with 21 points (12-of-16 FT), while Dakota Laurin grabbed 8 rebounds.
Top scorers for Lakehead were Andrew McCarthy and Anthony McIntosh with 16 points apiece. Dwayne Harvey added 15 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Igor Lebov had 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Source: Lakehead Sports Info
Saturday, November 23
Laurier 68 @ Ottawa 89
The Gee-Gees men’s basketball team dispatched the visiting Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks by an 89-68 score on Saturday night, led by 21 points apiece from Caleb Agada and Johnny Berhanemeskel.
Despite the high score, no. 2 ranked Ottawa suffered from a power outage behind the arc, shooting just 4-22 from three-point land. To help make up for it, fourth-year post Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue notched his second double-double of the season, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Laurier was paced by 15 points from Will Coulthard and received 14 second-half points from all-star Max Allin. Allin fell victim to early foul trouble, picking up his third just 13 minutes into the contest. Lacking Allin’s veteran presence and scoring touch, the Golden Hawk offence struggled with shot selection throughout the evening.
The Gee-Gees burst out to a 26-13 start and continued to pour in the points, totalling 55 at the halftime break on 45 per cent shooting. Gonthier-Dubue picked up nine of his points in the first half, and the game seemed securely in Ottawa’s hands.
However, a renewed defensive effort by the Hawks and some mental lapses from the Gee-Gees combined to make the third quarter a 16-15 affair in favour of the purple and gold. Laurier closed the 23-point halftime gap to 15 points in the third, but were held at bay thanks to a surge of energy from Berhanemeskel.
Overall, Ottawa shot 46.4 per cent from the field and held Laurier to a 30.6 per cent night. Ottawa was also strong from the free throw line, going 21-for-23 on the evening.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Waterloo 58 @ Carleton 93
The Carleton Ravens put in a solid effort on Saturday night as they ran their unbeaten streak to eight straight games this season with a convincing 93-58 victory over the Waterloo Warriors.
The Ravens had four players in double digits including Phil Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) 17 points, Gavin Resch (Ottawa, ON) 13 points, Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) 12 points and Victor Raso (Hamilton, ON) 12 points.
Raso, the fourth year transfer student completed 4 of 6 three pointers playing 19 minutes against Waterloo.
Raso is starting to feel more comfortable in his role with the star studded Ravens’ line-up and appreciates being a part of the Carleton program.
“My job with the team is to rebound well and play solid defensively,” Razo explained.
“There is so much healthy competition on this team so it’s a constant battle to perform well and execute whenever I get a chance to play.”
Source: Carleton Sports Info
Brock 82 @ Queen’s 92
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 23, 2013) - The Queen's men's basketball team (5-3) beat the Brock Badgers (0-7) at the Athletic and Recreation Centre Saturday night, 92-82.
The Gaels took the early lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Badgers 25-11 in the first ten minutes of play. The tide started to turn for Queen's in the second as a bunch of missed close shots and turnovers helped Brock rally back. Within the second quarter, Brock brought the Gael's 20-point lead to within two. Both teams struggled with ball control, turning the ball over more than 25 times, which made the game very chaotic and inconsistent.
As the third quarter progressed, the Gaels started to find their rhythm again by making the extra pass and Sukhpreet Singh (Toronto) penetrating and dishing to open shooters like Roshane Roberts (Vaughan, Ont.) and Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.). The fourth quarter started with 68-54 lead for Queen's and they would hold on to win 92-82.
Daniel Elgadi led the offensive attack for Brock, finishing the game with 26 points and 13 rebounds. His teammate Brandon John contributed 23 points of his own. The leaders for the Gaels were Singh with 20 points and 11 boards, followed by Roberts with 19 and Faulkner with 17.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
McMaster 78 @ York 72
An impressive fourth quarter surge sputtered to an abrupt halt Saturday (Nov. 23), as a late rally by the York University Lions men's basketball team ultimately fell short, dropping a 78-72 affair to the McMaster Marauders in-front of a lively home crowd at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The loss now has the Lions sitting at 5-3 on the season.
It would be a team affair for the Marauders, with four players in double digit scoring. Taylor Black (Stoney Creek, Ont.) led with 13 points, adding six rebounds, two blocks, three steals, and three assists.
For the Lions, Ryan Ejim (Brampton, Ont.) was electrifying once again, converting an impressive 27 points, with seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and a beautiful blocked shot against the backboard on a McMaster lay-up. Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) was strong defensively, snatching nine rebounds, adding four blocked shots, and 13 points.
The teams looked evenly matched from the opening tip-off, trading points to an 8-8 draw midway through the first. But as the squads exchanged three pointers, McMaster began to pull away, assembling an eight point run to stun the Lions 19-13 in the first quarter.
