M-BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Ottawa remains perfect with wins over Lakehead, Guelph
The University of Ottawa men’s basketball team ran its regular season record to 10-0 with another victory on Friday night; this time it was the Lakehead Thunderwolves who fell victim suffering a 89-76 loss.
(Photo: Richard A. Whittaker)
Friday, January 16
Lakehead 76 @ Ottawa 89
The University of Ottawa men's basketball team ran its regular season record to 10-0 with another victory on Friday night; this time it was the Lakehead Thunderwolves who fell victim suffering a 89-76 loss.
The T-Wolves looked good out of the gates as they stayed neck and neck with uOttawa throughout the first half by playing an effective upbeat style on the defensive end of the floor. Still, uOttawa was able to take a slim 41-35 lead into the halftime break in what was shaping up to be a low scoring affair.
The start of the second half was more of the same as Lakehead was able to limit the Gee-Gees scoring chances until an offensive outburst from Johnny Berhanemeskel and Caleb Agada led the Gee-Gees to a 14-3 run midway through the third. The timely offensive output turned out to be the turning point in the contest as the Gee-Gees led through the fourth and cruised to the victory.
"I have to give them credit because when we stopped their penetration they were able to shoot the lights out. We felt like overall we looking a step slow out there tonight and bit sluggish but in the end we got the win and that's what matters," said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin. "There are certain things that don't change regardless of the team you're playing and tomorrow we have to be ready for that and put in a good performance."
Ottawa's dynamic duo of Agada and Berhanemeskel has been the key to Gee-Gees offence all season long and Friday night was no exception as the pair combined for 48 points on the night. Berhanemeskel finished with 26 points and five assists. Agada was finished the night with 22 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Fifth-year Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue had a big fourth quarter, notching 11 of his 16 points in the final frame.
"The important thing for us is coming through in tight situations and we were able to do that today in the third quarter." said Agada.
Jamar Coke led the way on the score sheet for the T-Wolves scoring 21 points and three rebounds on 8-10 shooting on the night. Dwayne Harvey, Lakehead's leading scorer, added 14 points.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
McMaster 83 @ Laurentian 80
Laurentian's Ben Avery Gymnasium is one of the toughest environments for visiting teams in Canada but the McMaster men's basketball team were able to brave the homecrowd theatrics and gut out an 83-80 win over the Voyageurs on Friday night in Sudbury.
Coming off a loss to Ryerson, it was a pretty flat bunch of Marauders that tipped off the game, while the Laurentian team saw the opportunity to knock off a ranked opponent and came out on fire. Behind 14 points from Ryan Bennett, the Voyageurs dominated the first 10 minutes and opened up a 25-14 lead.
The second stanza saw a visibly more intense McMaster squad take the floor and slowly it began to chip into the Laurentian advantage. By halftime, the Marauders had closed the gap to six, as Laurentian took a 46-40 lead into the locker room. McMaster paid better attention to Bennett, but the Laurentian guard still had 20 after 20 minutes.
In the third quarter, Laurentian looked to forward Tychon Carter-Newman to pick up the slack and he responded by keeping his team in front, but only just. McMaster shortened its bench and started to control the backboard, keeping the Voyageurs from getting many second-chance points. Heading to the final quarter, Laurentian's lead was only a single possession at 65-62.
The fourth quarter saw McMaster regain the lead 71-70 for the first time since it led 3-0 in the first quarter. But credit Laurentian for staying in the game, and the home team opened a 78-72 lead with just under 5 minutes remaining. McMaster looked to be in dire straits as it missed four straight free throws that could have cut into the deficit.
Then a Rohan Boney basket and a huge trey from Taylor Black got Mac within a point, before Carter-Newman made it 80-77 with less than two minutes left. Joe Rocca powered in and scored a tough hoop and was fouled, but missed from the charity stripe and the Marauders still trailed 80-79. Getting the stop that was needed on the defensive end, McMaster's Aaron Redpath was knocked into the crowd for a Laurentian foul and was then further accosted by some of the locals in the first row. Quickly separated from the fans, Redpath drained his two free throws to put his team ahead by one with 39 seconds remaining.
