OUA Men's Basketball Roundup (Jan. 22)
January 17, 2018
Guelph 80 Western 99
LONDON, Ont. – A dominant second quarter gave the Western Mustangs a lead they wouldn't relinquish, helping them sail over the Guelph Gryphons in a 99-80 win on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.
"I think what you saw there is when we can make some shots, set our defence, and take care of rebounding," said Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell. "We're trying to penetrate and get middle, and got some good kick outs and looks, and today we we're a little more confident and shot the ball well. Once our guys see some three's going in, we're generally a bit of a collective group, so we had those looks going in and it got a little bit contagious, and multiple guys were making them."
Four Mustangs scored in double digits in the win, led by Eriq Jenkins, who recorded 22 points on the night, followed by Marko Kovac, Henry Tan, and Omar Shiddo, who scored 19, 17, and 12 points, respectively. Christopher Clegg had an enormous night on the glass, pulling down 16 rebounds to lead all players.
"I think we did a good job of executing on offence, trying to get into the paint, either finishing for myself or getting it to my teammates," said Tan. "I'm just doing what I can off the bench and taking what the defence gives me. Today we did a good job of rebounding, me getting on transition and doing what I do best."
The Gryphons were led by Jonathan Wallace, who recorded 18 points on effective 7-11 shooting. Tommy Yanchus followed closely behind with 15 points of his own.
The fourth straight win further reinforces Western's hold on second in the OUA West with a 9-6 record. The loss updates the Guelph record to 3-11 on the year, keeping them in seventh in the West.
Western began with a steady first quarter, but Guelph kept the game tight, and both teams traded buckets for much the frame. Tan established an early scoring presence for the purple and white, sinking eight points, and finished out the quarter with a buzzer beater, giving the Mustangs a 22-20 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
A quick 6-0 run by the Gryphons started the offence for the second quarter, but Western promptly answered with a 10-0 run of their own, with Kovac hitting back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. Tan settled into a steady rhythm to continue an impressive offensive performance. As the frame progressed, this fury of Mustang offence helped widened the gap to 16 points, with Western leading 53-37 heading into halftime.
Guelph didn't relent, and continued to battle it out. However, Western held their ground, and refused to give up their lead. The purple and white continued to be proactive on the defensive end while being incredibly efficient on the other end of the floor, furthering the gap with each bucket. With the expanded difference, the Mustangs led 84-54 going into the fourth.
Guelph put their best efforts forward to try to bring the game back, but the lead proved too large to overcome. Western played out the rest of the game conservatively, and finished off the final minutes with a 99-80 win.
Source: westernmustangs.ca
McMaster 78 Windsor 81
In what can only be called yet another dramatic victory, the Lancer men's basketball team held off the visiting McMaster Marauders, winning 81-78 Wednesday night at the St. Denis Centre.
The victory was Windsor's third straight win as they improve to 7-8 and take sole possession of third place in the west division standings. The Marauders, in the meantime, drop to 2-13 on the year.
STATS
Five Lancers hit double digits Wednesday night with Marcus Jones leading the way with 18 points. Fifth year senior Mike Rocca put up 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Lucas Orlita had 13 points and a team high nine rebounds. Anthony Zrvnar had 12 and Damian Persaudcame off the bench to put up 11 points.
Kareen Collins and Miles Seward led the visiting Marauders with 18 points, while David McCulloch had 13 points. Matt Quiring had a game high 10 rebounds.
The Lancers shot 41.4% from the field, including 43.2% from behind the three-point line, compared to McMaster's 37%.
GAME FLOW
Neither team was able to break away from the other for the entire game, as both squads continued to trade baskets for the entire 40 minutes.
After a low scoring opening quarter that saw the Marauders leading 13-11, the Lancers rebounded in the second to score 29 points and lead 40-37 at the break.
