February 18, 2013
M-BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Gee-Gees fall to Carleton in 3OT thriller
February 15 - Ryerson @ Toronto
Fifth-year guard Arun Kumar knocked down 28 points in leading the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team to a huge 67-61 upset win over the No. 7 Ryerson Rams on Friday, February 15 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
The win snaps a 14-game losing streak for Toronto, while Ryerson settles for third place in the East with a 14-5 record. The two teams complete the home-and-home tomorrow night at Mattamy Athletic Centre at 8 p.m.
A native of Hamilton, Ont., Kumar led all players with 28 points, while adding eight boards and three assists in Toronto’s first win since Nov. 17.
Fourth-year guard Alex Hill (Toronto) added 15 points, while Ben Garvin (Holland Landing, Ont.) added 11 points in the final home game of his career.
Toronto got out to a huge 25-12 lead after the first quarter; however, a dismal second quarter saw the Rams outscore the Blues 12-7. U of T was up 32-24 at halftime.
The Blues led by as many as 17 in the third quarter, but the Rams battled back to bring it within seven (46-39) heading into the final frame.
Ryerson continued to rally and evened the score at 50-50 with less than seven minutes to go. Kumar then drained five free throws and a Gavin three-pointer would restore the gap to give Toronto the win.
Jordon Gauthier led the Rams with 15 points, while Aaron Best and Bjorn Michaelsen each had double-doubles. Best recorded 12 points and 19 boards, while Michaelsen added 13 points and 12 boards in the loss.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
York @ Laurentian
SUDBURY, ON – In the final game of the regular season for the Voyageurs, the Laurentian team faced the York Lions in a rematch of the midweek fixture. With little at stake, the teams played entertaining basketball, with the York Lions emerging the victor by a score of 104-101.
The first quarter saw both teams play some sloppy basketball to begin the game, however, this changed as the quarter progressed. The Voyageurs began to enjoy the game, with multiple long range alley oop passes being converted, much to the amusement of the crowd. However, the Lions would answer back with a string of successful 3-point efforts restoring their lead. After the first quarter, the Voyageurs trailed the Lions by s score of 29-21. The second quarter was largely controlled by the Lions, but it was Alex Ratte that was grabbing headlines, with 23-points in the first half alone. This was backed up by some fine shooting by veteran Georges Serresse, who was playing his last regular season game as a Voyageur. Despite this play, the Voyageurs found themselves trailing by a score of 54-49.
The second half started slow, with sloppy offensive play by both sides. This would not last long, with Ratte and Serresse leading the charge for the Voyageurs. At the end of the third, the Voyageurs trailed by a score of 71-76. This set the stage for one of the seasons most entertaining quarters of basketball. In a foul-ridden, feisty affair the Voyageurs pushed hard, and with 4:40 left in the game Jamie Weldon levelled the score. Alex Ratte continued his lights out shooting, racking up 42 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for one of the performances of the season. With 15 seconds left, an excellent block by Manny Pasquale followed by a York foul sent him to the line. Pasqaule made no mistake, tying the game yet again, this time with the score reading 101-101. Then, in the dying seconds of the game, a questionable call by the referee sent the Lions to the line for 3-attempts. They made no mistake, sinking 3 of 3 to capture the 104-101 victory.
To summarize, the game held no bearing on the league standings. However, both teams played out a highly entertaining affair that was dominated by offense. With the scores tied, the referees denied the fans of an extra five-minute of action, thus putting a damper on what was a highly entertaining spectacle inside the Ben Avery Gymnasium.
This game marked the last season game for several key players for the Voyageurs. Pasquale, Serresse, Williams, and Weldon will now finish out their Laurentian careers with a visit to the playoffs, where they hope to lead Laurentian into the latter stages. The Voyageurs now host the Gaels in the first round of action on Wednesday, February 20th at the Ben Avery Gynmasium at 8:00pm.
Source: Laurentian Sports Info
Lakehead @ McMaster
The Marauder men’s basketball team needed to sweep the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves to move up in the standings but dropped a tough 78-75 contest on Friday night in the Burridge Gym.
The game started well for McMaster as Taylor Black and Joe Rocca drilled treys on the team’s first two shots. Lakehead responded to the early barrage though and the teams battled until a long three-point goal by Dwayne Harvey at the buzzer gave the “Wolves a 25-22 lead.
McMaster fell behind 33-26 early in the second quarter, but behind some inside scoring from Nathan McCarthy began to take control. The Marauders closed the quarter strong and grabbed the lead at 45-41 heading into intermission. Lakehead was on fire from long-range in the first half, hitting 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.
With Lakehead looking to assume control in the third, they tried to extend their pressure, but Mac met the challenge and after three quarters held a six-point lead.