With Laurentian calling timeout and down by a point, they ran a play for Bennett, who had cooled off in the second-half, but the Voyageur guard was whistled for a travel on his move to the basket, sending the homecrowd into a frenzy on the turnover call. McMaster was able to run the clock down to 6 seconds before Laurentian fouled and Rocca hit his two foul shots to make it a three-point lead. Still having a final chance to tie and force overtime, Bennett's long three-point attempt was off and the Marauders completed the comeback.
Black was the top Mac shooter with 18 points, while Rocca dropped 17. Rohan Boney had a monster night with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Redpath also added 16 and had the last word with the locals by leaving with the win. Carter-Newman finished with a game-high 27 to lead Laurentian, while Bennett scored 24.
Source: McMaster Marauders
Guelph 59 @ Carleton 101
After dropping a nail biter to rival Ottawa, the Carleton Ravens brutal efficiency was on full display in their 101-59 defeat of the visiting Guelph Gryphons.
The Scrubb brothers would lead the charge for the Ravens, as Phil (22 points, 6 assists) and Thomas (21 points, 4 rebounds) shot a combined 74% (17-23 from the floor).
The Gryphons entered the Ravens Nest energized and competitive; the teams traded baskets in the early going, with the lead bouncing back and forth. The Gryphons would even build a 15-9 lead behind shooting from Daniel Dooley and physical play inside from Adam Kent.
And then Carleton turned it on. Sparked by a three from Phil Scrubb and a bucket inside from Guillaume Payen-Boucard, the Ravens would go on a 12-0 run to finish the quarter. Carleton would lead 21-15 after one.
The run would continue in the second quarter, thanks to an explosive quarter from Thomas Scrubb. Scrubb would hit 13 points in the quarter on 5-6 shooting (including 3-3 from beyond the arc). Riding Scrubb's hot hand, the Ravens seemingly could not do wrong – Carleton would score 29 straight before the Gryphons finally cut the drought with a free-throw.
Despite the Gryphons' offensive success in the first quarter, the team simply could not find a basket in the second. Shooting just 1-12 in the quarter (including 0-4 from beyond the arc), Guelph also hurt themselves by committing 12 first half turnovers.
Carleton extended their run to 40-4 by half, leading 49-19 at the break.
Thomas Scrubb would lead all scorers at halftime with 17 points on 7-11 shooting. Phil Scrubb (9 points on 4-5 shooting) and Payen-Boucard (7 points) also contributed early and often.
Despite down 30, the Gryphons would not back down. The beginning of the third quarter looked much like the first, with the teams exchanging buckets – in the first 4 minutes Guelph stayed even with the Ravens at 11 points apiece (though the scoreboard would read 60-30).
As Ravens Head Coach Dave Smart began working his younger players into the rotation, Guelph was able to maintain some balance in the second half. The lead was simply too much however, with the young Ravens continuing to pile up the points.
First-year guards Sheldon McIntosh and Mitchell Wood, as well as first-year forward Mitch Jackson, would all get extended minutes in the second half. Second year Cameron Smythe, the team's 6-11 forward, continued to show his development as he would tally 10 points and 4 rebounds in just 13 minutes of action.
The Ravens had 10 players score en route to a 101-59 victory.
Though the Scrubb brothers provided the bulk of the teams scoring, Connor Wood (11 points) and Payen-Boucard (13 points) also finished in double-figures. Carleton would hit 59% from the floor, 48% from the three, and rack up 18 team assists.
For Guelph, Dooley would finish with a team-high 15 points (including 7-7 on free-throws) while Taylor Boers would finish with 13 points of his own (thanks to hitting 10-10 from the line). As a team, the Gryphons would hit just 31% from the floor and 20% from three – though they did hit an impressive 25-27 (93%) from the free-throw line.
Source: Carleton Ravens
Brock 76 @ Nipissing 57
If the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team could take away the third quarter – where they were outscored by 10 – the outcome of Friday's game could have been very different.
Down just seven at the half to the Brock Badgers and after a good start to the second half, the Lakers tied the game, but the Badgers poured it on to extend the lead which allowed them to cruise to the 76-57 victory.
Lakers head coach Chris Cheng talks about developing a culture within his team, the university and the community and if they put together more efforts like the one they did Friday night, they won't have any issues getting people on board with what they're trying to accomplish.
Marcos Clennon had big night, scoring 16 points and adding eight rebounds, while Jordon Campbell chipped in with 10 points.
The Lakers defence played a strong game, causing several turnovers and being strong on the boards.