The most dramatic play of the night happened in the dying seconds of the third quarter when Lucas Orlita nailed a three-point shot at the buzzer from centre court to give the Lancers a 61-56 lead heading into the final frame.
Despite the lead changing hands seven times in the final quarter, the Lancers stepped up their defensive game over the final ten minutes. With the Lancers leading by two with 11 seconds to play, the Marauders missed two straight shots that was followed up with a strong rebound from Rocca to seal the victory.
Source: golancers.ca
York 70 Ryerson 83
TORONTO - Manny Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) continues an indomitable individual push, posting a career-best performance of 50 points to lead the Ryerson Rams over the York Lions 83-70 Wednesday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. Diressa’s performance sat just two shy of the Rams’ all-time highest single score record of 52, set in 1994.
“I’ve never really thought of what’s happened in the past,” Diressa said, reflecting on placing his name among OUA record holders. “I don’t know the records, but to hear that, it’s an honour.”
Diressa put up 50 points, besting a career-best performance of 32 only just set this past Friday’s matchup at the Laurentian Voyageurs. He would complete the the double-double with a strong performance under the net, claiming 15 rebounds en route to the victory. For a player who missed several weeks in the first half of the season due to injury, his performance these past few matches mark his place among the most dominant figures in the OUA.
“That’s the talent that he is,” assistant coach Borko Popic said of Diressa’s performance. “It’s kind of a testament to his hard work and the time that he’s put in. It’s nice to see him show what he’s capable of, and it’s also very good for our team. You can see the joy that everybody has for his success, which is great to see.”
Much of that joy came from one of Diressa’s biggest allies on the court, Myles Charvis (Mississauga, Ont.). As much as Charvis continued to feed opportunities to Diressa, he was also the first to share in this momentous occasion; openly cheering for Diressa as he approached his landmark and being the first to reach him as the game ended.
“I’ve never been on a team where guys get so excited for their teammates,” Diressa said of the Rams’ support. “From my first year here, that was one of the main things I saw. The guys on the bench always went crazy whenever guys made plays, even if it was a simple play. I had a pretty big game today, so they just showed that energy towards me.”
Entering the match on an 11-game losing streak, the York Lions entered the MAC amid the Rams’ #TameTheLions promotion. However, the Lions proved their status as an underrated presence in the OUA East, as the team newly connected by TTC subway access brought the fight to the higher-seeded Rams and were able to push the issue to within two points late in the game. Brandon Ramirez (Scarborough, Ont.) would make an impact in the match, putting up 21 points in his best match of the season.
“They’re obviously a very capable and dangerous team, as we saw against Carleton,” Popic said of the Lions. “They’ve battled some injuries, different guys stepping in and getting different opportunities. They have a talented group, as they’ve shown tonight… They came to play, and gave us everything we could handle.”
Source: ryersonrams.ca
January 19, 2018
York 56 Toronto 73
The Varsity Blues men's basketball team drained 12 three-pointers to take down the York Lions 73-56 on Friday night (Jan. 19) at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
Nikola Paradina was a sniper, making 4-of-7 from deep for 22 points, only one shy of his career-high. Usher registered 12 points, but was more of a distributor, handing out a career-high nine assists.
York's guard Chevon Brown recorded a game-high 23 points and dished out four assists in the loss.
Both teams struggled in the opening frame shooting under 25% from the field. It took rookie Evan Shadkami hitting three free throws at the end of the first quarter to give the Blues the 12-11 lead.
The deadlock continued between the two teams in the second quarter, but Toronto got the wheels spinning fast out of the break. They scored the first nine points of the frame, but York quickly responded with a 13-3 run of their own.
The back court of Reilly Reid and Usher combined for 15 points in the opening half to hand the Blues the 33-29 advantage heading into the locker room.
Paradina started to show off his range in the second half. The third-year student sniped two buckets from deep for a total of 10 points and three rebounds in the third quarter alone to maintain the Blues lead at 51-39 heading into the final quarter.