Lakehead showed its veteran savvy in the final quarter, and slowly chiseled down the Marauder lead, before moving in front 74-72 with under a minute to go. The Marauders showed some grit and came back with a three-pointer from Adam Presutti to go back in front at 75-74. The ‘Wolves went inside to their all-star post Ryan Thomson, who scored to regain the lead with 6.9 second left.
After a timeout, the Marauders failed to execute a winning play of their own and were forced to foul after turning the ball over. Two made free throws left Mac with a last chance to force overtime, but Presutti’s desperation three missed and Lakehead stole the victory to nail down the second seed in the OUA West.
McMaster was led by BIG MAC player of the game Nathan McCarthy, who scored a career high 21 and added nine boards. Joe Rocca with 11 and Presutti with 10 were in double figures. Lakehead got 22 from Thomsen, 19 from Ben Johnson and 18 from Harvey.
McMaster is now locked into third-place in the OUA West and will play a quarter-final on February 20th in the Burridge Gym. Before that they will complete the conference schedule with one more game versus Lakehead on Saturday night at 8 pm.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
February 16 - Waterloo @ Guelph
GUELPH, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team fell 63-62 today (Feb. 16) to the Waterloo Warriors to end their season. With the victory, the Warriors snagged the final OUA playoff spot.
The Gryphons finish the year with a 5-16 record and failed to make the playoffs while the Warriors improved to 6-15 to grab the sixth and final playoff spot.
Zachary Angus (Burlington, ON) topped all scorers on the day with an impressive 26 points. Daniel McCarthy (Guelph, ON) contributed a further 12 points.
Mike Helsby (Waterloo, ON) led the Warriors with 14 points on the day. Wayne Bridge (North York, ON) added another 12 points to bring the Warriors to victory.
With their seasons on the line, both teams came out on fierce defensive fronts with neither team impacting the scoreboard until Zach Angus rallied the offence to open an 8-5 lead. Great control of the rebounds allowed the Gryphons to get the ball into the Warrior paint and maintain a steady lead. With seven first-quarter points, Angus provided a dominant presence in the Gryphons offence to stay ahead 14-11 at the end of one.
The Gryphons came into the second quarter with good transition between offensive and defensive fronts to maintain pressure in the Warrior zone. After sending the Warriors to the charity stripe on consecutive fouls, Dan McCarthy burst through the Warrior defence to regain Gryphon momentum for an explosive 10-point streak to pull ahead 31-24 at the half.
The fourth quarter opened with both teams swapping baskets until Guelph was called on four consecutive fouls to allow Waterloo's Mike Helsby's deep jumper to bring the game to one. Brendan Smith added his own strike from three to take their first lead of the second half at 48-46. Zach Angus responded seconds later with his fourth three of the day to regain the Gryphon lead. With the lead back in their hands, the Gryphons' play took a controlled turn to get the ball to McCarthy at the arc to spark a 9-point streak to reopen their lead.
After sending Wayne Bridge to the line on the bonus, the Warriors began to mount the comeback streak. And, with a deep three from Zach Angelini (Hamilton, ON) with 1:30 left, the game was once again brought to within two. With an empty trip into the Warrior key, Helsby brought it back to split the Gryphon defence to complete the 3-point play to take a 61-60 lead with 52.3 seconds left. The following possessions saw both teams drain baskets in an effort to take control. However, after stealing a 63-62 lead, the Gryphons entered the Warrior zone looking for the buzzer beater to send them into the post season. With 15 seconds left in the contest the Gryphons were unable to get a basket. With the win, Waterloo's punched their ticket to the postseason.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Western @ Laurier
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 16, 2013) - Maxwell Allin of Chatham, Ont., recorded his second career triple-double to lift the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's basketball team to 102-84 victory over the Western Mustangs on Saturday afternoon.
Allin was simply spectacular in the final regular season game for the Hawks as he dropped 30 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds on the Mustangs.
The victory, combined with Brock's loss to Windsor, also helped Laurier clinch fourth place in the division giving them a home playoff game next week.
On Saturday, Laurier jumped out to an early eight point lead in the first quarter setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Despite not holding off the Western offence as well as they had in the first half, the Hawks dictated the pace for the rest of the game slowly building up their lead through the second half.
The game would eventually finish in a 102-84 victory, the Hawks best offensive output since January 9th.
Aside from Allin, three other Hawks had great days as Jamar Forde of Mississauga, Ont., had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, William Coulthard of Oakville, Ont., had 25 points and Michael Grantis of St. Catharines, Ont., had 12 points.
For Western London, Ont., native Peter Scholtes lead the team with 16 points.