They had a total of 27 rebounds and 10 steals to help keep the game close when the shots weren't falling.
They were able to stay close for almost half the third quarter, after closing the gap, but the Badgers experience proved to be a bit too much and got hot at the right time, finishing the second half by outscoring Nipissing 40-26.
Source: Nipissing Lakers
Ryerson 99 @ Algoma 56
The No. 3 ranked Ryerson Rams men's basketball team shot an impressive 59.6% from the floor on Friday night en route to a dominant 99-56 victory over the Algoma Thunderbirds at the George Leach Centre.
Ostap Choliy (Oakville, Ont.) had a game-high 16 points for the Rams on 6-of-8 shooting including 4-of-5 from three-point range. JV Mukama (Hamilton, Ont.) and Adika Peter-McNeilly (Scarborough, Ont.) added 13 points and Jahmal Jones (Mississauga, Ont.) netted 11 in the win.
The Rams held a 24-16 lead after ten minutes of play. Algoma kept things close to start the second quarter, narrowing the gap to just four points, but the Rams began to pull away and took a 42-28 lead into halftime.
Ryerson's offence exploded in the third for 31 points and the Rams surrendered just 13 against to put the game out of reach even before outscoring the Thunderbirds by another nine points in the fourth to secure the 99-56 victory.
Algoma's Terrell Campbell and AJ Andre Barder each scored 11 points in the losing effort.
Source: Ryerson Rams
Saturday, January 17
Laurier 87 @ Windsor 94
In front of a boisterous crowd and their alumni, the Lancer men's basketball team defeated the Laurier Golden Hawks 94-87 on Saturday afternoon at the St. Denis Centre.
With the win, the No. 6 Lancers improve to 7-3 on the season and are tied for first place with the Western Mustangs in the west division. Laurier falls to 4-7 and remain in third in the west.
Windsor had a strong first half building a 24-point lead late in the second quarter and were up by twenty 54-34 at the half. Khalid Abdel-Gabar had 17 points in the half for Windsor.
The second half was a struggle for both teams as 21 fouls were called in the third quarter alone. The Golden Hawks began to chip away at the Lancer lead, outscoring the hosts 22-16 in the third.
Some solid defense at the end of the fourth helped the Lancers hang on for the win.
Four Lancers reached double digits while Rotimi Osuntola Jr. once again had the game's only double-double with a game high 24 points and 16 rebounds. Evan Matthews followed with 21 points, Abdel-Gabar had 20, and Alex Campbell came off the bench with 12.
The Golden Hawks were led by William Coulthard with 23 points, while rookie Luke Allin, brother to Lancer basketball alum Rich, Greg and Connor Allin, had 12 points. Kyrie Coleman led the defense with 11 rebounds.
Source: Windsor Lancers
Waterloo 54 @ Western 71
A comfortable lead right from the tip-off kept the Mustangs on top of the Warriors the whole game to take the win with a final score of 71-54 at Alumni Hall on Saturday afternoon.
The home team dominated the first quarter at 20-9. However, the Gaels caught up before halftime by a thin margin at 30-28. The Lions reorganized themselves and managed to preserve their lead at the third quarter at 50-45. The fourth quarter was all about the Lions as they marked a crucial 76-63 victory.
The win moved the Lions back over .500 on the year at 6-5, and they continue to hold down second place in the OUA East. The Gaels fell to 3-7 with the loss and sit tied with the Toronto Varsity Blues at the bottom.
Phillip Cunningham-Gillen (Hamilton, Ont.) scored the opener with a three-pointer. The Gaels followed it up with an impressive passing play by Tanner Graham and an alley-oop finish by Greg Faulkner.
Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) and Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.) contributed steals as the Lions pressured the Gaels with their fast breaks. On one occasion, Tufegdzich burst forward and finished with a two-handed slam dunk.
The second quarter was slower for the hosts as the Gaels increased their defensive pressure. Halfway through the quarter, the Lions still found themselves stuck at 20-15.
Tufegdzich failed several attempts on shooting, but responded with a successful three-point shot to maintain the team's lead. The Gaels managed to tighten the gap to only a two-point deficit at halftime.
Tufegdzich impressed again in the second half, opening the third quarter with a slam dunk on a pass by Iheadindu.
Rookie guard Gene Spagnuolo (Maple, Ont.) entered the game from the bench and delivered a brilliant performance. Spagnuolo attempted a successful lay-up and was fouled for an and-one, and converted the free throw. He finished with nine points and two rebounds.