The second frame would limp to a start, with action noticeably slowing on the hardwood. The cautioned pace forced both teams to continue their shooting attempts from the perimeter, but York's accuracy began to waver as they shot under 30 percent from the field. The Marauders on the other hand were converting, and converting often, cruising to a 36-28 lead entering half.
The third quarter saw the Lions slowly regain their footing, trading baskets back and forth throughout. But though York was keeping pace, they were unable to erase much of their deficit and close the Marauders' lead.
Meanwhile, McMaster's success with the long ball continued, as Nathan Pelech (Oakville, Ont.) would drain one from beyond the arc to beat the buzzer, giving McMaster a 58-49 advantage to end the third quarter.
York looked determined however, and the home crowd was wholeheartedly behind their team. Feeding off the energy, Ejim and company rallied to begin the period. Closing the distance to a single basket, McMaster called a timeout to settle their diminishing nerves. The score was sitting at 62-60 for the Marauders.
As the volume in the gymnasium became deafening, York would finally earn their first lead of the game, 68-67. But it would prove short lived, as the Marauders responded in kind, causing a couple key turnovers to wrestle back a 74-70 advantage.
Digging deep for more late game magic, the Lions found themselves unable to string together any scoring in the final moments, dropping the 78-72 contest.
Source: York Sports Info
Algoma 71 @ Western 82
LONDON, Ont. – Another impressive scoring outing from Greg Morrow alongside a fantastic defensive effort helped the Western Mustangs men's basketball team pick up their second consecutive victory game of the year, defeating the Algoma Thunderbirds 82-71 on Saturday night at Alumni Hall.
While the Mustangs shot an impressive 48% from the field going it was pointed out by head coach Brad Campbell that offence was not the only focus of the night.
"I told my guys during the half that offence does not win games, defence does and that's what turned it around," said Campbell.
For the second consecutive night Morrow led all scorers, finishing with 31 points and adding 10 rebounds to record his second straight double-double. Eric McDonald added 18 points alongside Quinn Henderson who posted 13 points on the night. Brett Zufelt led the Algoma scorers with 20 points with Reynaldo Carnakie coming in just behind with 17.
The first half saw the Thunderbirds offence playing confidently as they connected on 62% of their shots from the floor matched up against the Mustangs who shot 43%. After 20 minutes of play, Algoma had the advantage over Western by a score of 44 to 39. McDonald drove the purple and white offence in the first half, scoring 14 points, including going 4-6 from beyond the three point arc.
In the second half the Mustangs tightened up their defence, holding Algoma to 11 points and causing 18 turnovers in the third quarter, which translated to another 21 points, giving the Mustang a 65-55 lead after 30 minutes. It was a lead the team would never relinquish, outscoring the Thunderbirds 17-16 in the final frame to walk away with an 82-71 victory.
Source: Western Sports Info
Laurentian 88 @ Windsor 96
WINDSOR, Ont.- Josh Collins recorded a triple-double, guiding the Windsor Lancers men's basketball team to a hard-fought 96-88 victory over the pesky Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday night at the St. Denis Centre.
The Toronto native tallied a team-high 24 points to go along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds on the evening, and shot 8-of-16 from the floor including a critical three-pointer that helped stem a Voyageurs comeback bid late in regulation. Collins then iced the contest by sinking four straight free-throws to maintain Windsor's spread up until the final buzzer. A total of six Lancers hit double-digits on the evening, helping the Lancers to their third-straight victory.
Lien Phillip recorded a double-double, including 19 points a game-high 17 rebounds, while Enrico Diloreto added 18 points for the Lancers (5-3), who maintain their place at the top the OUA West division following this weekend's competiton.
The Voyageurs (6-2), who suffered their second loss in as many nights, were led by Alex Ratte who had an incredible shooting performance, going 19-of-29 for a contest-high 48 points. Ratte dropped a game-high seven three-pointers, helping Laurentian keep the contest close before Windsor pulled away in the last couple of minutes.
Windsor out-rebounded the Voyageurs 49-41, and shot 38.8% from the floor while the visitors shot 52.1% on the evening. Laurentian turned over the ball on 26 occasions throughout the evening, and the Lancers took advantage, notching 22 points off the Voyageurs' turnovers.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
Toronto 53 @ Guelph 78
GUELPH, Ont. – (November 23, 2013) – Leading by four points at the half, the Gryphon men's basketball team outscored the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues 50-29 in the final 20 minutes of action to conclude with a 78-53 victory at the W.F. Mitchell Centre Saturday night.
Guelph's Zachary Angus led all scorers in the game with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Jack Beatty chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Gryphon's.
Alex Hill led Toronto with 19 points and 4 boards for the Varsity Blues.
