M-BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Marauders down Thunderwolves in back-to-back games
The McMaster men's basketball team got its first OUA conference win on Friday, with an 85-66 decision over the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves. At times it seemed like a hockey game was going to break out, as a total of 59 fouls were called between the two teams.
Friday, Nov. 14
Lakehead 65 @ McMaster 85
The McMaster men's basketball team got its first OUA conference win on Friday, with an 85-66 decision over the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves. At times it seemed like a hockey game was going to break out, as a total of 59 fouls were called between the two teams.
The Marauders led this one from start to finish, opening up an 11-4 lead off the tip, although the Thunderwolves closed to within a basket at 17-15 after 10 minutes.
The second and third quarters were identical 23-18 wins by McMaster, so that after three quarters the Maroon lead was 63-51. The Mac lead got up to 21 in the fourth quarter, before both teams cleared the bench and closed out the final 19 point margin of victory for the Marauders.
In a game where the whistles prevented any kind of flow for either team, McMaster used its depth to maintain control. Top shooter for McMaster was Taylor Black with 17, while grabbing 11 rebounds for the double-double. Rohan Boney also had a double-double scoring 13 with 11 boards. Adam Presutti chipped in 12 points. On the Lakehead ledger Becarius Dinkins led with 14, while Mor Menashe dropped in 13.
The Marauders had a sizeable 52 to 24 advantage in rebounding for the game. Neither team shot very well with McMaster at 41% from the floor, and Lakehead making 31% of its attempts.
Carleton 85 @ Nipissing 50
The Carleton Ravens defeated the Nipissing Lakers 85-50 in the first ever Lakers basketball game as a member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
Thomas Scrubb exploded for a team high 26 points and 8 rebounds, on 11 for 17 shooting and in just 22 minutes of action. While Cameron Smythe (11 points, including 5-5 from the free throw line) was the only other Raven in double digits, the team as a whole was brutally efficient. The Ravens shot 48% from the floor, 43% from beyond the arc, and 11 for 11 from the free throw line. Guards Guillaume Payen Boucard (9 points on 75% shooting), Victor Raso (9 points going 3-4 from three), Connor Wood (8 points), and Gavin Resch (8 points) all sparked offense for Carleton.
Lakers guard Jordon Campbell led the home team with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Three other Lakers (Marvin Ngonadi, Marcos Clennon, and Joey Puddister) chipped in with 7 points each.
In the end, it was the rebounding and turnover difference that decided the game. Carleton grabbed a total of 14 offensive rebounds (including 5 from Thomas Scubb), leading to 12 second chance points. Nipissing turned the ball over 16 times which the Ravens turned into 19 more points.
Ottawa 95 @ Laurentian 65
Caleb Agada and Johnny Berhanemeskel lifted the Gee-Gees past the Laurentian Voyageurs and to a 3-0 record while both averaged nearly a point per minute. The pair accounted for 47 of the Gee-Gees' 95 points in a 95-65 victory over the Voyageurs on Friday night. Agada recorded a double-double adding 15 rebounds to his 23 points.
The Gee-Gees continued their torrid scoring pace with another 90 plus point game. The Voyageurs were frustrated by the Gee-Gees continuing ability to get in their face on shot attempts. uOttawa used their decided size advantage and superior quickness to block six shots, cause 18 turnovers, and record 10 steals.
Coming out of halftime, the Voyageurs kept pace with the Gee-Gees in the third putting up 25 points to stay in it. But they ran out of gas in the fourth, scoring just 11 points to succumb to the Gee-Gees.
uOttawa's 52 per cent shooting cooled off in the fourth quarter, but that didn't matter as the game was well out of reach at that point.
The bench helped contribute nearly a third of the points as Matt Plunkett made four three-pointers and added an athletic baseline dunk to lead the charge.
Laurier 77 @ York 68
The York University Lions men's basketball team lost 77-68 to the Laurier Golden Hawks on Friday (Nov. 14) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions came close to recording a dramatic comeback in the final quarter, but the Golden Hawks' defence kept the home team at bay for an away win.