In the end, six different Blues recorded a three pointer to pick up the team's second win in their last three games.
Toronto's record upgrades to 8-7, while York dropped their 12th straight game to sit at 2-14.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Brock 99 Guelph 88
The No 2 ranked Brock University men's basketball team defeated the Guelph Gryphons by the score of 99-88 Friday night on the road. With the victory, the Badgers improve to 13-2 in the OUA West Division.
The score was tied 22-22 after the opening quarter and was all even 40-40 late in the second quarter. To close out the final two minutes of the first half, Brock went on a 10-0 run to take a lead 50-40 at the half.
In the third quarter, Guelph battled back to cut the Brock lead to seven, 78-71 at the end of 30 minutes. To open the final frame, Brock extended their lead to 12 points, 83-71, while keeping the Gryphons scoreless for three minutes, on route to their OUA West leading 13th conference victory.
Leading the Badgers offense was Dani Elgadi who registered 26 points and 14 rebounds for the double double. Johneil Simpson collected 17 points and seven rebounds while Cassidy Ryan and Tyler Brown chipped in with 17 and 11 points in the victory.
For the game, Brock shot 53.5% (38-71) from the field, 45.8% (11-24) from beyond the arc and 63.2% (12-19) from the charity stripe. Guelph went 32-74 (43.2%) from the floor, 6-16 (37.5%) from long range and 18-23 (78.3%) from the free throw line.
Source: gobadgers.ca
Laurentian 67 Carleton 71
OTTAWA, ON – The Ravens entered the fourth quarter with a comfortable 19-point lead, but it almost disintegrated in the final moments of a close encounter with the now 12-2 Voyageurs. Laurentian entered the contest with the second-best record in the OUA East and took Carleton to the brink before being edged out 71-67.
Third-year point guard Munis Tutu (Windsor, ON) played 34 big minutes for the Ravens and had the tall task of guarding David Aromolaran, the crafty shooting guard for Laurentian. Tutu held his own, scoring 10 points, hauling in five rebounds, dishing out 10 assists and recording four steals in a double-double performance.
GAME FLOW:
Like the women’s squad before them, the men’s unit got off to a hot start. A short 10-foot baseline jump shot by forward Mitch Jackson (Regina, SK) gave the Ravens a quick 9-2 lead four and a half minutes into the game. A joint five-point push by Aromolaran and Nelson Yengue brought the score to 15-9, but Carleton answered late in the frame and entered the second ahead 21-9 following four consecutive free throws from Jackson.
The Voyageurs’ inability to consistently hit the three-point shot plagued Laurentian over the course of the game, but a three by Aromolaran and a free throw by Theo Thomas brought the team from Sudbury to within 23-15. Third-year guard Yasiin Joseph (Ottawa, ON) responded with a long-range strike from three-point territory before darting through the lane for an uncontested layup to help pad the lead. With the first half nearly over, Tutu stole the ball from Joseph Sykes and finished with a soft finger roll in traffic to give Carleton a 38-20 lead at the break.
Kadre Gray, Laurentian’s regular season leading scorer and the second-leading scorer in all of U Sports, entered halftime with just two points to his name. He would not go out quietly. Gray dropped 12 points in the second half to help the Voyageurs forge a comeback. A hook shot by Jackson padded the lead to as large as 55-29 with 3:47 left in the third quarter, but that would be as large as Laurentian’s deficit would grow before the Voyageurs’ final hand was played. The Voyageurs closed the third on a 10-3 run that culminated with a three-pointer by Aromolaran.
A score by committee approach helped Laurentian force a few tense minutes at the Ravens’ Nest down the stretch. Yengue and Thomas took turns shouldering the offensive load, scoring 17 of Laurentian’s first 19 points in the quarter. Points 20, 21 and 23 came courtesy a three-pointer from Gray, to which Gray added a jump shot and a pair of free throws before a layup by Yengue cut the score to just 69-67 with one minute left in the game. The slim margin would be as close as Laurentian would get, however, as a late free throw by fifth-year Cam Smythe (Vancouver, BC) put a 71-67 victory on ice.