The Hawks will now prepare to host the Brock Badgers on Wednesday evening at the Athletic Complex. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Stay tuned to www.laurierathletics.com for a full preview next week.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
Windsor @ Brock
St. Catharines, Ont.- The Brock University men's basketball team (8-13 OUA West) came out on the losing end of a 84-77 decision to the fourth ranked Windsor Lancers (16-5 OUA West) at the Bob Davis Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
In the first quarter the Badgers came out shooting, going on a 14-4 run to go into the second quarter leading 27-11.
The second quarter saw both teams battling, both teams going point for point against each other. At half time the Badger were winning 43-30.
In the second half, the Lancers went on a 19-6 run tying the score up at 49. Windsor would keep the pressure up, eventually taking the lead 60-58 after three quarters.
The Badgers would go toe-to-toe against the Lancers for the first four minutes then Windsor took charge and never looked back taking the game 84-77 to finish off the season.
Brock had four players reach double figures led by senior Tshing Kasamba (St. Catharines, Ont.) who led the Badgers with a game- high 20 points and 14 rebounds for the double-double. Senior C.J. Smith (Scarborough, Ont.) contributed with 16 points, and eight rebounds. Senior Michael Williams (Brampton, Ont.) added 16 points and senior Brian Nahimana (London, Ont.) finished with 13 points.
Windsor's Josh Collins led the Lancers registering 22 points and seven rebounds. Ismar Seferagic off the bench scored 18 points.
For the game, the Badgers shot 38.7% (29-for-75) from the field, 60% (12-for-20) from the charity stripe and 22.6% (7-for-31) from beyond the arc.
The Lancers shot, 44.2% (34-for-77) from the field, 17.2% (5-for-29) from three-point range and 78.6% (11-for-14) from the line.
The Badgers next opponent will be the Laurier Golden Hawks as they face them in the OUA quarter final playoffs this upcoming Wednesday night on the road.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Carleton @ Ottawa
Words cannot justify the emotion and passion that circulated through Monpetit Hall when the Gee-Gees and Ravens tipped-off on Friday night for the final game of the regular season. It took seven periods to decide a winner in the remarkable game and in the end it was the Ravens who were able to push past the Gee-Gees for a 111-107 win in triple overtime.
The Scrubb brothers combined for a total of 62 points for Carleton, scoring 31 point each. Veterans, Warren Ward and Johnny Berhanemeskel led the way for the Gee-Gees with 27 and 17 points.
“It was just a great game. It’s just unfortunate after both teams played so hard that someone has to lose in the end,’’ said head coach James Derouin. “I’m just so proud of our guys for playing like they did tonight, we didn’t stop and we showed to whoever might have doubted us that we can do more than compete with any team in the country.”
Home town hero Berhanemeskel continued his excellent play for Ottawa as he opened up the scoring for the Gee-Gees with two straight three pointers. The Gee-Gees came out of the gates flying as they looked to be on mission to take their revenge over the Ravens after being defeated in a close game at Scotiabank Place in January.
They managed to go on a 10-2 run mid-way through the first quarter while limiting the Ravens to only five points in the opening six minutes. As a result, the Gee-Gees were able to hold the Ravens to only 13 points in the first quarter.
However, after halftime the Gee-Gees appeared flat as they scored only one point in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Subsequently, the Ravens were able to jump ahead to a four point lead mid-way through the quarter. After a quick timeout, Ottawa appeared to regain their composure and they re-took the lead to obtain the momentum going into the final quarter of regular time.
After trading the lead several times throughout the fourth quarter, the Ravens were able to extend their lead to six points with 1:18 remaining on the clock. In the dying seconds, the Gee-Gees were down by two points, 77-75, and were in possession of the ball. After a missed Ottawa three-pointer, Mehdi Tihani was able to score a put-back basket to beat the clock and send the game to overtime.
The Gee-Gees had a chance to win in the final four seconds of OT when Warren Ward ran the ball up-court and shot a floater over defender Phillip Scrubb. The ball trickled around the hoop but bounced out to extent the game to a second overtime with the score at 86-86.
A second overtime period proved to be not enough, as both team would not give an inch on defence. At the end of the second overtime, the score was knotted-up at 94-94.
In the third and final overtime period, the Ravens took a five point lead with one minute remaining. Despite, their best efforts, the Gee-Gees were not able to take the victory as they suffered the heart-breaking four point triple overtime loss.
Warren Ward led the Gee-Gees as he nearly recorded a triple-double with 27 points, 13 points and 7 assists. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue also performed well for Ottawa as he recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“I’m just mad at myself for giving up the ball at such crucial time of the game but it’s how it goes sometimes. We know that we can compete with the best and you have to be happy we the effort we put in as a team,” Gonthier-Dubue said.
Despite the loss, the Gee-Gees still hold down the second place in the OUA as the third place Ryerson Rams were upset by the last place Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night.
uOttawa will host an OUA East semifinal on Saturday, February 23 at 8 p.m. Their opponent will be determined in the OUA quarter finals which take place Wednesday February 20.
Source: uOttawa Sports Info
Toronto @ Ryerson
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's basketball team rebounded in a big way from Friday night's loss against the Toronto Varsity Blues, downing their rivals 86-51 on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Ostap Choliy (Oakville, Ont.) led the Rams with 18 points in 19 minutes while seven other Rams scored at least eight points.
In stark contrast to Friday's contest, the Rams came out with energy and got down to business early. The starting lineup had a new look as head coach Roy Rana granted his three seniors starting privileges and the trio did not disappoint.
"It's always emotional to see young men leave but I'm really proud of them. They showed great character and they've grown as young men here and that's what it's all about for us," said coach Rana following the game.
The Rams had excellent ball movement throughout the first quarter, finding lots of open looks for each other and converting on open shots. Six different Rams found the score sheet in the first quarter and following a buzzer beater from Jordon Gauthier (Windsor, Ont.), the home squad held a commanding 24-10 lead.
Ryerson continued their strong play into the second quarter, outscoring the Blues by another eight points to double up Toronto 44-22 at the half.
Choliy erupted for 14 points in the third quarter to help the Rams put up 28 points in the frame and put the game out of reach. Ryerson's lead grew to as many as 40 and after three quarters the Rams led 72-32.
Toronto had their best quarter in the fourth, outscoring the Rams 19-14 but it was much too little, too late for the Blues as Ryerson closed things out for the 86-51 victory.
Bjorn Michaelsen (Otterburn Park, Que.) finished with ten points for the Rams while Kyle Hankins (Burlington, Ont.) picked up a game-high 11 rebounds. Gavin Berry (Waterloo, Ont.) notched nine points in his final regular season game as a Ram while Nem Stankovic (Toronto) picked up eight points and six boards in his final appearance.
Ben Garvin (Holland Landing, Ont.) and Arun Kumar (Hamilton, Ont.) each recorded ten points in the loss.
"I thought we played a really good game," commented coach Rana. "We moved the ball and we shared it. Our bench was big - we got to play a lot of guys. It was an important bounce back win but now we move into playoffs where it's a single elimination and we have to get ready for Wednesday."
The Rams finish the season 15-5 and in third place in the OUA east division standings. They will match up with the York Lions and coach Rana knows they can't take anything for granted.
"It's going to be a tough game. We're going to have to be ready and put in a lot of work over the next three days to get ready."
The Rams tipoff against the Lions at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20 in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Lakehead @ McMaster
It didn’t hold the same stakes as the previous night, but the McMaster men’s basketball team showed some pride with a 92-82 victory over visiting Lakehead Saturday night in Hamilton.
Prior to the game, the McMaster staff honoured the graduating seniors from this year’s team: Kyle Chevalier, Nathan Pelech and Scott Laws.
With both teams locked into their respective spots in the OUA West Standings, McMaster could only try to end the Maroon’s seven-game losing streak versus Lakehead in conference play going back to 2010.
On this night it was Lakehead that scored two quick hoops to get an early lead, but Mac evened things up and the teams played even, until a late surge by the Marauders saw the quarter end with Mac on top 28-18.
Both coaches went deeper into their bench players than they might normally, preferring to save wear and tear on the starters with the post-season looming. McMaster carried the momentum to start the second quarter and built the lead up to 16 at 41-25 on a trey from Adam Presutti. Following a timeout by Lakehead, the Wolves began to claw back, and at the half they had shaved the Maroon advantage down to 45-38.
Like the previous night, Lakehead looked to assume control to start the second half and went on a 10-2 run to grab the lead at 48-47. McMaster responded though and came up with a run of its own so that by the end of the third quarter, the lead was 62-53 with 10 minutes left in the game.
The fourth quarter became a battle of attrition as both teams were whistled for numerous fouls. The Wolves closed to within six, but Presutti hit a timely three-pointer to bump the margin back to nine. With time running out, Lakehead looked to its defense to force some turnovers but some over-aggressive play put McMaster at the charity stripe and the Marauders made their free throws to close out the win.
McMaster was led by BIG MAC player of the game Aaron Redpath, who scored 20 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor and 9 of 10 from the stripe. Adam Presutti scored 15 points, while Taylor Black with 11 and Nate Pelech with 10 also hit double figures. Top Lakehead shooter was Joey Nitychoruk, who finished with 18.
McMaster finishes OUA play with a record of 13 and 8, and enters the playoffs as the third-seed in the West division. The Marauders will host the Waterloo Warriors on Wednesday, February 20 in a division quarter-final. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
Fifth-year guard Arun Kumar knocked down 28 points in leading the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team to a huge 67-61 upset win over the No. 7 Ryerson Rams on Friday, February 15 at the Athletic Centre Sports Gym.