Both teams started intensely. The Lions were explosive in the first few minutes as Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.) opened the game with a three-pointer.
Laurier's James Agyeman used his agility to outpace his man and score on the team's breakaways.
It was a tight game until the Golden Hawks were awarded three consecutive free-throws to take the lead at the end of the quarter at 21-18.
The Lions squandered chances during possession as their three-point attempts were not succeeding. The Golden Hawks were able to extend their lead through a series of mistakes committed by the Lions.
Kyrie Coleman of the Golden Hawks recorded a series of blocks that led to points on the other side. In one instance, Coleman blocked a terrific attempt from Othneil Russell (Woodbridge, Ont.). The ball was then played to Luke Allin, who scored a long shot for three points.
With less than one minute left in the half, the Lions made a quick hustle for the ball in their defensive half and delivered a long pass ahead to Nathan Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.). Culbreath stumbled to release a lay-up but was able to find the right balance to score the final basket of the half, but Laurier led 41-26.
Despite the accurate passes by the Lions, the team was not able to break the opposition's defence in the third quarter. With three minutes left on the clock, the Lions picked up speed with a good ball movement that resulted in rookie guard Tristan Newman (Maple, Ont.) scoring a three-pointer.
Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) showed signs of a promising offensive leader towards the end of the quarter, but the Lions trailed 51-63 at the start of the final quarter.
Tufegdzich recorded a block in the fifth minute that spurred the Lions to increase their offensive intensity. The turnover resulted in Tufegdzich making a dunk that sent the crowd to its feet.
The Golden Hawks called a timeout that robbed the Lions of the momentum. Last minute turnovers denied the Lions' dramatic comeback.
Tufegdzich achieved a double-double by the end of the match with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Iheadindu finished with 14 points and Culbreath had 12.
Laurier's top scorer was Will Coulthard with 19 points.
Algoma 68 @ Brock 97
The Brock University men's basketball team (1-2 OUA) defeated the Algoma Thunderbirds (0-2 OUA) by the score of 97-68 in front of a sellout crowd at the Bob Davis Gymnasium Friday night.
Prior to the game, Brock Athletics honoured their four championship teams from 2014, which included the CIS National Men's and Women's Wrestling teams, OUA Men's Rowing and OUA Baseball championship teams.
The game was tied 13-13 with three minutes left in the opening quarter, before the Badgers put together a 9-2 run, leading 22-15 after 10 minutes. Brock extended their lead to ten at the half 44-34.
Midway through the third quarter, the Badgers went on an 11-3 run to take an 18-point lead, 65-47. In the fourth quarter, Brock's defense would hold Algoma scoreless for four minutes, while going on a 16-0 run to take a commanding 87-59 lead, on route to their first conference victory.
The Badgers had four players in double figures, led by Matt Marshall who finished one rebound shy of a 20/20 performance adding 24 points and 19 rebounds. Johneil Simpson contributed with 21 points and four steals, while Zachary Angelini and Yusuf Ali added 13 and 11 points respectively.
For the Thunderbirds, Brett Zufelt and Samy Mohamed added 10 points each in the loss.
For the game, the Badgers shot 48.6% (34-for-70) from the field, 22.7% (5-for-22) from beyond the arc and 77.4% (24-for-31) from the charity stripe. Algoma went 21-for-59 (35.6%) from the floor, 4-for-17 (23.5%) from long range and 22-for-31 (71.0%) at the free throw line.
Windsor 89 @ Toronto 75
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team fell 89-75 to the No. 4 Windsor Lancers in their 2014-15 home opener on Friday, November 14 at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 1-2, while the Lancers improve to 3-0 in the early goings of OUA action.
