February 19, 2006
SENIORS LEAD WARRIORS IN 86-83 WIN OVER HAWKS
WATERLOO - It's an annual tradition for the Waterloo Warriors to recognize their departing seniors before the final regular season home game. But Saturday's brief tribute to a trio of fifth-year stars was apparently a little more inspirational than usual. Seniors Graham Jarman, Gerard Magennis and Chris Edwards carried the struggling Warriors, scoring a combined 54 points as Waterloo held off their arch nemesis Laurier Golden Hawks 86-83 in a thriller on Fantastic Alumni Day at the PAC gym.
Jarman was lethal against the Hawks, scoring 25 points - including a superb 14-for-14 performance from the free-throw line - to go along with six rebounds and seven assists. Magennis hit from inside and out, scoring 22 points (8-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line), with five rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while Edwards, who didn't practice all week with two ailing knees, had seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
"It was a beautiful way to end it," Magennis said of wrapping up his five-year stint with an emotional win against the Hawks. "We talked about it earlier and we did not want to lose our last career game at home to Laurier. We couldn't swallow that pill. A lot of respect for those guys but we didn't want to lose to them again."
"The greatest rivalry we have is with those guys," said Jarman. "No matter who's in what place, it's always a close game. To play our last regular season home game in front of a good crowd like that was great. It's a nice way to go out."
The near-capacity crowd held it's collective breath in the final moments as the Hawks mounted a furious rally after trailing by 12 in the second half. Guard Wade Currie, who led Laurier with 19 points, cut Waterloo's lead to three at 82-79 with a drive to the bucket and Omar Miles then made one of two free throws to get the visitors to within two. Rob Innes missed a short-range shot and his follow, which would have tied the game, and Magennis coolly stepped up and buried two free throws to make it 84-40 Waterloo. Hawks post player Andrew Mackay hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds but Jarman, as he had done all afternoon, went to the line and buried another two free throws to ice it. Currie missed a three at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime.
Overall, Waterloo was an incredible 27-for-32 at the stripe, while Laurier, despite a dominating performance on the offensive glass against the under-sized Warriors, only hit 10 of its 20 free throws.
"They ran the ball well," said Currie. "Their transition was great offensively. We tried to run but we couldn't get it going so their defensive transition was there, as well. We went inside and it worked but we didn't hit a big one down the stretch and that hurt."
Aside from the courageous efforts from the three seniors, Waterloo got some help from athletic third-year forward Michael Davis and rookie guard David Burnett, who dazzled with some clutch threes and timely dishes. He finished with 10 points and six assists, the bulk of which came while the warriors were building the double-digit lead in the second half. Davis scored 12, including two thunderous dunks that had the ravenous PAC crowd up out of their seats.
While Waterloo was guaranteed to host a playoff game next weekend, the win was a crucial one for head coach Tom Kieswtter on many fronts. The Warriors were in the midst of a three-game slide and knew that a Laurier win would mean that the two rivals would meet again next Saturday, a scenario Kieswetter knew would be dangerous. The Hawks won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 68-51 back on January 21.
"There were a lot of reasons this was an important game," said Kieswetter. "We just lost to the first-place team and the second-place team. You don't want to be going into the playoffs on a low.
"There was a lot of motivation going into this game."
The coach was impressed, though hardly surprised by the trio of Jarman, Magennis and Edwards.
"Down the stretch, those three guys all stepped up," said Kieswetter. "They're our seniors. They've been around, they've been through this."
- OUA -
(Photo: Waterloo senior Chris Edwards goes hard to the rack in the Warriors emotional 86-83 win over rival Laurier. Photo by Jim Hagen.)
Jarman was lethal against the Hawks, scoring 25 points - including a superb 14-for-14 performance from the free-throw line - to go along with six rebounds and seven assists. Magennis hit from inside and out, scoring 22 points (8-for-14 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line), with five rebounds, seven assists and four steals, while Edwards, who didn't practice all week with two ailing knees, had seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
"It was a beautiful way to end it," Magennis said of wrapping up his five-year stint with an emotional win against the Hawks. "We talked about it earlier and we did not want to lose our last career game at home to Laurier. We couldn't swallow that pill. A lot of respect for those guys but we didn't want to lose to them again."
"The greatest rivalry we have is with those guys," said Jarman. "No matter who's in what place, it's always a close game. To play our last regular season home game in front of a good crowd like that was great. It's a nice way to go out."
The near-capacity crowd held it's collective breath in the final moments as the Hawks mounted a furious rally after trailing by 12 in the second half. Guard Wade Currie, who led Laurier with 19 points, cut Waterloo's lead to three at 82-79 with a drive to the bucket and Omar Miles then made one of two free throws to get the visitors to within two. Rob Innes missed a short-range shot and his follow, which would have tied the game, and Magennis coolly stepped up and buried two free throws to make it 84-40 Waterloo. Hawks post player Andrew Mackay hit a three-pointer in the dying seconds but Jarman, as he had done all afternoon, went to the line and buried another two free throws to ice it. Currie missed a three at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime.
Overall, Waterloo was an incredible 27-for-32 at the stripe, while Laurier, despite a dominating performance on the offensive glass against the under-sized Warriors, only hit 10 of its 20 free throws.
"They ran the ball well," said Currie. "Their transition was great offensively. We tried to run but we couldn't get it going so their defensive transition was there, as well. We went inside and it worked but we didn't hit a big one down the stretch and that hurt."
Aside from the courageous efforts from the three seniors, Waterloo got some help from athletic third-year forward Michael Davis and rookie guard David Burnett, who dazzled with some clutch threes and timely dishes. He finished with 10 points and six assists, the bulk of which came while the warriors were building the double-digit lead in the second half. Davis scored 12, including two thunderous dunks that had the ravenous PAC crowd up out of their seats.
While Waterloo was guaranteed to host a playoff game next weekend, the win was a crucial one for head coach Tom Kieswtter on many fronts. The Warriors were in the midst of a three-game slide and knew that a Laurier win would mean that the two rivals would meet again next Saturday, a scenario Kieswetter knew would be dangerous. The Hawks won the first meeting between the two teams this season, 68-51 back on January 21.
"There were a lot of reasons this was an important game," said Kieswetter. "We just lost to the first-place team and the second-place team. You don't want to be going into the playoffs on a low.
"There was a lot of motivation going into this game."
The coach was impressed, though hardly surprised by the trio of Jarman, Magennis and Edwards.
"Down the stretch, those three guys all stepped up," said Kieswetter. "They're our seniors. They've been around, they've been through this."
- OUA -
(Photo: Waterloo senior Chris Edwards goes hard to the rack in the Warriors emotional 86-83 win over rival Laurier. Photo by Jim Hagen.)