Another reserve who impressed was Tristan Newman (Maple, Ont.), who opened the fourth quarter with a well-taken long shot for three points. At 59-51, Newman intercepted pass from half-court and made a run towards the basket. As he leapt for the dunk, Cy Samuels fouled him from behind. Newman converted both free throws.
Tufegdzich was the star of the match, achieving a double-double with a game-high of 28 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and one block. For the Gaels, Greg Faulkner scored 20 points and added five rebounds and two assists.
Source: York Lions
Toronto 95 @ Algoma 75
Five players hit double digits as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team notched their third win of the season, defeating the Algoma Thunderbirds 95-75 on Saturday, January 17 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Fourth-year guard Julian Clarke led all players with 22 points and added seven rebounds and three assists. Third-year forward Devin Johnson notched a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Manny Sahota had 14 points, six boards and three assists.
Rookie guard Sage Usher tallied 12 points, with Dylan Churchill adding 10 points and four rebounds in the win.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Brock 89 @ Laurentian 81
The Brock University men's basketball team (4-7 OUA) dropped an 89-81 decision to the Laurentian Voyageurs Saturday night at the Ben Avery Gymnasium.
The Badgers had three players in double figures led by sophomore Dani Elgadi(Waterloo, Ont.) who led all players with a game-high 30 points and 14 rebounds for the double-double. He also collected five assists and four steals. Sophomore Nolan Mackenzie (Oakville, Ont.) contributed with a career-high 20 points and five assists while rookie Johneil Simpson (Toronto, Ont.) added 12 points in the loss.
Laurentian was led by Sam Hirst who registered 27 points and four rebounds. Also in double digits for the Voyageurs were Tychon Carter-Newman (24 points, 7 rebounds), David Aromolaran (11 points, 6 assists) and Ryan Bennett (11 points, 8 assists).
For the game, the Badgers shot 41.3% (31-for-75) from the field, 25.0% (5-for-20) from beyond the arc and 70.0% (14-for-20) at the free throw line. The Voyageurs went 31-for-60 (51.7%) from the floor, 4-for-12 (33.3%) from three-point range and 23-for-29 (79.3%) from the charity stripe.
Source: Brock Badgers
McMaster 83 @ Nipissing 53
In the team's first trip to North Bay for OUA action, the McMaster men's basketball squad defeated the Nipissing Lakers 83-53 on Saturday night.
Despite the margin of victory it was not one of the best efforts by the Marauders, who actually trailed the first-year team from Nipissing 17-15 at the end of the opening quarter.
The second quarter was played more like Coach Amos Connolly would like to see his team play, as the Marauders threw up a rare shutout by outscoring the Lakers 24-0 in the quarter and taking a 39-17 lead into the intermission.
Coach Connolly was able to go deep into the Marauder bench and all 12 players saw action during the game.
Coming out of the halftime break, McMaster again took its foot off the gas and allowed Nipissing to dictate the play. The Lakers won the third quarter 24-22, to reduce the Marauder lead to 61-41 after 30 minutes. For a team that was looking for its first OUA conference win, the Lakers showed no fear of 4th ranked McMaster.
The Marauders picked up their game in the fourth quarter, and behind some spectacular shooting from Trevon McNeil, were able to build the lead back up. McNeil knocked down five 3-pointers in the final frame, and his performance was one of the bright spots for McMaster on this night.
McNeil and Leon Alexander both scored 15 points to pace the balanced Mac scoring parade. The top shooter for Nipissing was Jordan Roberts with 14.
Source: McMaster Marauders
Guelph 68 @ Ottawa 102
The no. 1 ranked Gee-Gees men's basketball team dispatched the visiting Guelph Gryphons by a 102-68 score on Saturday night, extending the team's regular season record to 11-0. Guelph falls to 5-5 in the OUA Central Division.
Johnny Berhanemeskel led all scorers with 24 points and Caleb Agada netted 20 for Ottawa as the Gee-Gees shot 60 per cent from the field on the night. Daniel Dooley led the Gryphons with 14, and the visitors shot 34 per cent.