"We started with a lot of energy in the first three or four minutes and I think we were rewarded for that," said John Campbell, now in his second season as Blues bench boss. "After that we stopped taking care of the basketball. I think their physicality bothered us a little bit and then we committed a lot of fouls and that created a pretty big deficit. I think against good teams like that you can try to make runs to close the deficit, but I think it's really hard to overcome and that was the case tonight."
Fourth-year guard Julian Clarke led the Blues with 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while third-year forward Devin Johnson had 14 points and seven boards. Denis Ankrah added 12 points in the loss.
Toronto got out to an early 11-2 lead in the first three minutes of action, but the Lancers battled back and led 30-14 after the first quarter. Windsor maintained a comfortable lead and were up 46-31 at halftime.
A Devin Johnson three-pointer and great second effort basket from Clarke brought the game within three (59-56) with 1:25 to go in the third but the Lancers led 65-58 heading into the final frame.
Windsor pulled away through the fourth quarter, thanks to 11 points from Evan Matthews, en route to the 14-point victory.
Fourth-year guard Rotimi Osuntola led all players with 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Matthews ended the game with 16 points and seven rebounds. Bradford Parker notched 15 points and Khalid Abdel-Gabar had 14 in the victory.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Waterloo 70 @ Queen's 66
The Gaels (0-2) lost 70-66 against the Waterloo Warriors (1-3) on Saturday night at the ARC in their home opener.
The first quarter was fast paced with the Gaels doubling the Warriors in rebounds and outshooting them 10-6 from the floor. Waterloo closed in on the Gaels in the second but were shut down by the Queen's defence eating up the shot clock time and forcing the Warriors to shoot under pressure. The Gaels left the first half leading the Warriors by a comfortable 39-31 margin.
Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) opened up the third quarter with a spectacular alley-oop dunk to give the Gaels a 12 point lead, their largest of the game. The Warriors dominated the rest of the quarter hitting a 12-0 run to tie it up at 43-43 then pulling away to grab the lead. Outshooting the Gaels in the third, the Warriors ended the quarter ahead of the Gaels 52-49.
It was a sloppy final quarter for the Gaels as they scrambled to set up while the Warriors put away baskets to take the lead by a nine point margin. The last seconds were a frenzy as Faulkner struggled to gain momentum for the Gaels charging the basket and going 3-3 from the charity stripe with 2.7 seconds on the clock. The Warriors did not relinquish their second half comeback lead and were able to hold off until the final buzzer to end with a 70-66 victory over Queen's.
Despite the loss, Faulkner led all scorers with 29 points and seven rebounds. The Gaels were led in rebounding on the backboards by Ryall Stroud (Toronto) who grabbed 14 rebounds and Cy Samuels (Vaughan, Ont.) who grabbed 10 of his own. Myles Charvis was top scorer for the Warriors with 24 points and seven rebounds while Ben Davis followed with 13 points and six rebounds.
Saturday, Nov. 15
Laurier 87 @ Queen's 70
The Gaels (0-3) could not find their offensive rhythm in an 87-70 loss to the visiting Laurier Golden Hawks (3-1) at the ARC in Kingston.
The Gaels were led once again by Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) who finished with a game high 26 points adding three rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. Cy Samuels (Vaughan, Ont.) also had a strong performance finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds. Will Coulthard paced the Golden Hawks offensively with 22 points and six rebounds.
Queen's and Laurier went back-and-forth early on in the opening quarter with each team shooting just above 42% from the floor. Samuels got the Gaels going as he managed to back his man in towards the basket and made the shot off his back foot with the foul but he was unable to complete the three point play for the Gaels. Laurier's Coulthard shot the lights out in the frame for the Golden Hawks nailing five shots including all three of his three-point attempts to finish with 13 in the quarter giving Laurier a 25-19 advantage.
The Golden Hawks continued to poor it on in the second quarter with with Aiddan Walters putting up 10 points. Laurier opened up their lead to 12 points and extended it to 16 keeping their similar 43% shooting while the Gaels saw their percentage fall to 30. Despite the deficit, Faulkner hit two straight jumpers and followed up with a block on the defensive end as he looked to get the Gaels back in the game, cutting the deficit to 12. Laurier chipped in another three before the buzzer and held a 45-30 advantage at half.