The game opened with both teams exchanging baskets. Back to back Toronto 3-pointers gave the Varsity Blues a 10-7 lead with five and a half minutes to play in the opening quarter. Guelph had trouble shooting the ball in the opening frame as they shot just 22% (4-18) from the field and 14% (1-7) from beyond the arc. Their early struggles held them to just 11 points in the quarter as they trailed the Varsity Blues 18-11 after one.
Guelph opened the second looking to improve on their poor shooting percentage. Gryphon guard Zach Angus picked the pocket of Toronto's Nicholas Burke and drove the ball the length of the court for the lay in to cut the deficit to just three. Guelph's strong defensive presence in the second led to many Toronto turnovers, forcing them to take a timeout with 7:31 to play and a lead of just one over the Gryphon's. Poor shooting continued to plague the Gryphon's as they couldn't improve their field goal percentage to 27% from the field, but their stellar defense allowed them to slowly chip away at the lead. Six straight points from the Gryphon's including four from Adam Kemp gave the Gryphon's a 28-23 lead. Guelph held Toronto to just six points in the quarter, forcing seven turnovers. Going into the break Guelph lead 28-24.
After both teams started the half by scoring on their first two possessions, Daniel Dooley hit an open 3-pointer to extend the Guelph lead to 35-28. A Zach Angus and-one on the next possession gave Guelph a 10-point lead with seven minutes to go. Guelph's offense finally seemed to start clicking in the third, scoring 25 points in the third and shooting 44% (8-18) from the field. Zach Angus led the Gryphon's with seven points in the quarter. The strong defensive play continued for the Gryphon's as they held Toronto to 29% from the field.
Guelph's Zach Angus opened the quarter with an and-one play on the Gryphon's first possession to give Guelph a 12-point, 55-43 lead. On Guelph's next possession Angus dropped a great dime to Trevor Thompson to give Guelph a 57-43 lead. Another basket on Guelph's third possession of the fourth gave the Gryphon's a 16 point lead, forcing Toronto to take a time out. Guelph's aggressive offensive play caused U of T's defenders problems throughout the night, forcing them to take unnecessary fouls. Toronto's Dylan Churchill and Denis Ankrah both fouled out in the fourth. Zach Angus seemed to control play in the fourth, scoring almost at will. After a slow start to the game on offense, Guelph finally found their offensive stroke to match their strong defense, defeating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 78-53.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Ryerson 77 @ Lakehead 65
The men's basketball team didn't have enough answers on Saturday evening, losing 77-65 to the CIS #6 ranked Ryerson Rams.
Despite the loss, there were visible improvements among the young 'Wolves group who have played 4 of the CIS' top 10 teams thus far in the regular season.
Against a speedy Rams' squad, Lakehead's transition defense was continuously tested, and for about 75% of the game would get a passing grade.
That last quarter (25%) would bite them however, as Lakehead's defense gave up 24 points in the final 10 minutes. That being said the 'Wolves did come within two points, with the score 53-51 early in the fourth quarter, and would have tied the game had a lay-up by Justin Bell fallen through, instead of rattling around the the iron before popping out inexplicably.
Bell also offered great relief minutes for Lakehead bigs and made his presence in the lane felt by the Rams, finishing with 2 points and 3 rebounds in 7 minutes. Alex Robichaud was another standout for Lakehead, who scored 9 points and was able to draw two charges. Rookie point guard Nolan McKenzie (Oakville, ON) played 17 minutes, racking up 4 assists and nailing a triple to keep Lakehead in the game.
The 'Wolves were led by Anthony McIntosh with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and a perfect 5-5 from the stripe. Dwayne Harvey had 10 points, and Brent Wallace had his best game yet with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
For Ryerson, Jahmal Jones had a game-high 21 points, and Kadeem Green scored 16 points with 8 rebounds.
Source: Lakehead Sports Info
Waterloo 60 @ Ottawa 98
There are not many negative remarks that can be made on no. 2 ranked Ottawa’s offence this season. The squad is first in many major offensive categories in the CIS and Friday night was no exception as they led the Warriors from start to finish, taking a dominant 98-60 win on home court.
Mike L’Africain of Oakville, Ont., led the way on the score sheet with a game-high 23 points and two assists. It was a career night for L’Africain as his point total topped his previous career high of 21 points set in his rookie season.
“Our performance overall was good. I think there are certain things will still have to work on in order to get where we want to be as a team,” said the third-year guard. “Tonight was a great night to work on certain things and I don’t think we did as well as we could have. Overall we still came out with a big victory and we are happy about that.”
Waterloo’s leading scorer on the season, Jaspreet Gill kicked in 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from long range to pace the visitors. Ottawa sank 15 treys as a team, shooting 45.5 per cent from long distance.
The Gee-Gees were on fire in the early going as they came out of the gates scoring 30 first quarter points and shooting 7-11 from long range. The second quarter was more of the same for the Gee-Gees as they were able to stretch their lead to double digits and run away with the game early. L’Africain especially made his presence felt in the early stage of the game, scoring four treys in the first quarter alone.