The win snaps a 14-game losing streak for Toronto, while Ryerson settles for third place in the East with a 14-5 record. The two teams complete the home-and-home tomorrow night at Mattamy Athletic Centre at 8 p.m.
A native of Hamilton, Ont., Kumar led all players with 28 points, while adding eight boards and three assists in Toronto’s first win since Nov. 17.
Fourth-year guard Alex Hill (Toronto) added 15 points, while Ben Garvin (Holland Landing, Ont.) added 11 points in the final home game of his career.
Toronto got out to a huge 25-12 lead after the first quarter; however, a dismal second quarter saw the Rams outscore the Blues 12-7. U of T was up 32-24 at halftime.
The Blues led by as many as 17 in the third quarter, but the Rams battled back to bring it within seven (46-39) heading into the final frame.
Ryerson continued to rally and evened the score at 50-50 with less than seven minutes to go. Kumar then drained five free throws and a Gavin three-pointer would restore the gap to give Toronto the win.
Jordon Gauthier led the Rams with 15 points, while Aaron Best and Bjorn Michaelsen each had double-doubles. Best recorded 12 points and 19 boards, while Michaelsen added 13 points and 12 boards in the loss.
Source: Toronto Sports Info
York @ Laurentian
SUDBURY, ON – In the final game of the regular season for the Voyageurs, the Laurentian team faced the York Lions in a rematch of the midweek fixture. With little at stake, the teams played entertaining basketball, with the York Lions emerging the victor by a score of 104-101.
The first quarter saw both teams play some sloppy basketball to begin the game, however, this changed as the quarter progressed. The Voyageurs began to enjoy the game, with multiple long range alley oop passes being converted, much to the amusement of the crowd. However, the Lions would answer back with a string of successful 3-point efforts restoring their lead. After the first quarter, the Voyageurs trailed the Lions by s score of 29-21. The second quarter was largely controlled by the Lions, but it was Alex Ratte that was grabbing headlines, with 23-points in the first half alone. This was backed up by some fine shooting by veteran Georges Serresse, who was playing his last regular season game as a Voyageur. Despite this play, the Voyageurs found themselves trailing by a score of 54-49.
The second half started slow, with sloppy offensive play by both sides. This would not last long, with Ratte and Serresse leading the charge for the Voyageurs. At the end of the third, the Voyageurs trailed by a score of 71-76. This set the stage for one of the seasons most entertaining quarters of basketball. In a foul-ridden, feisty affair the Voyageurs pushed hard, and with 4:40 left in the game Jamie Weldon levelled the score. Alex Ratte continued his lights out shooting, racking up 42 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for one of the performances of the season. With 15 seconds left, an excellent block by Manny Pasquale followed by a York foul sent him to the line. Pasqaule made no mistake, tying the game yet again, this time with the score reading 101-101. Then, in the dying seconds of the game, a questionable call by the referee sent the Lions to the line for 3-attempts. They made no mistake, sinking 3 of 3 to capture the 104-101 victory.
To summarize, the game held no bearing on the league standings. However, both teams played out a highly entertaining affair that was dominated by offense. With the scores tied, the referees denied the fans of an extra five-minute of action, thus putting a damper on what was a highly entertaining spectacle inside the Ben Avery Gymnasium.
This game marked the last season game for several key players for the Voyageurs. Pasquale, Serresse, Williams, and Weldon will now finish out their Laurentian careers with a visit to the playoffs, where they hope to lead Laurentian into the latter stages. The Voyageurs now host the Gaels in the first round of action on Wednesday, February 20th at the Ben Avery Gynmasium at 8:00pm.
Source: Laurentian Sports Info
Lakehead @ McMaster
The Marauder men’s basketball team needed to sweep the visiting Lakehead Thunderwolves to move up in the standings but dropped a tough 78-75 contest on Friday night in the Burridge Gym.
The game started well for McMaster as Taylor Black and Joe Rocca drilled treys on the team’s first two shots. Lakehead responded to the early barrage though and the teams battled until a long three-point goal by Dwayne Harvey at the buzzer gave the “Wolves a 25-22 lead.
McMaster fell behind 33-26 early in the second quarter, but behind some inside scoring from Nathan McCarthy began to take control. The Marauders closed the quarter strong and grabbed the lead at 45-41 heading into intermission. Lakehead was on fire from long-range in the first half, hitting 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.
With Lakehead looking to assume control in the third, they tried to extend their pressure, but Mac met the challenge and after three quarters held a six-point lead.
Lakehead showed its veteran savvy in the final quarter, and slowly chiseled down the Marauder lead, before moving in front 74-72 with under a minute to go. The Marauders showed some grit and came back with a three-pointer from Adam Presutti to go back in front at 75-74. The ‘Wolves went inside to their all-star post Ryan Thomson, who scored to regain the lead with 6.9 second left.