Source: goravens.ca
Queen’s 81 Ryerson 94
Fresh off of an individual performance of the ages, seemingly the entire Ryerson Rams roster rose to the occasion, defeating the Queen’s Gaels 94-81 Friday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The game had major standings implications on the line, as the Gaels travelled to Toronto only two points behind the hosting Rams in the OUA East. With the action moving back and forth throughout, it was clear why these teams matched so evenly in the standings. Whatever numbers the Rams would put up to get ahead, the Gaels would come right back by dominating from three-point territory, landing 15 of 34 attempts. Key to the Rams victory was slowing those opportunities in the second half.
“They shot the ball really well,” Rams Assistant Coach Borko Popic said. “For us it was just continuing to get out to shooters, find the guys that are shooters, chase them off the line, and make them put it on the floor.”
Once the likes of Jaz Bains (Brampton, Ont.) and Tanner Graham (Kingston, Ont.) - who combined for 10 of the Gaels’ three pointers - were knocked off of their shooting game, it was time for the Rams to rotate their offensive prowess. While Manny Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) has impressed with individual performances as of late, including a 50-point game against York ahead of tonight’s 27-point show, it was time for three other Rams to put up double-digit performances. As the others follow his lead, Diressa feels the team is headed in the right direction.
“I expect it from those guys every game,” he said. “They’ve been having some tough games, and that happens. You go through ups and downs in a season. It’s good to see them have a good game. Hopefully we can keep this going and their confidence can be high, they can keep doing this every game.”
“Different guys step up on different nights,” Popic said. “Manny continues to be on a roll, we had Myles [Charvis] with a big game, J.V. [Mukama] defensively on the glass, Adam Voll stepped up on both ends, Nathan Culbreath off the bench stepped up. We had a variety of guys contributing in a variety of ways.”
Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) in particular showed great promise. After struggling with injury early in the season, he sees his playing time increase and more points on the board to go with it. Tonight’s eight-point performance was a big step in the right direction for Culbreath, catching the attention of team-leader Diressa.
“[Culbreath]’s had it tough,” he said. “He started out with an injury, he’s missed a lot, and this is his first year playing. He’s a new guy on the team, he’s learning a lot of new things. So it’s going to take time, but it’s good to see him have a better game.”
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Algoma 53 Laurier 80
WATERLOO, Ont. (January 20, 2018) – Faced with the hurdle of having to play on a temporary home court Friday night against the Algoma Thunderbirds, a rolling Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s basketball team didn’t miss a beat, in control for much of the contest played at the University of Waterloo's Physical Activities Complex, collecting a fourth straight win by a comfortable margin of 80-53.
Coming out of the gate, the Hawks (7-8) could not get their shots to fall, a stark contrast to the previous few games in which they were knocking down their threes by rates north of 40 percent, shooting their opponents out of the building. However, a Thunderbirds (4-11) team that had lost five in a row coming in were not able to make Laurier pay and the purple and gold found themselves stuck by just six after one.
The second quarter was where the Hawks’ defence began to take a stranglehold on the game. Algoma did not score more than 12 points in any of the final three quarters, as the purple and gold held them to 32 percent shooting on the night. The 53 points allowed for the game was the lowest number given up by the Hawks all season and the fewest points Laurier has allowed in a game since holding the same Thunderbirds to 53 back in 2013.
With the jumpers not falling, the purple and gold made a more concerted effort to attack the Algoma defence. Tevaun Kokko (Markham, Ont.) and Ali Sow (Ottawa, Ont.) made sure to take advantage of the undersized Thunderbird defenders on the interior, driving to the rack at will over the final 30 minutes as they finished with 24 and 23 points respectively Friday night.