Johnny Berhanemeskel was all over the court for the Gee-Gees as he contributed in nearly every category with 19 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in only 24 minutes of play. “I think the idea around the team right now is that we are still a few strides away from where we want to be,” said Berhanemeskel. “Overall we are happy with how the season has gone so far. It’s pretty incredible to see the improvements this program has made since I started on this team and it’s an amazing feeling to be part of it.”
In the end the Gee-Gees offence appeared to be simply too strong for Waterloo as they maintained a big lead for the majority of the game, cruising to the victory.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Laurier 68 @ Carleton 104
The Carleton Ravens have started the season with seven straight wins after Friday night’s 104-68 victory over the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.
The Ravens dominated the scoreboard with 20 plus points in each quarter and had a significant rebounding advantage with Carleton coming out on top 57-32 in total rebounds.
Tyson Hinz (Ottawa, ON) led the Ravens scoring attack with 24 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and made 10 of 15 field goal attempts.
Philip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) was right behind in points with 21 and 4 rebounds. Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) had a 15 point evening and took in 12 rebounds.
Source: Carleton Sports Info
McMaster 65 @ Queen’s 63
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 22, 2013) - Queen's Men's basketball (4-3) lost 65-63 to the McMaster Marauders (4-3), on Friday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre.
The Gaels got off to a slow start, trailing the visiting team 23-15 at the end of the first. The momentum maintained in the Marauder's favour in the second with Queen's fighting hard for every point and possession. The spark that helped the Gaels get out of their offensive rut was an assist by Sukhpreet Singh (Toronto) to the trailing Nikola Misljencevic (Ottawa) for a transition three late in the second. Queen's trailed 37-35 at the half.
The third quarter started off much better with a big three by Roshane Roberts (Vaughan, Ont.). This was followed by successive energizing plays by Mackenzie Simpson (Ottawa) who finished a euro-step left handed finger roll, half way through the third to tie the game. Queen's was unable to maintain any lead due to too many turnovers and the offensive precision by McMaster's Joseph Rocca. With 20 seconds left in the fourth, Roberts stole the ball and scored to put the Gaels within two. Seconds later, Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) stole an inbounds pass to give Queen's the last possession of the game and a chance to win.
The Gaels were unable to convert, and fell the Marauders 65-63.
Roberts had 13 points in the contest, followed by Misjencevic who added 11 points and eight rebounds. Joseph Rocca of McMaster led all scorers with 17 points.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Brock 71 @ York 85
Rookie guard Nathan Culbreath came off the bench and scored 22 points to lead the York University Lions men's basketball team to an 85-71 victory over the Brock Badgers at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night (Nov. 22).
Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) had a tremendous game, also adding five rebounds, five assists and five steals in addition to the game high in scoring. He capped off his career night with a big dunk in the final minutes of the contest.
The win was the Lion's fourth straight and improves their record to 5-2 on the year, which keeps them in fifth place in the ultra-competitive OUA East standings. The loss drops the Badgers to 0-7 on the year.
The Lions opened the game with a strong 21-13 first quarter, and increased that lead by another point at the half by outscoring the Badgers 19-18 to lead by nine at the break.
The Badgers chipped into the lead in the third quarter, and maintained that momentum in the fourth, capitalizing on several costly turnovers to take a lead early in the fourth quarter. But the Lions cleaned up their play down the stretch to get the lead back, and then made several key free throws in the last minutes to secure the win.
Ryan Ejim (Brampton, Ont.) continued his torrid scoring pace with another 20 points, and he added eight rebounds as well. Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.), the team's leading scorer, poured in 18 despite an off shooting night and also added five rebounds, two assists and one steal. Iheadindu is now 10th in OUA scoring with an average of 17.0 points per game, while Ejim is right behind him in 11th at 16.4.
Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.), the OUA rebounding leader, added a game-high 11 boards.
Brock's leading scorers were Tshing Kasamba (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Isaack Egueh (Ottawa) with 14 points each. Egueh also had nine rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Source: York Sports Info
Laurentian 77 @ Western 88
LONDON, Ont. – A game-high 27 points from Greg Morrow and stellar outside shooting helped the Western Mustangs men's basketball team pick up their first win of the season, downing the CIS No. 9 Laurentian Voyageurs 88-77 on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
While Morrow led the way it was far from a one-man show, as the Mustangs shot 51.7% from the field overall and nailing 45.5% of their shots from beyond the arc. The purple and white also had a big game on the boards, outrebounding their opponents 39-27, and Western head coach Brad Campbell was quick to point out that the win was a complete team effort.
"Morrow's 27 points, 15 rebounds, and seven assists was a monster performance, but it took a monster game from other guys at key times as well," said Campbell.
The first half was a tale of two quarters as Laurentian got out to an early lead, eventually finishing the first quarter with a 26-19 advantage. Western turned the tables in the second frame, outscoring Laurentian 23-18, to close out the first 20 minutes of play trailing 42-44. Western connected on 50% of its shots from the field in the first half, however Laurentian's 65.4% connection rate proved to be the difference that gave the visitors the lead after two quarters.
In the second half the Mustangs put on a full defensive effort holding the Voyageurs to only 16% in three point shooting and keeping Laurentian to 43% shooting from the field. Western took the lead late in the third quarter and would never relinquish it, pulling away thanks in large part to going 6-9 on three pointers in the half, handing the Voyageurs their first loss with Western claiming an 88-77 victory.
In addition to Morrow's 27 points both Quinn Henderson and Peter Scholtes contributed consist scoring, with each recording 18 points in the win.
Source: Western Sports Info
Algoma 59 @ Windsor 83
WINDSOR- Josh Collins tallied a team-high 17 points, and the Windsor Lancers men's basketball team notched an 83-59 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds on Friday night at the St. Denis Centre.
The CIS No. 8 ranked Lancers (4-3) maintain their place at the top of the OUA West division with the victory, while the Thunderbirds (3-4) dip under the .500 mark and stand second-last in the East bracket.
Collins was 4-of-6 and notched two jump shots from beyond the arc in 25 minutes of court-time while going perfect from the free-throw line (7-for-7). Lien Phillip was one point shy of a double-double, dropping nine points and adding a game-best 11 rebounds on the night. Khalid Abdel-Gabar grabbed 14 points for the Lancers, while Bradford Parker added 10.
Reynaldo Carnakie recorded a game-high 18 points in a losing cause for the Thunderbirds, while Samy Mohamed tallied 11 points for the visitors.
The men used a dominant opening quarter to build a formidable 32-8 advantage through ten minutes of play, and finished the contest shooting just under 40% from the field compared to 33.8% from Algoma. The Thunderbirds brought down 52 rebounds, while the Lancers grabbed 43 to go along with five blocks on the evening, four of which came from Rotimi Osuntola Jr. The athletic guard put a stamp on the evening with a high-flying alley-oop dunk, finishing an arching pass from Enrico Diloreto in the second half, totalling seven points and two boards on the night.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
Ryerson 81 @ Guelph 68
GUELPH, Ont. (November 22, 2013) - The Guelph Gryphon's men's basketball team lost to the visiting CIS No. 6 Ryerson Rams 81-68 on Friday night at the W.F. Mitchell Centre.
Jack Beatty led the way for the Gryphon's with 13 points and five rebounds, while Michel Clark had 11 points and two assists.
Jahmal Jones led all scorers with 35 points, five assists, and four rebounds for the Ryerson Rams.
The Gryphon's took an early lead in the first quarter, hitting a few mid range jump shots. However, the Rams were unfazed by the early deficit. The Rams jacked up a lot of three-pointers early but failed to sink any, as Guelph held them to 0-7 from beyond the arc. The veteran presence of Yannick Walcott helped the Rams maintain their composure despite their early struggles. Two straight offensive turnovers by the Gryphon's gave the Rams ample opportunity to get back into the contest. The quarter ended with the Rams up 22-13, Trevor Thompson lead all Gryphon scorers with five points.
The Gryphon's battled hard in the second to cut the deficit. Multiple Gryphon players chipped in offensively, including four points and four boards from Jack Beatty. Defensively Guelph battled hard against the Rams players, allowing only 14 points against in the second. At the half Guelph shot 32% from the field (9-28), trailing Ryerson 36-28.
Down eight to open the second half the Gryphon's were looking for a big effort to take the lead. Guelph turned to the long ball to spur their offense. A three-pointer from Andrew Grant cut the deficit to seven with 7:34 left in the third quarter. After the Rams rallied to increase their lead to 11, back-to-back three pointers from Zachary Angus and Jack Beatty made it a 5-point contest with 5:30 left to play. After going 0-7 on 3-pointers in the opening half, Guelph managed to hit four 3's in the 3rd quarter alone. Beatty's seven points in the quarter helped the Gryphon's cut the lead to five heading into the final frame.
An early 10-5 run allowed Ryerson to double their lead to 10 to start the final quarter. A Michel Clark 3-pointer made it a 7-point game with 6:00 remaining on the clock. Despite the attempted Gryphon comeback, the Rams never seemed to let their pressure get to them. After the Rams extended the lead to 11, Jahmal Jones nailed a 3-point dagger to solidify the game for Ryerson with less than three minutes remaining in the game. Despite their best efforts to mount a comeback, the Gryphon's came up short, dropping the contest 81-68.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Toronto 55 @ Lakehead 75
The men's basketball team came out on top, 75-55, against the U of Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday evening, marking their first home victory of the '13-14 regular season.
The 'Wolves opened up the game 15-9 after the first quarter, with both teams slow to get into their offensive flow. All nine Toronto points belonged to Dylan Churchill, courtesy of three 3-pointers. Churchill would finish with 15 points.
The 'Wolves showed a new line-up in playing both 7-footers, Brent Wallace (Brisbane, Aus. - photo left) and Andrew McCarthy (Scituate, Mass.) simultaneously during parts of the second quarter. Wallace would get into foul trouble and eventually have to sit, but not before a dunk and a blocked shot to his credit. McCarthy had a breakout game, going 7-of-7 from the field for a team-high 16 points in 21 minutes of play, his best output yet as a Thunderwolf.
Toronto kept within striking distance until the fourth quarter when Lakehead would run away with the game in the final 6 minutes.
The Blues were led by Alex Hill with 21 points (12-of-16 FT), while Dakota Laurin grabbed 8 rebounds.
Top scorers for Lakehead were Andrew McCarthy and Anthony McIntosh with 16 points apiece. Dwayne Harvey added 15 points with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Igor Lebov had 8 points and 8 rebounds.
Source: Lakehead Sports Info
Saturday, November 23
Laurier 68 @ Ottawa 89
The Gee-Gees men’s basketball team dispatched the visiting Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks by an 89-68 score on Saturday night, led by 21 points apiece from Caleb Agada and Johnny Berhanemeskel.
Despite the high score, no. 2 ranked Ottawa suffered from a power outage behind the arc, shooting just 4-22 from three-point land. To help make up for it, fourth-year post Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue notched his second double-double of the season, recording 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Laurier was paced by 15 points from Will Coulthard and received 14 second-half points from all-star Max Allin. Allin fell victim to early foul trouble, picking up his third just 13 minutes into the contest. Lacking Allin’s veteran presence and scoring touch, the Golden Hawk offence struggled with shot selection throughout the evening.
The Gee-Gees burst out to a 26-13 start and continued to pour in the points, totalling 55 at the halftime break on 45 per cent shooting. Gonthier-Dubue picked up nine of his points in the first half, and the game seemed securely in Ottawa’s hands.
However, a renewed defensive effort by the Hawks and some mental lapses from the Gee-Gees combined to make the third quarter a 16-15 affair in favour of the purple and gold. Laurier closed the 23-point halftime gap to 15 points in the third, but were held at bay thanks to a surge of energy from Berhanemeskel.
Overall, Ottawa shot 46.4 per cent from the field and held Laurier to a 30.6 per cent night. Ottawa was also strong from the free throw line, going 21-for-23 on the evening.
Source: Ottawa Sports Info
Waterloo 58 @ Carleton 93
The Carleton Ravens put in a solid effort on Saturday night as they ran their unbeaten streak to eight straight games this season with a convincing 93-58 victory over the Waterloo Warriors.
The Ravens had four players in double digits including Phil Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) 17 points, Gavin Resch (Ottawa, ON) 13 points, Thomas Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) 12 points and Victor Raso (Hamilton, ON) 12 points.
Raso, the fourth year transfer student completed 4 of 6 three pointers playing 19 minutes against Waterloo.
Raso is starting to feel more comfortable in his role with the star studded Ravens’ line-up and appreciates being a part of the Carleton program.
“My job with the team is to rebound well and play solid defensively,” Razo explained.
“There is so much healthy competition on this team so it’s a constant battle to perform well and execute whenever I get a chance to play.”
Source: Carleton Sports Info
Brock 82 @ Queen’s 92
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 23, 2013) - The Queen's men's basketball team (5-3) beat the Brock Badgers (0-7) at the Athletic and Recreation Centre Saturday night, 92-82.
The Gaels took the early lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Badgers 25-11 in the first ten minutes of play. The tide started to turn for Queen's in the second as a bunch of missed close shots and turnovers helped Brock rally back. Within the second quarter, Brock brought the Gael's 20-point lead to within two. Both teams struggled with ball control, turning the ball over more than 25 times, which made the game very chaotic and inconsistent.
As the third quarter progressed, the Gaels started to find their rhythm again by making the extra pass and Sukhpreet Singh (Toronto) penetrating and dishing to open shooters like Roshane Roberts (Vaughan, Ont.) and Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.). The fourth quarter started with 68-54 lead for Queen's and they would hold on to win 92-82.
Daniel Elgadi led the offensive attack for Brock, finishing the game with 26 points and 13 rebounds. His teammate Brandon John contributed 23 points of his own. The leaders for the Gaels were Singh with 20 points and 11 boards, followed by Roberts with 19 and Faulkner with 17.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
McMaster 78 @ York 72
An impressive fourth quarter surge sputtered to an abrupt halt Saturday (Nov. 23), as a late rally by the York University Lions men's basketball team ultimately fell short, dropping a 78-72 affair to the McMaster Marauders in-front of a lively home crowd at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The loss now has the Lions sitting at 5-3 on the season.