After a timeout, the Marauders failed to execute a winning play of their own and were forced to foul after turning the ball over. Two made free throws left Mac with a last chance to force overtime, but Presutti’s desperation three missed and Lakehead stole the victory to nail down the second seed in the OUA West.
McMaster was led by BIG MAC player of the game Nathan McCarthy, who scored a career high 21 and added nine boards. Joe Rocca with 11 and Presutti with 10 were in double figures. Lakehead got 22 from Thomsen, 19 from Ben Johnson and 18 from Harvey.
McMaster is now locked into third-place in the OUA West and will play a quarter-final on February 20th in the Burridge Gym. Before that they will complete the conference schedule with one more game versus Lakehead on Saturday night at 8 pm.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
February 16 - Waterloo @ Guelph
GUELPH, Ont. - The Guelph Gryphons men's basketball team fell 63-62 today (Feb. 16) to the Waterloo Warriors to end their season. With the victory, the Warriors snagged the final OUA playoff spot.
The Gryphons finish the year with a 5-16 record and failed to make the playoffs while the Warriors improved to 6-15 to grab the sixth and final playoff spot.
Zachary Angus (Burlington, ON) topped all scorers on the day with an impressive 26 points. Daniel McCarthy (Guelph, ON) contributed a further 12 points.
Mike Helsby (Waterloo, ON) led the Warriors with 14 points on the day. Wayne Bridge (North York, ON) added another 12 points to bring the Warriors to victory.
With their seasons on the line, both teams came out on fierce defensive fronts with neither team impacting the scoreboard until Zach Angus rallied the offence to open an 8-5 lead. Great control of the rebounds allowed the Gryphons to get the ball into the Warrior paint and maintain a steady lead. With seven first-quarter points, Angus provided a dominant presence in the Gryphons offence to stay ahead 14-11 at the end of one.
The Gryphons came into the second quarter with good transition between offensive and defensive fronts to maintain pressure in the Warrior zone. After sending the Warriors to the charity stripe on consecutive fouls, Dan McCarthy burst through the Warrior defence to regain Gryphon momentum for an explosive 10-point streak to pull ahead 31-24 at the half.
The fourth quarter opened with both teams swapping baskets until Guelph was called on four consecutive fouls to allow Waterloo's Mike Helsby's deep jumper to bring the game to one. Brendan Smith added his own strike from three to take their first lead of the second half at 48-46. Zach Angus responded seconds later with his fourth three of the day to regain the Gryphon lead. With the lead back in their hands, the Gryphons' play took a controlled turn to get the ball to McCarthy at the arc to spark a 9-point streak to reopen their lead.
After sending Wayne Bridge to the line on the bonus, the Warriors began to mount the comeback streak. And, with a deep three from Zach Angelini (Hamilton, ON) with 1:30 left, the game was once again brought to within two. With an empty trip into the Warrior key, Helsby brought it back to split the Gryphon defence to complete the 3-point play to take a 61-60 lead with 52.3 seconds left. The following possessions saw both teams drain baskets in an effort to take control. However, after stealing a 63-62 lead, the Gryphons entered the Warrior zone looking for the buzzer beater to send them into the post season. With 15 seconds left in the contest the Gryphons were unable to get a basket. With the win, Waterloo's punched their ticket to the postseason.
Source: Guelph Sports Info
Western @ Laurier
WATERLOO, Ont. (February 16, 2013) - Maxwell Allin of Chatham, Ont., recorded his second career triple-double to lift the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's basketball team to 102-84 victory over the Western Mustangs on Saturday afternoon.
Allin was simply spectacular in the final regular season game for the Hawks as he dropped 30 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds on the Mustangs.
The victory, combined with Brock's loss to Windsor, also helped Laurier clinch fourth place in the division giving them a home playoff game next week.
On Saturday, Laurier jumped out to an early eight point lead in the first quarter setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Despite not holding off the Western offence as well as they had in the first half, the Hawks dictated the pace for the rest of the game slowly building up their lead through the second half.
The game would eventually finish in a 102-84 victory, the Hawks best offensive output since January 9th.
Aside from Allin, three other Hawks had great days as Jamar Forde of Mississauga, Ont., had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, William Coulthard of Oakville, Ont., had 25 points and Michael Grantis of St. Catharines, Ont., had 12 points.
For Western London, Ont., native Peter Scholtes lead the team with 16 points.
The Hawks will now prepare to host the Brock Badgers on Wednesday evening at the Athletic Complex. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Stay tuned to www.laurierathletics.com for a full preview next week.