In the third quarter teh Gaels started to cut into the Laurier lead, Faulkner put up a pair of buckets followed by a Samuels offensive board and bucket making it an 11 point deficit. After exchanging points Fualkner hit a slick pull-back jumper bringing the lead down to nine. Laurier pushed forwarded to a 62-51 lead.
The fourth saw the Golden Hawks continue to put the pressure on. 25 points to the Gaels 19 put the game out of reach and Laurier took the win.
Western 75 @ Toronto 68
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team fell 75-68 to the Western Mustangs on Saturday night (Nov. 15) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 1-3 and sit tied with the York Lions for second place in the East division. The Mustangs improve to 2-2 and are third in the OUA West division.
Third-year forward Devin Johnson led U of T with a double-double of 18 points and 10 boards, while fifth-year guard Julian Clarke notched 13 points, six rebounds and four assists on the night.
Second-year forward Kwasi Oti-Awere also added a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, with Manny Sahota notching nine points in the loss.
Morrow led the Mustangs with a game-high 26 points, while rookie Jedson Tavernier had 13 points and Tom Filgiano added 11 in the victory.
Saturday night the Gryphon men's basketball team opened up their 2014-15 home schedule as they played host to the Algoma Thunderbirds at W.F. Mitchell Athletic Centre. The Gryphons came into the game having lost their first two games in the OUA season, but would get into the win column with a convincing 89-61 rout of Algoma.
Daniel Dooley (Burlington, ON) and Trevor Thompson (Burlington, ON) did the damage early on, combining to score 20 of the Gryphons' 28 points in the opening quarter.
Lakehead 73 @ McMaster 81
It is difficult to beat a quality opponent on back-to-back nights, but the McMaster men's basketball team used a gritty fourth-quarter to beat visiting Lakehead 81-73 on Saturday and sweep the weekend series.
With some Hamilton-presence on the roster, Lakehead had some local support as well as extra incentive to perform well before family and friends.
The Thunderwolves came out determined to avenge the previous night's defeat, and took an 18-16 lead, when Jamar Coke (from Hamilton) made a long 3-pointer right at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter McMaster regained the lead, and behind some nice shooting from Joe Rocca, who drained consecutive treys, went into the intermission leading 35-29.
The third quarter saw McMaster start strong and the lead got into double-digits, before Lakehead stole back the momentum. Pushing the ball and attacking the rim relentlessly, the Thunderwolves were able to tie the game at 57-57 heading to the final stanza.
Not wanting to drop a game to a division foe, McMaster came out and controlled the fourth quarter, opening a six-point lead early. Lakehead was able to close to within three points, but could get no closer as the Marauders got some big shots from David McCulloch, Rohan Boney and Taylor Black. McMaster made its free-throws down the stretch and completed the eight-point win.
Five Marauders scored in double figures, led by Rocca with 20, Leon Alexander with 16, and Black, Boney and McCulloch all dropping 10. Black also grabbed 13 boards for the double-double. Lakehead got a 23-point performance from Coke, while Anthony McIntosh scored 15.
McMaster won the rebound battle 44-36, which was much closer than Friday's game. In a game this close, Lakehead may look to its free-throw shooting with regret as the Wolves only made 13 of 24 from the charity stripe, while the Marauders connected on 21 of 24 foul shots.
After the weekend sweep, McMaster and Lakehead are tied in the OUA Central Division, with 2 and 2 records.
Ottawa 113 @ Nipissing 62
The no. 2 ranked Gee-Gees men's basketball team extended its regular season win streak to four straight games on Saturday night as Ottawa downed the Nipissing Lakers 113-62 in the first ever meeting between the teams. The Gee-Gees erupted from long range in the second half as they sprayed home 11 treys in the half and put the game far out of reach for Lakers. The score marks the highest point total of the season for uOttawa.