Kemel Archer (Brampton, Ont.) added 14 points and eight boards in an efficient 18 minutes, including a couple ferocious slam dunks out on the break that had the crowd roaring.
On the crowd support at the PAC Friday, Hawks Head Coach Justin Serresse said “it looked good out there, we were very happy, it felt like a home game.”
With a quick turnaround to the second half of their doubleheader with Algoma Saturday afternoon, Serresse expects the Thunderbirds to clean things up and wants his team to approach the game with a fresh mentality, like they are playing a new team.
The coach knows that Saturday’s game will be decided by both teams compete levels and will to win.
“Compete harder than them. If we do that we put ourselves in a great situation to win back-to-back games.”
Source: laurierathletics.com
Nipissing 59 Ottawa 70
The Gee-Gees men’s basketball team ground out a tough 70-59 win over the Nipissing Lakers at Montpetit Hall on Saturday night.
In the first quarter, the teams battled to a tie, both having struggles getting started offensively. The Lakers shot 33.3 per cent from the field, bested only barely by the Gee-Gees’ 35.3 per cent.
The Lakers’ Marvin Lewis had seven points in the first frame, however after the Gee-Gees tightened up on defence, he was held scoreless through the remainder of the half. The Ottawa offence showed signs of life in the second frame, as the team carried a 34-23 lead into the locker room.
A huge run got the second half started for the Gee-Gees, Nipissing was left without answer as Ottawa opened a 20-point lead, highlighted by a transition slam from Brody Maracle. Later in the third, the Lakers took advantage of their opponent’s foul troubles, slowing the Gee-Gees’ attack, however the Ottawa lead remained at 16 points.
The Gee-Gees did enough to put the game away in the final frame, in the final minutes Nipissing was able to bring the score closer, but the game was long in hand.
Despite only registering two points in his first half of basketball in 2018, Pierre-Charles certainly made his presence felt in the second half. The fifth-year forward registered 11 points and four rebounds to close the game, and after all was said and done, Pierre-Charles finished with a team high 13 points, nine rebounds, one assist, and one block.
“It’s tough because we haven’t consistently had our full roster this season,” said Pierre-Charles. “This is our first game all back together, so I think we responded well to the adjustments. We had a slow start which wasn’t expected, but comprehended. We have a good team and now with a full roster, I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Maracle was one of four Gee-Gees in double figures, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Sean Stoqua and Kenny Jean-Louis also had key contributions, scoring 11 and 10 points respectively.
“We knew that they’re a very athletic defensive team, I knew it was going to be a grind,” said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin.
“We have a big, big game tomorrow night so we had to sub in some guys that were cold later in the game. When you play back-to-backs you have to do your best to manage the minutes. Overall, our defence was excellent again tonight, which gave us the chance to win.”
On Saturday, the Gee-Gees have a huge matchup with the U SPORTS seventh-ranked Laurentian Voyageurs, coming off of a close four-point loss to top-ranked Carleton. The game will undoubtedly be a battle, with the victor holding possession of second place in the OUA East.
“Tomorrow’s a statement game, we’ve earned some respect and lost some respect, but that is completely on us,” said Pierre-Charles. “We should win this game tomorrow, I think we’re the better team, so we just have to come out and play that way.”
Source: geegees.ca
Waterloo 89 Lakehead 98
The Lakehead men’s basketball team (2-13) took down the Waterloo Warriors (6-9) tonight in a high scoring 98-89 victory.
The Thunderwolves started the game with high energy as Quincy Johnson started the night off with two huge threes. A full team effort, the Thunderwolves continued to push the ball well and hit big shots to give them a 28-12 lead after the first.
Waterloo turned it around, outscoring the Wolves 31-23 in the second but Lakehead held on to the lead at half, 51-43.
The Warriors continued to fight their way back in the game and brought it within two at the beginning of the third but the Thunderwolves found a boost in the fourth with a huge dunk by Jack Bull to put the Wolves up by ten again.
Waterloo tried to claw their way back but the Thunderwolves offense continued to work. Mor Menashe sunk two free throws with 16 seconds left to seal with win for the Wolves.
“I thought our guys played with great energy and great unselfishness. We will watch the film and see but it’s clear we have to clean up some things defensively but were excited to get another chance to compete against a very good team tomorrow.” – Coach Ryan Thomson
Quincy Johnson was on fire tonight with a career high 28 points, going 6-6 from the three-point line. Mor Menashe put up 24 points with 9 assists.
Source: thunderwolves.ca
January 20, 2018
Algoma 52 Laurier 62
WATERLOO, Ont. (January 21, 2018) – While it wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men’s basketball team persevered Saturday afternoon at the University of Waterloo Physical Activities Complex against the Algoma Thunderbirds, hanging their hat on their defence in the second game of a back-to-back and ultimately showing the mental toughness to be able to pull away in the fourth quarter and pick up a 62-52 victory.
The win marked their fifth straight and saw the Hawks (8-8) return to .500 for the first time since November. However, by no means was Saturday’s contest a straight-forward affair as some of their victories on this streak have been.
Held to 33 percent shooting on the afternoon, the purple and gold had their share of struggles scoring the ball. Causing many of Laurier’s problems on that end was a returning Reng Gum (Surrey B.C.) for Algoma. The fifth-year big man was effective down low for the Thunderbirds (4-12) after missing Friday’s matchup, clogging up any driving lanes for the Hawks and finishing with 15 points and 14 rebounds on the game.
A huge spark for the Hawks was a brilliant performance from star guard Tevaun Kokko (Markham, Ont.). While both teams were generally starving for offence, Kokko seemingly had no difficulties getting buckets, pouring in a game-high 28 on an efficient 10-of-17 shooting from the floor and four of eight from downtown.
Hawks Head Coach Justin Serresse was impressed with Kokko’s ability to go out and carry the load for the team, and prove that he can be the go-to guy when the team is having issues getting points on the board.
As has been the theme during the current winning streak, the defence has continued to be a reliable component of the game for the purple and gold. For a second straight day the Hawks were able to hold the Thunderbirds under 35 percent shooting.
Most pleasing for Coach Serresse was the team’s ability to get stop after stop late as they pulled away from Algoma in the fourth quarter.
Talking about his team's defensive effort post-game, Serresse said “If we are playing together and sticking to the game plan defensively, it shows that we can beat some teams even [scoring in] the 60’s, and as a young team it’s always good to know that.”
Having vaulted themselves back up the OUA West standings, the Hawks now firmly have their sights set on securing the number two seed in the division, currently being held down by the Western Mustangs. It looks as though it will be a four-team race to the finish line for that position between Western, Laurier, Windsor, and Waterloo as the four teams are separated by just four points.
Source: laurierathletics.com
McMaster 90 Western 76
The McMaster Marauders men's basketball team took the second step in their six-game road trip when they took on the Western Mustangs in London Saturday.
Entering the game without a road win to their name, the Marauders pieced together a 90-76 victory over the Mustangs on the strength of their performance in the second half, including a third quarter that saw the Marauders complete 60 percent of their shot attempts.
Bouncing back from a 81-78 loss in Windsor Wednesday, McMaster brought Western's four-game winning streak to an end and moved to 3-13 on the season.
Sasha Simic turned in a star performance off the bench for the Marauders, leading his team with a game high 21 points while shooting 50 percent (3-6) from three-point range in 24 minutes of court time.
Team captain David McCulloch had 18 points of his own in a starting role, while Miles Seward had 17 points off the bench.
Western's scoring was headlined by Omar Shiddo's 21-point performance, who shot 8-15 in his team's loss.
In the first half, the Marauders capitalized on the Mustangs flat-footed interior defence, and outperformed the Mustangs on the boards on both ends of the court, racking up 16 offensive rebounds in the process.