Source: Laurier Sports Info
Windsor @ Brock
St. Catharines, Ont.- The Brock University men's basketball team (8-13 OUA West) came out on the losing end of a 84-77 decision to the fourth ranked Windsor Lancers (16-5 OUA West) at the Bob Davis Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
In the first quarter the Badgers came out shooting, going on a 14-4 run to go into the second quarter leading 27-11.
The second quarter saw both teams battling, both teams going point for point against each other. At half time the Badger were winning 43-30.
In the second half, the Lancers went on a 19-6 run tying the score up at 49. Windsor would keep the pressure up, eventually taking the lead 60-58 after three quarters.
The Badgers would go toe-to-toe against the Lancers for the first four minutes then Windsor took charge and never looked back taking the game 84-77 to finish off the season.
Brock had four players reach double figures led by senior Tshing Kasamba (St. Catharines, Ont.) who led the Badgers with a game- high 20 points and 14 rebounds for the double-double. Senior C.J. Smith (Scarborough, Ont.) contributed with 16 points, and eight rebounds. Senior Michael Williams (Brampton, Ont.) added 16 points and senior Brian Nahimana (London, Ont.) finished with 13 points.
Windsor's Josh Collins led the Lancers registering 22 points and seven rebounds. Ismar Seferagic off the bench scored 18 points.
For the game, the Badgers shot 38.7% (29-for-75) from the field, 60% (12-for-20) from the charity stripe and 22.6% (7-for-31) from beyond the arc.
The Lancers shot, 44.2% (34-for-77) from the field, 17.2% (5-for-29) from three-point range and 78.6% (11-for-14) from the line.
The Badgers next opponent will be the Laurier Golden Hawks as they face them in the OUA quarter final playoffs this upcoming Wednesday night on the road.
Source: Brock Sports Info
Carleton @ Ottawa
Words cannot justify the emotion and passion that circulated through Monpetit Hall when the Gee-Gees and Ravens tipped-off on Friday night for the final game of the regular season. It took seven periods to decide a winner in the remarkable game and in the end it was the Ravens who were able to push past the Gee-Gees for a 111-107 win in triple overtime.
The Scrubb brothers combined for a total of 62 points for Carleton, scoring 31 point each. Veterans, Warren Ward and Johnny Berhanemeskel led the way for the Gee-Gees with 27 and 17 points.
“It was just a great game. It’s just unfortunate after both teams played so hard that someone has to lose in the end,’’ said head coach James Derouin. “I’m just so proud of our guys for playing like they did tonight, we didn’t stop and we showed to whoever might have doubted us that we can do more than compete with any team in the country.”
Home town hero Berhanemeskel continued his excellent play for Ottawa as he opened up the scoring for the Gee-Gees with two straight three pointers. The Gee-Gees came out of the gates flying as they looked to be on mission to take their revenge over the Ravens after being defeated in a close game at Scotiabank Place in January.
They managed to go on a 10-2 run mid-way through the first quarter while limiting the Ravens to only five points in the opening six minutes. As a result, the Gee-Gees were able to hold the Ravens to only 13 points in the first quarter.
However, after halftime the Gee-Gees appeared flat as they scored only one point in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Subsequently, the Ravens were able to jump ahead to a four point lead mid-way through the quarter. After a quick timeout, Ottawa appeared to regain their composure and they re-took the lead to obtain the momentum going into the final quarter of regular time.
After trading the lead several times throughout the fourth quarter, the Ravens were able to extend their lead to six points with 1:18 remaining on the clock. In the dying seconds, the Gee-Gees were down by two points, 77-75, and were in possession of the ball. After a missed Ottawa three-pointer, Mehdi Tihani was able to score a put-back basket to beat the clock and send the game to overtime.
The Gee-Gees had a chance to win in the final four seconds of OT when Warren Ward ran the ball up-court and shot a floater over defender Phillip Scrubb. The ball trickled around the hoop but bounced out to extent the game to a second overtime with the score at 86-86.
A second overtime period proved to be not enough, as both team would not give an inch on defence. At the end of the second overtime, the score was knotted-up at 94-94.
In the third and final overtime period, the Ravens took a five point lead with one minute remaining. Despite, their best efforts, the Gee-Gees were not able to take the victory as they suffered the heart-breaking four point triple overtime loss.
Warren Ward led the Gee-Gees as he nearly recorded a triple-double with 27 points, 13 points and 7 assists. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue also performed well for Ottawa as he recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“I’m just mad at myself for giving up the ball at such crucial time of the game but it’s how it goes sometimes. We know that we can compete with the best and you have to be happy we the effort we put in as a team,” Gonthier-Dubue said.
Despite the loss, the Gee-Gees still hold down the second place in the OUA as the third place Ryerson Rams were upset by the last place Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night.
uOttawa will host an OUA East semifinal on Saturday, February 23 at 8 p.m. Their opponent will be determined in the OUA quarter finals which take place Wednesday February 20.
