AROUND OUA: Lakers grab first OUA win
It took longer than they would have liked, but it happened, the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team picked up their historic first OUA regular season win Friday night over the Algoma Thunderbirds.
SCOREBOARD
It took longer than they would have liked, but it happened, the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team picked up their historic first OUA regular season win Friday night over the Algoma Thunderbirds.
Thanks to a fantastic start and some hot shooting, the Lakers put together a complete 40-minute effort on their way to a 71-56 victory to break their early season struggles.
Nipissing started things off with a bang, outscoring the Thunderbirds 20-8 to build up a solid lead in the first quarter.
Algoma pushed back, but Nipissing still took a 39-25 lead into halftime.
With a solid lead, the Lakers slowly extended things in the third quarter and led 57-41 after three, which was enough cushion to cruise to the win.
In the final quarter, Algoma attempted a comeback, but thanks to solid defence and a few key shots, Nipissing held on for the victory.
The Lakers offence clicked all night, led by a huge night – a historic night – by Marcus Lewis who scored 25 points and added 20 rebounds.
Marvin Ngonadi added 17 points and Wil Konybai picked up 11 for Nipissing.
All five starters had a strong game, playing over 20 minutes and all recorded at least a handful of points.
The Lakers finish the first half of the year on a high note and will be back on the court in 2016.
Source: Nipissing Lakers
No.4 Brock defeats Lakehead 82-80 in OT
ST. CATHARINES, ON. - The No. 4 ranked Brock University men's basketball team defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves by the score of 82-80 in overtime Friday night in front of large hometown crowd at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
The Badgers had four players reach double digits led by Dani Elgadi (Waterloo, ON) who finished with a game-high 28 points and 15 rebounds for the double-double. Matt Marshall (Burlington, ON) contributed with 17 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double. Rounding out the Brock leaders were Johneil Simpson (Toronto, ON) and Ryan Bennett (Toronto, ON) who chipped in with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Leading the Thunderwolves were Henry Tan who recorded 24 points and four assists. Nick Burke added 16 points while Tanner Parrington, Bacarius Dinkins and Alexandre Robichaud chipped in with 12, 11 and 10 points respectively.
For the game, the Badgers shot 37.9% (33-for-87) from the field,36.4% (8-for-22) from three-point land and 72.7% (8-for-11) from the charity stripe. The Thunderwolves were 28-for-72 (38.9%) from the floor, 9-for-26 (34.6%) from beyond the arc and 15-for-24 (62.5%) from the free throw line.
The Badgers will make history tomorrow night when they take on the Thunderwolves at the first ever basketball game played at the new Meridian Centre. Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm. Tickets to this historic event are available on ticketmaster.ca.
Source: Brock Badgers
Pereira has career night, Gunter collects first CIS win as Warriors top Lions
Justin Gunter got his first OUA head coaching win as the Waterloo Warriors made their third comeback stick to take an 86-83 win over the visiting York Lions on Friday night at the PAC. Mike Pereira (Kitchener) had a career night for Waterloo as he hit for 28 points and collected 19 rebounds.
Encouraged by the Warrior Band and a good crowd for Residence Night as part of UW's Think Pink Weekend, the Warriors started quickly and had a 17-9 lead after Muhammad Anwar (Mississauga) hit an and-one with 3:00 minutes left in the first quarter. That would turn out to be Waterloo's largest lead of the night as York went on a 23-8 run over the next six minutes to get their own 7 point lead. With four minutes left in the half, Waterloo made their first comeback run as Ben Davis (Mississauga), Dylan Phillips (Hamilton) and Jon Ravenhorst (Sarnia) each hit a three on successive trips down the court. The lead was short lived as York held a 45-41 lead at half time. York used a full court press for much of the first half, with Waterloo continually breaking the press for layups by Davis, Pereira and Anwar.
Waterloo narrowed the gap slightly at a couple of points in the third quarter, but overall York held the edge and took a 64-57 lead into the final quarter. York then hit a three to open the fourth and had their own largest lead of 10 points. Over the next four minutes Waterloo had comeback number 2, this time a 14-2 run to take a two point lead with 5:40 left in the game. York answered with a quick basket to tie and then two trips with Shane Reader hitting a three and York was back to a six point lead.
Waterloo was down four when Dylan Phillips (Hamilton) hit his sixth three of the night and narrowed the gap to a single point with 58 seconds left. York and Waterloo traded baskets and York called time with 30 seconds remaining to advance the ball to the front court. On the ensuing inbounds play, Ben Davis (Mississauga) got a steal and raced down the court to be fouled. Davis hit both free throws and Waterloo had their third comeback and a one point lead. York had two good shots at the lead, but missed them both and Pereira gathered the rebound and was fouled. Pereira hit both free throws to give Waterloo the three point lead with six seconds remaining. A long three from Gene Spagnuolo was short and Waterloo had their first league win of the season.
In addition to Pereira's career night, Dylan Phillips (Hamilton) also had a career best 20 points. Ben Davis (Mississauga) added 19 points. The Warriors continued their effort on the boards, taking a 38-29 edge in rebounds. For York, Shane Reader led the way with 18 points while Brandon Ramirez added 12 points.
Waterloo closes out the fall portion of the schedule on Saturday night as they host the Queen's Gaels. Game time is 8:00pm at the PAC.
Source: Waterloo Warriors
Gaels snap Golden Hawks win streak
WATERLOO, Ont. (November 27, 2015) – The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's basketball team had their four-game winning streak come to an end on Friday night as they lost 81-74 to the Queen's Gaels at the Athletic Complex.