The Ottawa offence was firing on all cylinders in the first half: the Gee-Gees scored the first nine points of the contest and opened a 20-5 lead just six minutes in. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue bucketed ten points in the first on four-for-four shooting, Caleb Agada brought the crowd to its feet with a massive one-handed dunk over his defender late in the second quarter, and Vikas Gill dropped three treys. Meanwhile, Berhanemeskel dropped 12 points and at halftime Ottawa led 52-30.
"I thought energy was the big difference tonight. Right from the start our veterans had good energy and it carried over to the rest of the game," said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin. "These guys take pride in what they do and they wanted to be better today."
"We weren't satisfied with our game yesterday. We felt like we didn't play as hard as we should have, and we wanted to come out strong tonight," explained Agada. The third-year Gee-Gee had a very efficient night, shooting 5-of-6 from the floor, 9-of-10 from the free throw line, and picking up six rebounds and three assists all in 26 minutes.
Guelph slowed Ottawa down in the third by virtue of sending Ottawa to the line. The Gee-Gees scored 16 points from the charity stripe in the third quarter alone, missing just two.
"We knew coming in that Guelph would want to slow us down – they are a tough, physical team. We talked about making our free throws and staying composed, and they did," noted Derouin.
The Gee-Gees bench dropped 23 points on the night, led by a strong outing from Brandon Robinson who was 3-for-3 from the floor for nine points. Post man Noel Jones also had a highlight reel slam in the fourth quarter.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Lakehead 58 @ Carleton 105
It was raining threes in the Ravens Nest as the Lakehead Thunderwolves were overwhelmed by the Ravens in a 105-58 Carleton victory.
Despite Lakehead thriving in fast-paced games, the outcome was never in much doubt as the Ravens poured in the points while the Thunderwolves struggled to get clean looks.
A three by Philip Scrubb would start off the game, followed by shots inside from Cameron Smythe and Thomas Scrubb. Lakehead would respond however, with a jumper followed by a lay-up in transition. The Thunderwolves would not hit another field goal for the rest of the quarter, going 2-11 in the frame.
More three's from Carleton followed (the Ravens hit 4 three's in the quarter), forced a Lakehead timeout to try and stop the bleeding. No such luck. The Ravens led 18-9 after one, and didn't look back.
Carleton hit another 6 three's in the second (they would hit 10-22 for 46% in the half) as the Ravens extended their lead. While Lakehead could not find the same open looks, they would manage to get to the line – hitting 9 of 10 in the half.
Meanwhile, Carleton found Guillaume Payen-Boucard and Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles underneath for easy looks. Then another three from Phil Scrubb. Then a slam down the lane from Thomas Scrubb. The Thunderwolves were forced into another timeout, down 32-16.
The Ravens then exploded on an 18-3 run, capped off by a pair of three's from Gavin Resch. Carleton was up 50-19 at halftime.
Phil Scrubb led all scorers at half with 13 points. Victor Raso had 12 (4-5 from the three) and Thomas Scrubb 10 (along with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals). Carleton would shoot 46% from the floor thanks to 10 team assists. Lakehead's struggles showed on the stat sheet as the team shot just 23% from the floor (5 of 22), with no player scoring more than 4 in the half.
More of the same in the third, as Lakehead became deflated by the relentless Carleton offense. The Ravens missed just 4 shots in the quarter, going 10-14 from the floor (71%) and 6-7 from downtown (86%). The Thunderwolves showed improvement (hitting 5-13 for 22 points in the quarter) but it wasn't enough. Carleton led 82-41 at the end of the third.
Even as Head Coach Dave Smart began working his youngsters onto the floor the Ravens looked unstoppable. Second year Smythe would collect 7 rebounds along with 5 points. Mitchell Wood and Mitch Jackson both saw minutes. Sheldon McIntosh would go 4-6 (3-4 from three) to pile in 11 points in just 13 minutes of action. All the while, veteran Gavin Resch played general from the point.
Final score: Carleton 105 Lakehead 58.
With 22 team assists, the Ravens would hit 17 threes in the game on 53% shooting. Lakehead would manage just 3 threes (on 18% shooting). Carleton would also outrebound the Thunderwolves 43-25.
Six Carleton players would finish in double figures including Raso (19 points), Connor Wood (16 points), Thomas Scrubb (15 points), Philip Scrubb (13 points), Resch (11 points) and McIntosh (11 points).
The Lakehead offense was provided by Jamar Coke (17 points) and Dwayne Harvey (11 points).
Source: Carleton Ravens