Source: uOttawa Sports Info
Toronto @ Ryerson
TORONTO - The Ryerson Rams men's basketball team rebounded in a big way from Friday night's loss against the Toronto Varsity Blues, downing their rivals 86-51 on Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
Ostap Choliy (Oakville, Ont.) led the Rams with 18 points in 19 minutes while seven other Rams scored at least eight points.
In stark contrast to Friday's contest, the Rams came out with energy and got down to business early. The starting lineup had a new look as head coach Roy Rana granted his three seniors starting privileges and the trio did not disappoint.
"It's always emotional to see young men leave but I'm really proud of them. They showed great character and they've grown as young men here and that's what it's all about for us," said coach Rana following the game.
The Rams had excellent ball movement throughout the first quarter, finding lots of open looks for each other and converting on open shots. Six different Rams found the score sheet in the first quarter and following a buzzer beater from Jordon Gauthier (Windsor, Ont.), the home squad held a commanding 24-10 lead.
Ryerson continued their strong play into the second quarter, outscoring the Blues by another eight points to double up Toronto 44-22 at the half.
Choliy erupted for 14 points in the third quarter to help the Rams put up 28 points in the frame and put the game out of reach. Ryerson's lead grew to as many as 40 and after three quarters the Rams led 72-32.
Toronto had their best quarter in the fourth, outscoring the Rams 19-14 but it was much too little, too late for the Blues as Ryerson closed things out for the 86-51 victory.
Bjorn Michaelsen (Otterburn Park, Que.) finished with ten points for the Rams while Kyle Hankins (Burlington, Ont.) picked up a game-high 11 rebounds. Gavin Berry (Waterloo, Ont.) notched nine points in his final regular season game as a Ram while Nem Stankovic (Toronto) picked up eight points and six boards in his final appearance.
Ben Garvin (Holland Landing, Ont.) and Arun Kumar (Hamilton, Ont.) each recorded ten points in the loss.
"I thought we played a really good game," commented coach Rana. "We moved the ball and we shared it. Our bench was big - we got to play a lot of guys. It was an important bounce back win but now we move into playoffs where it's a single elimination and we have to get ready for Wednesday."
The Rams finish the season 15-5 and in third place in the OUA east division standings. They will match up with the York Lions and coach Rana knows they can't take anything for granted.
"It's going to be a tough game. We're going to have to be ready and put in a lot of work over the next three days to get ready."
The Rams tipoff against the Lions at 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 20 in the first round of the OUA playoffs.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
Lakehead @ McMaster
It didn’t hold the same stakes as the previous night, but the McMaster men’s basketball team showed some pride with a 92-82 victory over visiting Lakehead Saturday night in Hamilton.
Prior to the game, the McMaster staff honoured the graduating seniors from this year’s team: Kyle Chevalier, Nathan Pelech and Scott Laws.
With both teams locked into their respective spots in the OUA West Standings, McMaster could only try to end the Maroon’s seven-game losing streak versus Lakehead in conference play going back to 2010.
On this night it was Lakehead that scored two quick hoops to get an early lead, but Mac evened things up and the teams played even, until a late surge by the Marauders saw the quarter end with Mac on top 28-18.
Both coaches went deeper into their bench players than they might normally, preferring to save wear and tear on the starters with the post-season looming. McMaster carried the momentum to start the second quarter and built the lead up to 16 at 41-25 on a trey from Adam Presutti. Following a timeout by Lakehead, the Wolves began to claw back, and at the half they had shaved the Maroon advantage down to 45-38.
Like the previous night, Lakehead looked to assume control to start the second half and went on a 10-2 run to grab the lead at 48-47. McMaster responded though and came up with a run of its own so that by the end of the third quarter, the lead was 62-53 with 10 minutes left in the game.
The fourth quarter became a battle of attrition as both teams were whistled for numerous fouls. The Wolves closed to within six, but Presutti hit a timely three-pointer to bump the margin back to nine. With time running out, Lakehead looked to its defense to force some turnovers but some over-aggressive play put McMaster at the charity stripe and the Marauders made their free throws to close out the win.
McMaster was led by BIG MAC player of the game Aaron Redpath, who scored 20 points on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor and 9 of 10 from the stripe. Adam Presutti scored 15 points, while Taylor Black with 11 and Nate Pelech with 10 also hit double figures. Top Lakehead shooter was Joey Nitychoruk, who finished with 18.
McMaster finishes OUA play with a record of 13 and 8, and enters the playoffs as the third-seed in the West division. The Marauders will host the Waterloo Warriors on Wednesday, February 20 in a division quarter-final. Tip-off will be at 8 p.m.
Source: McMaster Sports Info
