Rams heading back to Wilson Cup Final Four

TORONTO – The No. 3 nationally ranked Ryerson Rams men's basketball team is headed back to the Wilson Cup Final Four championship following a decisive 105-59 victory over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Saturday night in quarter-final action at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Five different Rams reached double figures on the night, led by a game-high 23 points from Jahmal Jones (Mississauga, Ont.). Adika Peter-McNeilly (Scarborough, Ont.) netted 16 points, Jordon Gauthier (Windsor, Ont.) had 13, Kadeem Green (Richmond Hill, Ont.) added 12 and JV Mukama (Hamilton, Ont.) chipped in ten points off the bench for Ryerson.

The underdog Golden Hawks got out to a good start in the first quarter and held a 14-11 lead half way through the frame, but the Rams went on an 11-0 run to turn that into a 22-14 advantage and Laurier was unable to counter. Ryerson led 26-21 after ten minutes.

The Rams defence got stronger and stronger as the game went along, allowing fewer points in each quarter than the previous ten minutes. In the second, the Rams gave up just 15 points while netting another 23 of their own to hold a 49-36 lead heading into the locker rooms at half.

Though already owning a 13-point lead, Ryerson came out gunning in the third, piling up 34 points in the frame and again limited Laurier to just 14 points to blow the game open at 83-50 through three quarters.

The fourth quarter was a chance for the Rams bench to shine and they combined to score 15 of Ryerson's 22 points in the final frame. Mukama, Gauthier, Adam Voll (Kitchener, Ont.) and Ostap Choliy (Oakville, Ont.) all contributed off the bench in the final ten minutes as the Rams eased into the 105-59 victory.

Laurier's Kyrie Coleman had a team-high 12 points in the loss. The Golden Hawks leading scorer on the season, Will Coulthard, was limited to just four points on the night.

The victory sends the Rams back to the Wilson Cup Final Four championship for the first time since the 2011-12 season. This year's championship will be held at the University of Ottawa's Montpetit Hall. Ryerson will take on the Carleton Ravens on Friday, March 6 at 8:00 p.m. in the OUA semifinal. The host Gee-Gees will take on the Windsor Lancers in the other semifinal.

Stay tuned to ryersonrams.ca for all playoff information.

Source: Ryerson Rams