February 28, 2006
MAC PREPARES FOR RED-HOT LANCERS
HAMILTON - The McMaster Marauder men's basketball team looks to clinch a berth in the OUA West final and CIS national championships on Wednesday night in the Burridge Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.
The Marauders, who had a bye in OUA West quarter-final action, face the fifth-seeded Windsor Lancers, who defeated fourth-seed Waterloo Warriors 61-58 this past Saturday. The Lancers knocked off the Warriors in dramatic fashion, as point guard Ryan Steer hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to seal the win. The victory is the Lancers first OUA playoff win in 17 years.
The game will feature two of the hottest teams in the country. After starting the year 6-9, Windsor has won seven of their last eight games, with victories over every OUA West playoff team except for Mac. Meanwhile, the Marauders clinched top spot in the division by winning their final six games by an average margin of 17 points. Both teams shoot 46 per cent from the field, and they are the top two rebounding teams in the province.
Mac has won both contests against the Lancers this year, 87-80 in Windsor, and 90-69 a little over two weeks ago in Hamilton. OUA West first-team all-star Adam Steiner averaged 22.5 points and 10 rebounds in the two victories over the Lancers, shooting a shade under 50 per cent from the field. Ben Katz averaged 16.5 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while shooting 63 per cent from the field and 75 per cent from three-point land in the two contests.
The Lancers were led by OUA West second-team all-star Kevin Kloostra. A native of Chatham ON, Kloostra averaged 15.5 points while shooting 48 per cent in the two losses. Regarded as one of the top three high school basketball players in Canada in 2002, Kloostra started his collegiate career with NCAA Division I Binghamton University before transferring to Casper College in Wyoming last season.
In Mac's recent string of victories, their experienced and balanced lineup has paid dividends. In the month of February, the team shot 49 per cent from the field, had an assist-turnover ratio of 1.34, and a turnover ratio (own/opp) of 0.67, stats that would all put Mac at the top of the country if sustained over an entire season.
With the addition of Toms Lokmanis to the rotation in January, Mac has seven players averaging better than seven points per game, with five of those players shooting better than 46 per cent from the field.
Windsor has a similarly balanced lineup as five players average over eight points per game while all shooting over 42 per cent from the field.
The game will be a homecoming of sorts for first-year Lancer head coach Chris Oliver. Oliver, who previously coached at Queen's for three seasons (improving the Gaels from 4-18 in his first year to 11-11 in his third), was an assistant under Joe Raso for six years prior to his head coaching debut in Kingston. A Mac kinesiology grad, Oliver is thought to be one of the best young coaches in Canada.
Coverage of Wednesday's game can be heard on 93.3 FM CFMU or on the internet at http://cfmu.mcmaster.ca
(Source: Chris Black, Mcmaster Sports Information.)
(Photo: McMaster guard Justin Gunter drives to the basket in a recent match-up with the Windsor Lancers. The two teams meet in the West semi-finals Wednenesday night at the Burridge Gym in Hamilton. Photo by Cameron Dunlop.)
The Marauders, who had a bye in OUA West quarter-final action, face the fifth-seeded Windsor Lancers, who defeated fourth-seed Waterloo Warriors 61-58 this past Saturday. The Lancers knocked off the Warriors in dramatic fashion, as point guard Ryan Steer hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to seal the win. The victory is the Lancers first OUA playoff win in 17 years.
The game will feature two of the hottest teams in the country. After starting the year 6-9, Windsor has won seven of their last eight games, with victories over every OUA West playoff team except for Mac. Meanwhile, the Marauders clinched top spot in the division by winning their final six games by an average margin of 17 points. Both teams shoot 46 per cent from the field, and they are the top two rebounding teams in the province.
Mac has won both contests against the Lancers this year, 87-80 in Windsor, and 90-69 a little over two weeks ago in Hamilton. OUA West first-team all-star Adam Steiner averaged 22.5 points and 10 rebounds in the two victories over the Lancers, shooting a shade under 50 per cent from the field. Ben Katz averaged 16.5 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while shooting 63 per cent from the field and 75 per cent from three-point land in the two contests.
The Lancers were led by OUA West second-team all-star Kevin Kloostra. A native of Chatham ON, Kloostra averaged 15.5 points while shooting 48 per cent in the two losses. Regarded as one of the top three high school basketball players in Canada in 2002, Kloostra started his collegiate career with NCAA Division I Binghamton University before transferring to Casper College in Wyoming last season.
In Mac's recent string of victories, their experienced and balanced lineup has paid dividends. In the month of February, the team shot 49 per cent from the field, had an assist-turnover ratio of 1.34, and a turnover ratio (own/opp) of 0.67, stats that would all put Mac at the top of the country if sustained over an entire season.
With the addition of Toms Lokmanis to the rotation in January, Mac has seven players averaging better than seven points per game, with five of those players shooting better than 46 per cent from the field.
Windsor has a similarly balanced lineup as five players average over eight points per game while all shooting over 42 per cent from the field.
The game will be a homecoming of sorts for first-year Lancer head coach Chris Oliver. Oliver, who previously coached at Queen's for three seasons (improving the Gaels from 4-18 in his first year to 11-11 in his third), was an assistant under Joe Raso for six years prior to his head coaching debut in Kingston. A Mac kinesiology grad, Oliver is thought to be one of the best young coaches in Canada.
Coverage of Wednesday's game can be heard on 93.3 FM CFMU or on the internet at http://cfmu.mcmaster.ca
(Source: Chris Black, Mcmaster Sports Information.)
(Photo: McMaster guard Justin Gunter drives to the basket in a recent match-up with the Windsor Lancers. The two teams meet in the West semi-finals Wednenesday night at the Burridge Gym in Hamilton. Photo by Cameron Dunlop.)