It would be a team affair for the Marauders, with four players in double digit scoring. Taylor Black (Stoney Creek, Ont.) led with 13 points, adding six rebounds, two blocks, three steals, and three assists.
For the Lions, Ryan Ejim (Brampton, Ont.) was electrifying once again, converting an impressive 27 points, with seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and a beautiful blocked shot against the backboard on a McMaster lay-up. Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) was strong defensively, snatching nine rebounds, adding four blocked shots, and 13 points.
The teams looked evenly matched from the opening tip-off, trading points to an 8-8 draw midway through the first. But as the squads exchanged three pointers, McMaster began to pull away, assembling an eight point run to stun the Lions 19-13 in the first quarter.
The second frame would limp to a start, with action noticeably slowing on the hardwood. The cautioned pace forced both teams to continue their shooting attempts from the perimeter, but York's accuracy began to waver as they shot under 30 percent from the field. The Marauders on the other hand were converting, and converting often, cruising to a 36-28 lead entering half.
The third quarter saw the Lions slowly regain their footing, trading baskets back and forth throughout. But though York was keeping pace, they were unable to erase much of their deficit and close the Marauders' lead.
Meanwhile, McMaster's success with the long ball continued, as Nathan Pelech (Oakville, Ont.) would drain one from beyond the arc to beat the buzzer, giving McMaster a 58-49 advantage to end the third quarter.
York looked determined however, and the home crowd was wholeheartedly behind their team. Feeding off the energy, Ejim and company rallied to begin the period. Closing the distance to a single basket, McMaster called a timeout to settle their diminishing nerves. The score was sitting at 62-60 for the Marauders.
As the volume in the gymnasium became deafening, York would finally earn their first lead of the game, 68-67. But it would prove short lived, as the Marauders responded in kind, causing a couple key turnovers to wrestle back a 74-70 advantage.
Digging deep for more late game magic, the Lions found themselves unable to string together any scoring in the final moments, dropping the 78-72 contest.
Source: York Sports Info
Algoma 71 @ Western 82
LONDON, Ont. – Another impressive scoring outing from Greg Morrow alongside a fantastic defensive effort helped the Western Mustangs men's basketball team pick up their second consecutive victory game of the year, defeating the Algoma Thunderbirds 82-71 on Saturday night at Alumni Hall.
While the Mustangs shot an impressive 48% from the field going it was pointed out by head coach Brad Campbell that offence was not the only focus of the night.
"I told my guys during the half that offence does not win games, defence does and that's what turned it around," said Campbell.
For the second consecutive night Morrow led all scorers, finishing with 31 points and adding 10 rebounds to record his second straight double-double. Eric McDonald added 18 points alongside Quinn Henderson who posted 13 points on the night. Brett Zufelt led the Algoma scorers with 20 points with Reynaldo Carnakie coming in just behind with 17.
The first half saw the Thunderbirds offence playing confidently as they connected on 62% of their shots from the floor matched up against the Mustangs who shot 43%. After 20 minutes of play, Algoma had the advantage over Western by a score of 44 to 39. McDonald drove the purple and white offence in the first half, scoring 14 points, including going 4-6 from beyond the three point arc.
In the second half the Mustangs tightened up their defence, holding Algoma to 11 points and causing 18 turnovers in the third quarter, which translated to another 21 points, giving the Mustang a 65-55 lead after 30 minutes. It was a lead the team would never relinquish, outscoring the Thunderbirds 17-16 in the final frame to walk away with an 82-71 victory.
Source: Western Sports Info
Laurentian 88 @ Windsor 96
WINDSOR, Ont.- Josh Collins recorded a triple-double, guiding the Windsor Lancers men's basketball team to a hard-fought 96-88 victory over the pesky Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday night at the St. Denis Centre.
The Toronto native tallied a team-high 24 points to go along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds on the evening, and shot 8-of-16 from the floor including a critical three-pointer that helped stem a Voyageurs comeback bid late in regulation. Collins then iced the contest by sinking four straight free-throws to maintain Windsor's spread up until the final buzzer. A total of six Lancers hit double-digits on the evening, helping the Lancers to their third-straight victory.
Lien Phillip recorded a double-double, including 19 points a game-high 17 rebounds, while Enrico Diloreto added 18 points for the Lancers (5-3), who maintain their place at the top the OUA West division following this weekend's competiton.