Nipissing was able to stay within single digits of the Gee-Gees in the first half as they put in a strong defensive effort. Things changed right out of the halftime break however as a Mike L'Africain three-pointers appeared to spur the garnet and grey as they dropped a three-point barrage on the Lakers and ended any hopes of an upset.
"We put in a solid effort tonight. We got contributions from all around the team and that was important for us and will continue to be throughout the season. It was essential that we come here and make the most of our opportunities and I think we did that. The key for us today was our defensive discipline and the fact that we stayed confident despite not having the first half that we wanted," said Gee-Gees fifth-year Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue who finished with 13 points and three rebounds in the game.
The Gee-Gees had seven players in double digits in the game as Johnny Berhanemeskel led the way with a game high 21 points and six assists. As a team the Gee-Gees shot 50 per cent from the field and 41.2 per cent from long range in the game. Marcus Lewis paced the Lakers with 18 points in the contest while Jordan Roberts added 13 points and four rebounds.
Carleton 82 @ Laurentian 60
Carleton is now 4-0 on the season after an 82-60 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs.
The Voyageurs looked good early, leading the Ravens 17-14 after the first quarter. Though Carleton put together a 25 points second quarter, Laurentian hung around and found themselves down just 39-31 at halftime.
Ryan Bennett led the way for Laurentian, playing all 20 minutes in the first half and dropping 16 points, including 4 three pointers. He would go on to lead all scorers in the game with 29 points, including 6-11 from three point land.
Carleton spread the ball around early, as 8 players found their way onto the score sheet in the first half with the team shooting 50% from the floor.
The game did not stay close for long however, as Carleton came out of the half outscoring Laurentian 27-12 in the third quarter. Behind Cameron Smyth's 11 second half points (he would lead the Ravens with 17 points on 66% shooting) Carleton would put the game away. Final score: Carleton 82 Laurentian 60.
Four other Ravens would finish in double-digit figures including Philip Scrubb (15 points, 7 assists), Thomas Scrubb (13 points, 7 rebounds), Victor Raso (11 points, 7 rebounds), and Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles (10 points on 5-7 shooting). Carleton would finish an impressive 55% from the floor, while Laurentian struggled hitting only 35% of their shots in the game.
Windsor 78 @ Ryerson 98
The No. 3 nationally ranked Ryerson Rams men's basketball team put in a strong effort to handle the No. 4 ranked Windsor Lancers by a score of 98-78 on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Aaron Best (Scarborough, Ont.) had an impressive evening with 30 points and ten rebounds for the double-double. Fifth year point guard Jahmal Jones(Mississauga, Ont.) made history on the night, dishing for 15 assists which ties the Ryerson single-game record which dates back to November 27, 1998 when Brian Smith had 15 assists against McGill.
The two top ranked squads were hesitant to start this game, but it was Windsor who took an early 10-5 lead. Ryerson dominated the remainder of the quarter, going on a 25-0 run and not allowing a Windsor basket for six whole minutes. The Rams led 30-12 after ten minutes of play.
Windsor got the deficit back to single digits at 43-34 with 2:15 left in the second quarter but the Rams made the final two buckets of the half to lead 47-34 heading into halftime.
The Rams blew the game wide open in the third quarter, netting another 30 points in the frame and took a commanding 77-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
Windsor had their best offensive quarter in the final ten minutes, outscoring Ryerson 30-21 but it was not enough to mount a comeback as the Rams closed the game with the 98-78 victory.
"It's a good test for us against a top team in the country," said Best post-game. "We have some things we need to work on but overall I think we did a great job tonight as a team."
Other Rams in double digits included Adika Peter-McNeilly (Scarborough, Ont.) with 18 points, Jordon Gauthier (Windsor, Ont.) with 16 points and Kadeem Green(Richmond Hill, Ont.) with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Rotimi Osuntola Jr. led the Lancers with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.