AROUND OUA: Gaels erase 27-point deficit, shock Thunderwolves 76-75

SCOREBOARD

Queen's 76 @ Lakehead 75

Ottawa 74 @ Laurentian 59

Ryerson 111 @ Algoma 61

Carleton 79 @ Nipissing 59

Gaels erase 27-point deficit, shock Thunderwolves 76-75

THUNDER BAY, Ont. (November 25, 2016)- The Queen's Gaels men's basketball team earned an incredible comeback victory on Friday evening, erasing a 27-point deficit to defeat the Lakehead Thunderwolves at the Thunderdome.

GAME FLOW
Down by 20 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Gaels scored an astounding 23-straight points, 10 of which came from Sukhpreet Singh (Toronto), who led Queen's with 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Isse Ibrahim (Toronto) drained 17 points, while the Graham brothers each added 12 points and seven rebounds. Tanner Graham (Kingston, Ont.) was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul-line, and Sammy Ayisi (Toronto) tallied nine points for the Gaels, who shot 38.7% overall.

The men held the Thunderwolves scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the final quarter of play, and six points overall. The hosts did not score from the 9:24 mark until Nick Burke hit a three-point bucket with 92 seconds left in regulation to even the contest at 74-74.

After both teams missed respective shot attempts, Singh drained two free throws, the second of which would turn out to be the game winner after Lakehead missed on their final attempt of the contest with eight seconds left.

Things did not start out well for the Gaels, who went down 12-0 within the first two minutes of the contest, and faced a 21-point deficit at the half-time break. A Lakehead jumper with 3:19 left in the third gave the Thunderwolves a 27-point lead. An 11-4 run by Queen's gave the men a spark heading into the final quarter of play, and they ended up outscoring Lakehead 38-10 after going down by 27.

BY THE NUMBERS
24- The Gaels knocked down 24-of-32 foul shots, working at a 75% efficiency
3- Queen's largest lead, which they took at the 1:45 mark of the final quarter, compared to 27 for Lakehead
21- Queen's outscored Lakehead by 21 in the fourth quarter

UP NEXT
The Gaels (4-1) will look for a fifth-straight victory next Saturday, when they play host to the Algoma Thunderbirds in their final conference game of 2016. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. and the game can also be seen live on OUA.tv.

Source: Queen's Gaels

Third quarter surge leads Gee-Gees to victory over Laurentian

The no. 4 nationally ranked Gee-Gees men's basketball team needed a big third quarter to pull away from the Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday night in Sudbury, Ont. Ottawa scored 31 points in the third to pull away for good after a close first half, and finished with a 74-59 victory.

The Gee-Gees were led again on the score sheet by Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles, who netted his second straight double-double in a 16-point, 12-rebound performance which also included solid rim protection. Brody Maracle added 13 points inside on a night which saw Ottawa's outside shooters go 3-for-18 from beyond the arc.

The game's opening quarter was an entertaining affair which ended deadlocked at 12-12. Laurentian jumped out to a 19-12 lead at start of second quarter before an Adam Presutti three-ball cut the deficit to 19-17. At halftime, Ottawa held a 28-25 advantage.

Ottawa was impressive all over the lineup in the third quarter. A massive block by Pierre-Charles led to a pair of Brandon Robinson free throws which made it 43-34. Maracle picked up a pair of inside buckets, and the Gee-Gees used strong cuts and smart transition play to build a twenty point lead late in third. Gage Sabean capped off the quarter with a quick release three.

Laurentian came out with a loud start to the fourth and cut the lead down to 13 with just over four minutes to play before Ottawa put its foot down to close out the win.

Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees

Rams score new record for points in a game with big win vs. Algoma

SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - The trip north to Algoma's George Leach Centre brought out the best in the Rams offence as Ryerson set a new record with 111 points to defeat the Thunderbirds 111-61 on Friday night.

BOXSCORE

The Rams scored from all over the floor on Friday, shooting 54.5% from the field including an impressive 42.9% (15-for-35) from three point range. 

Manny Diressa (Toronto) lead the Rams with 28 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Filip Vujadinovic (Burlington, Ont.) added a career-high 19 points off the bench to help carry the Rams.

Ryerson managed to score at least 25 points in every quarter, including a whopping 33 in the third quarter alone, while Algoma's best production was 22 points in the final frame.

Coming into Friday, Algoma's Jermaine Lyle averaged 12.8 points per game as the Thunderbirds' leading scorer but Ryerson was able to shut him down. Lyle finished 1-for-9 with just three points.

With the win Ryerson takes over the league lead in terms of points scored, averaging 93.8 per game. Combine that with their second-ranked defence and the Rams are looking strong in their opening five games.

Ryerson (5-0) will return to the court next Wednesday, November 30 when they host the Western Mustangs at 8:00 p.m. on Coca-Cola Court.

Source: Ryerson Rams

Carleton overcomes slow start against Nipissing to collect second win of season

NORTH BAY, ON — The Carleton Ravens men's basketball team defeated the Nipissing Lakers 79-59 on Friday evening, winning their second game of the 2016-17 regular season.

Ravens fifth-year guard Connor Wood (Guelph, ON) was on fire from downtown, hitting seven triples to lead the Ravens to victory.

BOX SCORE

The Lakers came out of the gate strong, leading for most of the opening quarter. The Ravens, on the other hand, were ice cold to start the game, unable to get their offence going. Nevertheless, down by three points with under a minute left in the first, the Ravens' Connor Wood and Joe Rocca (Sarnia, ON) hit back-to-back threes to give the Ravens their first lead of the game.

The Lakers' Jaaden Lewis hit a triple to start the second quarter, and the two teams were tied up once again. The Ravens went on a well-timed 10-0 run, but Nipissing stayed with the Ravens, thanks to strong first halves by Jaaden and Marcus Lewis, who dropped 8 points each by halftime.

After a buzzer-beating layup by Kaza Kajami-Keane (Ajax, ON) to end the half, the Ravens went into the break with a slim seven-point advantage, 36-29. Despite their lead, the Ravens shot just 34.2% from the field in the half, compared to 36.1% by the Lakers.

The Ravens and Lakers went back and forth to begin the second half, with the Lakers keeping the gap close for most of the third quarter. Nipissing forward Justin Shaver, a previous member of the Ravens, scored 7 in the quarter to lead the Lakers. Connor Wood started to heat up however, drilling his fourth and fifth triples of the game to give the Ravens the push they needed. The Ravens gained control of the game by the end of the third, up by 11 going into the final quarter.

Unable to break away for the majority of the game, the Ravens finally took control in the fourth. After Wood hit his sixth three of the game, the Ravens went on a 14-0 run to seal the deal. The Ravens widened the gap and ended the game up by 20 for their second straight win.

Connor Wood finished with 5 rebounds and 3 assists to go with his game-high 25 points. Kajami-Keane struggled with his shot (5-12 FG), but nearly finished with a triple double, with 8 rebounds and 8 assists along with 14 points. The Lakers were led by Jaaden Lewis off the bench, who was red hot with 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting.

The Ravens will continue their road trip tomorrow on November 26, facing the Laurentian Voyageurs in Sudbury for their third game of the season.

Source: Carleton Ravens