The Voyageurs (6-2), who suffered their second loss in as many nights, were led by Alex Ratte who had an incredible shooting performance, going 19-of-29 for a contest-high 48 points. Ratte dropped a game-high seven three-pointers, helping Laurentian keep the contest close before Windsor pulled away in the last couple of minutes.
Windsor out-rebounded the Voyageurs 49-41, and shot 38.8% from the floor while the visitors shot 52.1% on the evening. Laurentian turned over the ball on 26 occasions throughout the evening, and the Lancers took advantage, notching 22 points off the Voyageurs' turnovers.
Source: Windsor Sports Info
Toronto 53 @ Guelph 78
GUELPH, Ont. – (November 23, 2013) – Leading by four points at the half, the Gryphon men's basketball team outscored the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues 50-29 in the final 20 minutes of action to conclude with a 78-53 victory at the W.F. Mitchell Centre Saturday night.
Guelph's Zachary Angus led all scorers in the game with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Jack Beatty chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Gryphon's.
Alex Hill led Toronto with 19 points and 4 boards for the Varsity Blues.
The game opened with both teams exchanging baskets. Back to back Toronto 3-pointers gave the Varsity Blues a 10-7 lead with five and a half minutes to play in the opening quarter. Guelph had trouble shooting the ball in the opening frame as they shot just 22% (4-18) from the field and 14% (1-7) from beyond the arc. Their early struggles held them to just 11 points in the quarter as they trailed the Varsity Blues 18-11 after one.
Guelph opened the second looking to improve on their poor shooting percentage. Gryphon guard Zach Angus picked the pocket of Toronto's Nicholas Burke and drove the ball the length of the court for the lay in to cut the deficit to just three. Guelph's strong defensive presence in the second led to many Toronto turnovers, forcing them to take a timeout with 7:31 to play and a lead of just one over the Gryphon's. Poor shooting continued to plague the Gryphon's as they couldn't improve their field goal percentage to 27% from the field, but their stellar defense allowed them to slowly chip away at the lead. Six straight points from the Gryphon's including four from Adam Kemp gave the Gryphon's a 28-23 lead. Guelph held Toronto to just six points in the quarter, forcing seven turnovers. Going into the break Guelph lead 28-24.
After both teams started the half by scoring on their first two possessions, Daniel Dooley hit an open 3-pointer to extend the Guelph lead to 35-28. A Zach Angus and-one on the next possession gave Guelph a 10-point lead with seven minutes to go. Guelph's offense finally seemed to start clicking in the third, scoring 25 points in the third and shooting 44% (8-18) from the field. Zach Angus led the Gryphon's with seven points in the quarter. The strong defensive play continued for the Gryphon's as they held Toronto to 29% from the field.
Guelph's Zach Angus opened the quarter with an and-one play on the Gryphon's first possession to give Guelph a 12-point, 55-43 lead. On Guelph's next possession Angus dropped a great dime to Trevor Thompson to give Guelph a 57-43 lead. Another basket on Guelph's third possession of the fourth gave the Gryphon's a 16 point lead, forcing Toronto to take a time out. Guelph's aggressive offensive play caused U of T's defenders problems throughout the night, forcing them to take unnecessary fouls. Toronto's Dylan Churchill and Denis Ankrah both fouled out in the fourth. Zach Angus seemed to control play in the fourth, scoring almost at will. After a slow start to the game on offense, Guelph finally found their offensive stroke to match their strong defense, defeating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 78-53.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Ryerson 77 @ Lakehead 65
The men's basketball team didn't have enough answers on Saturday evening, losing 77-65 to the CIS #6 ranked Ryerson Rams.
Despite the loss, there were visible improvements among the young 'Wolves group who have played 4 of the CIS' top 10 teams thus far in the regular season.
Against a speedy Rams' squad, Lakehead's transition defense was continuously tested, and for about 75% of the game would get a passing grade.
That last quarter (25%) would bite them however, as Lakehead's defense gave up 24 points in the final 10 minutes. That being said the 'Wolves did come within two points, with the score 53-51 early in the fourth quarter, and would have tied the game had a lay-up by Justin Bell fallen through, instead of rattling around the the iron before popping out inexplicably.
Bell also offered great relief minutes for Lakehead bigs and made his presence in the lane felt by the Rams, finishing with 2 points and 3 rebounds in 7 minutes. Alex Robichaud was another standout for Lakehead, who scored 9 points and was able to draw two charges. Rookie point guard Nolan McKenzie (Oakville, ON) played 17 minutes, racking up 4 assists and nailing a triple to keep Lakehead in the game.
The 'Wolves were led by Anthony McIntosh with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting and a perfect 5-5 from the stripe. Dwayne Harvey had 10 points, and Brent Wallace had his best game yet with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
For Ryerson, Jahmal Jones had a game-high 21 points, and Kadeem Green scored 16 points with 8 rebounds.
Source: Lakehead Sports Info