Marquee Matchup: Top-scorers Kokko, Henry lead their respective 10-win squads into heavyweight hardwood tilt
Toronto – Both teams enter with identical records. Both teams boast one of the conference’s top five scorers. And both teams are in the thick of a divisional race heading into the final weeks of the regular season. So when the McMaster Marauders men’s basketball team visits the Ryerson Rams for this week’s OUA Marquee Matchup on Wednesday night, it will go a long way toward momentum, playoff seeding, and more for these two conference contenders.
While McMaster has been a steady presence in the nation’s top 10 this season, including a spot as recently as last week, they will enter Wednesday’s clash on the outside looking in, while the Rams, who have claimed the No. 9 position, crack the list for the first time this season. These changes come on the heels of two weekend splits for the participating squads, but for Ryerson, their lone victory came against another of the nation’s best in the Gee-Gees.
In fact, the win against Ottawa was the latest in a recent hot streak for Ryerson, who after getting off to a mediocre 4-5 start, reeled off six straight wins before falling to No. 1 Carleton on Saturday. Not only were they racking up the wins, but they were doing so against some of the best in the business, picking up victories against three seeded squads in that stretch, including the then-ranked Marauders. On the flip side, while the Hamilton squad shot out of the gates with wins in eight of their first 10, they have come back down to earth in 2020, with four losses in six games, including the aforementioned defeat against Wednesday’s hosts.
In the teams’ first meeting a couple weeks back, it was the third quarter that proved to be the difference, with the others each ending within a three-point spread. To open the second half, it was the Rams that took control, thanks to a balanced offence attack that saw five players tally at least four points in the quarter en route to a 30-point output. Leading the way with eight in the frame was Tevaun Kokko, who finished with 19 on the night and has proven to be no stranger to scoring.
The third-year guard from Markham, Ont. is the OUA’s leading point producer on the year, averaging 24.1 per contest. He continues to shine from beyond the arc, connecting on a second-ranked clip of 45.7 3PT%, but can do much more than put the ball in the basket. In fact, Kokko also leads the team and sits seventh in the conference in assists, with 68 on the year.
Going toe-to-toe with Kokko is another of Ontario’s supreme scorers, Jordan Henry (Pickering, Ont.). Currently fourth in conference scoring with 22.3 PPG, Henry has been the straw that stirs the Marauders’ offence thus far. The second-year guard, who also chips in with a well-rounded 5.4 APG and 4.8 RPG, has shone in his sophomore season, and even after earning OUA all-rookie honours a year ago, Henry has found another level to keep his Marauders as a consistent contender.
Beyond wielding their top offensive weapons, both sides also offer up a solid supporting cast to take them to the top. One such running mate for Henry is senior Connor Gilmore, who remains a difference-maker for the maroon machine. The veteran Marauder from Etobicoke, Ont. is looking to put a bow on his university career with a lengthy championship push in his fifth year; a goal he has helped anchor with his 15.3 PPG, team-leading 7.8 RPG, and overall leadership on the floor.
For Ryerson, one of their other key figures looms large in the paint, as the 7’2” Tanor Ngom (Dakar, Senegal), has been a beast since returning to the Rams’ lineup. The daunting junior has put forth a career-year for the blue and yellow, ranking second in the OUA with 11.4 boards per contest – thanks in large part to his single-game school record of 23 rebounds earlier this month – as well as third in team scoring with 17.5 points per game. Ngom will be going up against the OUA’s top rebounding team – 45.4 RPG – so his paint presence will be put to the test in a big way on Wednesday.
The star-power is certainly there for both sides, and while some offensive stalwarts may guide the ship on that end of the floor, their team effort follows suit. Both McMaster (87.5 PPG; 2nd in OUA) and Ryerson (83.4 PPG; 5th in OUA) have proven that they are among the elite scoring squads – a point they hammered home in their previous head-to-head that saw both sides reach the 90-point plateau – so the result may come down to which teams can come up with the stops. And on that end of the floor, while they each offer up some critical strengths, it is the Rams who put forth a top-five scoring effort on the defensive end by limiting teams to just 73.9 points per contest.
With just a handful of games to go in the regular season, a win on Wednesday would do wonders for both McMaster and Ryerson. Both of these 10-win teams are trying to chase down the No. 5 Lakehead Thunderwolves (13-3) and have the Brock Badgers (9-7) sitting just one game behind them, so putting forth an all-around effort against their divisional foes will be a must to secure some separation.
Not only will this talent-laden test hit the hardwood as the OUA Marquee Matchup, it will also be taking place on Bell Let’s Talk Day, so while the 60 minutes will feature two teams going toe-to-toe, in the end, the message to remember is that we are #OneTeamForMentalHealth.
Fans can #PackTheMAC on Wednesday, January 29 for this one, with tip-off set for 8:00pm at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, or can tune in live on oua.tv for all the in-game action.