Western went into the dressing room with the halftime momentum after Jedson Tavernier knocked down a buzzer beater from three-point range, giving Western a 45-44 lead as time expired.
The Marauders emerged from the break on a tear, however, shooting 12 for 20 from the field in the third quarter.
Tempers flared as off-setting technicals were called late in the quarter following a scuffle between the Mustangs Marko Kovac and Marauders Simic.
Kovac, whose hot start to 2018 had him averaging 18.5 points per game since the restart to OUA play, was tamed by the Marauders defence and finished with only five points Saturday.
McMaster opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run to effectively bury their hosts, extending their lead to 84-60 before the Mustangs called a timeout.
The damage was done, as the Marauders eased to the final buzzer to earn their first road win of the season.
Source: marauders.ca
Waterloo 80 Lakehead 74
On Saturday, the Warriors had a huge third quarter, outscoring the home side 34-11 which helped lead the Warriors to the 80-74 win.
Hodzic again led all scorers with 34 points and an incredible 17 rebounds while Petrov was as impressive with 29 points. Waterloo out rebounded the T-Wolves 40-34 while having a solid night at the line going 16-for-17.
Hodzic is having a remarkable season in his sophomore campaign leading the country in rebounds per game with 11.9. Hodzic also has 22.5 points per game which is third best in the OUA and ranks him eighth in U SPORTS. Petrov isn't far behind with 18.4 point per game, good for eighth most in the OUA.
With the .500 weekend, Waterloo is now 7-9 on the season and tied for fourth with Windsor in the ultra-competitive OUA west.
Source: athletics.uwaterloo.ca
Windsor 54 Brock 83
The No. 2 ranked Brock University men's basketball team rolled past the Windsor Lancers by the score of 83-54 Saturday afternoon in front of a capacity crowd inside the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
The Badgers held a 23-19 lead after one quarter, and put together a 20-4 run in the second quarter to take a 48-25 lead at the half.
The Brock offense continued to roll in the third quarter as they outscored the Lancers 23–13, on route to their 14th victory of the OUA regular season.
The Badgers had three players in double figures led by Cassidy Ryan who finished with 18 points including three three-pointers. Dani Elgadi contributed with 16 points and nine rebounds while Johneil Simpson collected 15 points and five boards in the win.
Guelph was led by Marcus Jones and Damian Persaud who recorded 14 and 10 points respectively.
For the game, Brock shot 41.2% (28-68) from the field, 36.4% (8-22) from beyond the arc and 79.2% (19-24) from the charity stripe. Windsor went 18-60 (30.0%) from the floor, 7-35 (20.0%) from long range and 11-15 (73.3%) from the free throw line.
Source: gobadgers.ca
Queen’s 64 Toronto 74
The Varsity Blues men's basketball team fought back from an early deficit to defeat the Queen's Gaels 74-64 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport on Saturday night (Jan. 20).
Toronto trailed since the 10 second mark of the game and didn't regain the lead until the fourth quarter. Once Queen's got within sniffing distance of retaking it, the Blues went on a 14-2 run to secure the massive victory.
Evan Shadkami was the spark plug off the bench. The rookie went 5-of-10 from beyond the arc to nail 15 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. Sage Usher and Christopher Barrett chipped in with 17 and 12 points, respectfully.
Jaz Bains and Matt Elcock both ended with a team-high 17 points for Queen's.
The Varsity Blues and Gaels are now tied for the fifth spot in the OUA East division with 9-7 records.
Only separated by one win coming into the night, the entire first half was a back-and-forth affair. Daniel Johansson got things started for the Blues draining six points and grabbing four offensive rebounds for six total boards by halftime.
The Blues shot eight more times in the opening half, but only hit 27% of them, compared to the Gaels 44.8%. That was the difference as Toronto was down 32-27 heading into the locker room.
It didn't get any better for U of T early in the third quarter. Queen's Elcock went on a 9-0 run by himself, sniping three straight three-pointers to put the score at 44-31.
Enter Shadkami. He drained three straight triples, all in the final minute, including one at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 53-51 heading into the final quarter.
The offensive explosion continued for the home team in the final frame. They went on a 9-2 run to gain the lead for the first time since the opening basket of the game and never gave it up the rest of the way.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Nipissing 66 Carleton 94
OTTAWA, ON – The Ravens asserted themselves in the interior of the Lakers’ defence and rode the energetic play of its forward group to a resounding 94-66 win over the Lakers, who had no answer for the above the rim brand of play personified by Carleton.
Fifth-year point forward Cam Smythe (Vancouver, BC) scored all 16 of his points in the first-half on 8-for-12 shooting from the field to go along with seven rebounds (three offensive), as well as two assists and a steal in 20 minutes of action.
GAME FLOW:
After a Friday night loss versus the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, the 6-8 Lakers tried to get back in the win column in hopes of salvaging a season that began with bold expectations. They achieved an OUA playoff birth last year but faced an uphill battle against Carleton. The Ravens shutout Nipissing for the first five minutes of the game, while pouring in 17 points to fuel an early lead. Smythe scored eight of Carleton’s 22 first quarter points to help the Ravens enter the second ahead 22-7.
The second quarter was by far Nipissing’s best. Freshman James Murray was an unlikely spark off the bench for the Lakers, scoring nine points in the second frame alone in just six minutes after catching fire from three-point land. However, each time Nipissing struck, Carleton had a response. Every time the Lakers edged to within 15 points or less, the Ravens pushed back. A three by James Murray cut the score to 44-29, but guard Stanley Mayambo (Fredericton, NB) answered with a pull-up jump shot to give Carleton a 46-29 lead at the half.
Consecutive scores from Marcus Lewis and Murray brought the score to the 52-34 three minutes into the second half, but a nicely executed pick-and-roll between third-year guard Yasiin Joseph (Ottawa, ON) and forward Mitch Jackson (Regina, SK) put the 6-foot-8 forward at the free throw line where he completed the three-point play. Jackson did a great job of setting strong screens and rotating to the rim over the course of the game and finished with 14 points, 11 of which came in the second half.
The Ravens entered the fourth leading 72-47. Sophomore William Kohler (Winnipeg, MB) checked into the game and showed off his developing three-point stroke, striking twice from long-range in the final quarter. Kohler’s high energy level helped pad Carleton’s lead and was integral towards the young forward’s ability to score all 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. When all was said and done, Carleton walked away with a decisive 94-66 victory to improve to 16-0.
Source: goravens.ca
Laurentian 79 Ottawa 71
After dropping their first game of the second semester the previous evening to the Carleton Raves, the Voyageurs looked to come out strong and get back into the winning column as they faced off against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees tonight at Montpetit Hall. As the teams took turns trading baskets for the first three quarters, it was up to Laurentian to pull away in the fourth if they wanted to come out on top- and that they did. After a strong final quarter showing where they outscored the homecourt Gees Gees 27-18, the Voyageurs bounced back to the win column with a final score of 79-71.
A key contributor to Laurentian's success came from senior forward Nelson Yengue. Already having put up impressive numbers throughout his final year of eligibility with the Voyageurs, tonight was no different. Yengue led all scorers with 27 points shooting 71% from the field in his 35 minutes of play.
Another top performer for the Voyageurs was fourth year guard Anthony Iacoe who had 14 points in the match. Again three point shooting was a strong aspect of Iacoe's game as he went 3 for 6 from behind the arc.
Top scorer for the Gee Gees was Brandon Robinson with 20 points.
The Voyageurs will have a quick stay back home before they head back on the road to play the Queen's University Gaels and the York University Lions on Friday and Saturday evening respectively. Tip off for the men is at 8 pm.
Source: luvoyageurs.com