Brock men's basketball drops decision to Saginaw Valley State

The Brock University men's basketball team kicked of the preseason with an exhibition contest against the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals. In front of a near capacity crowd at the Bob Davis Gymnasium, in honour of Tyler Grummett, the Badgers dropped a tough 104-98 decision.

"What an incredible atmosphere tonight celebrating Tyler's life through basketball," said head coach Charles Kissi. "Our guys played extremely well for such a short preparation, and I am really excited about this season. We have a strong returning class as well as a talented group of newcomers."

Prior to the game, Brock head coach Charles Kissi and the Brock basketball program presented the Grummett Family with a framed jersey with Tyler's name on the back, honouring the former Brock Basketball Academy student-athlete who passed away on June 4th, 2015 at the age of 17. The Badgers also presented Tyler's family a cheque for $1000 which goes into the Tyler Grummett Fund.

The Badgers had four starters in double figures led the duo of Dani Elgadi (Waterloo, Ont.) and Johneil Simpson (Toronto, Ont.) who contributed with 21 points each. Elgadi also pulled down 12 rebounds for the double double.
Transfer Ryan Bennett (Toronto, Ont.) contributed 20 points, highlighted by five three-pointers. Nolan Mackenzie (Oakville, Ont.) added 17 points and eight assists while rookie Elijah Green (Markham, Ont.) chipped in with 11 points in his Badgers debut.

Saginaw Valley State had four players reach double digits, led by Garrett Hall who registered 17 points and seven rebounds. CJ Turnage and Damon Bozeman both collected 16 points each. Bozeman was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc. Mitchell Baenziger rounded out the Cardinals leaders finishing with 13 points, included three treys.

For the Game, the Cardinals shot 54.1% (40-for-74) from the field, 47.4% (9-for-19) from beyond the arc and 75.0% (15-for-20) from the free throw line. Brock went 36-for-77 (46.8%) from the floor, 11-for-23 (47.8%) from three point land and 15-for-19 (78.9%) from the charity stripe.

Notes: The Badgers would like to thank the Australian Dragon Boat Team who was in attendance tonight to cheer on fellow Aussie and Brock Badgers rookie Kane Annesley. 

This was the Badgers largest pre-season attendance since a sellout versus the Florida Gators in 2006.

Source: Brock Badgers