In a battle between a pair of 4-1 teams in the OUA, it was rebounding and free throw shooting that proved to be the difference on this night. The Gaels outrebounded the purple and gold 54-31 while converting 22 free throw attempts to 16 for Laurier to pick up the victory.
Five members of the visiting Gaels scored in double-figures led by a 19-point, eight rebound effort from Sukhpreet Singh of Toronto. Jesse Graham of Kingston, Ont., was effective off the bench as well for Queen's as he finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
For Laurier, Luke Allin of Chatham, Ont., led the offensive effort as he poured in 20 points to lead all scorers. Will Coulthard of Oakville, Ont., had another solid all-around game as he finished with 19 points, five rebounds and three steals while rookie guard Simon Mikre of Scarborough, Ont., dished out seven assists.
Despite the setback, the Hawks remain tied for first place in the OUA West division with the Windsor Lancers, who lost on the road to the Ottawa Gee-Gees. Both teams sit atop the division with a 4-2 record.
Laurier will now look to close out the Fall portion of their schedule with a victory when they host the York Lions (2-4) on Saturday night at the Athletic Complex. Tipoff is for 8 p.m. and can be seen live on OUA.tv.
Source: Laurier Golden Hawks
Resch buries career-high seven 3-pointers to lift Ravens to 6-0 start
(OTTAWA, ON) — The Ravens picked up their sixth straight victory to open the OUA season with a convincing 88-47 win over CIS #6 ranked Western on Friday night at the Ravens' Nest.
Carleton's Gavin Resch (Ottawa, ON), a fifth-year senior, had one of his top games as a Raven by netting a career-high seven 3-point shots for 21 points.
"I felt pretty good (about tonight), but I also had three turnovers which is a bit uncharacteristic of me, so it wasn't all perfect," said a humble Ravens senior co-captain after his impressive performance. "It's nice to hit shots, but all of those shots had assists, so cheers to my teammates."
The Mustangs struggled out of the gates with a measly five points through the first quarter and just sixteen after twenty minutes – by far their worst half of basketball this season. Western shot just 17.1% (6-35) in the first as they were outshone by a Ravens team that came out to play. Carleton freshman guard Stanley Mayambo (Fredericton, NB) was on point late in the first half as he nailed three 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the second quarter to give the Ravens a massive lift off of the bench.
To complement their excellent first-half shooting display, Carleton was stellar on the defensive end in the first half as well, combining for a total of 5 blocked shots. The Ravens led 41-16 at the break.
Western was more aggressive in the second half as they showed the Ravens glimpses of the team that is currently ranked as one of the top teams in the country. Greg Morrow, Western's star guard, contributed 15 points in the second half, but it was his Carleton counterpart, Gavin Resch, who stole the spotlight. Resch connected on 6 of 8 shots from downtown to outdo Morrow, and he received assistance from Ravens fourth-year power forward, Ryan Ejim (Toronto, ON) who added 12 points (5-6 FG) in the second half to maintain a comfortable lead.
Carleton guard Kaza Kajami-Keane (Ajax, ON) impressed the home crowd once again with 8 points, 6 rebounds and a team-high 7 assists.
The Ravens were in a pass-happy mood against Western as the team combined for 23 assists, their second-highest total of the season.
Carleton outscored Western by 11 points in the second half, but the Mustangs did improve significantly in the latter part of the game.
"[Western] are a good team," said Resch. "They came back in the second half and if they would have come out a little stronger in the first half, it would have been a close game all the way through."
"I am proud that we beat them, but there is quite a bit that we need to work on from the second half," added Resch.
The Ravens will face the Windsor Lancers in what should be a competitive game to close out the first half of the season. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.
Source: Carleton Ravens
Lock down defence fells Lancers
The no. 1 ranked Gee-Gees men's basketball team showed off its ability to lock down defensively in an 87-53 home court win over the Windsor Lancers on Friday night. The win moves Ottawa's regular season record to 6-0 while Windsor falls to 4-2.
After a tight first quarter, Ottawa's three-point shooting and ball movement rocketed the garnet and grey to a 31-15 advantage midway through the second. Windsor continued to drive the paint on offence, but the Gee-Gees had three men inside to protect the rim and were quick to recover to the outside. That meant the Lancers could muster just five points in the second frame, and the visitors trailed 37-18 at half time.
A pair of threes from Rocca had Windsor fired up early in the third quarter. Ottawa responded with a dunk by Maracle and a trey from Agada to regain the momentum and a 20-point lead.
While the Gee-Gees calmly knocked down 17 three-pointers in the game, led by four each from Matt Plunkett and Agada, Ottawa's post play continues to add new depth. Nathan McCarthy showed his inside passing skills as well as a nasty left-handed hook shot, and was relieved by Maracle's active rebounding. Both players, along with Noel Jones, were key to the Gee-Gees' lock-down defensive effort.
"They established the paint," said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin of his three post players. "I just rotate them in... they all work hard and we really like what we have. When we're able to shoot the ball well and defend, it looks pretty good."
Also crucial was the work of Agada and Mehdi Tihani to stop Windsor's leading scorer, Alex Campbell. The guard was held to 1-10 from the field and finished the game with seven points. Mike Rocca led Windsor with 10 points.
"This year the focus is different. We're not putting up 100 points every night, and the guys understand that defence is going to be key," explained Derouin. "This may have been the best defensive performance in my time here, against a good team."
Ottawa had five players finish in double-digit scoring, paced by 17 points from Caleb Agada, who added 12 defensive rebounds for his fourth double-double of the regular season. Plunkett finished with 16 points as did Brandon Robinson, both off the bench.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees