2007 MEN�S BASKETBALL DIVISION FINALS PLAYOFF PREVIEW

HAMILTON, Ont. – A quick look at the 2007 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Men’s Basketball Division Final playoff match-ups.

Windsor vs McMaster- #1 West vs #3 West
In a tight battle for playoff positioning in the west division down the stretch, the No.10 Windsor Lancers (16-6) find themselves matched up with the McMaster Marauders (13-9) in the West Division Final. In a regular season series which saw each team take 19 point victories at home, the Lancer home court advantage should give Windsor an advantage. The Marauders will have to find a way to look past the Windsor fans, and out do the Lancer defense. Windsor Head Coach Chris Oliver has turned the Lancers into one of the top defensive teams in the nation, on average holding their opponents to under 70 points per game. His team leads the OUA and sits second in the CIS in rebounds averaging 38.38 per game. For McMaster, they bring with them fifth year guard Martin Ajayi (Hamilton, Ontario) who is coming off what Brock Badgers (15-7) head coach Ken Murray called “the greatest half of basketball by a CIS player,” which saw Ajayi score 30 second half points leading the Marauders over the Badgers 87-71 in semi final action. Lancers will look to counter with OUA first-team all-star Kevin Kloostra (Chatham, Ontario) who finished the season eighth in league scoring averaging 16.8 points per game. With the coaching match up featuring McMaster Head Coach Joe Raso and his former assistant Chris Oliver, Saturday promises to be a classic.

Windsor vs McMaster- #1 West vs #3 West
West Division Final- March 3 – 8:00 pm- Windsor

Carleton vs Ottawa- #1 East vs #2 East
The No. 3 Carleton Ravens and the No.5 Ottawa Gee-Gees (18-4) are set to go head-to-head in the East Division Final of the OUA men’s basketball playoffs for the first time since the 2004-2005 season. Carleton comes into the final with an impressive semi final win over the York Lions (15-7), while the Gee-Gees narrowly escaped defeat with a nail biting, buzzer beater 69-68 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues (15-7). The Ravens who finished the regular season with a 19-3 record will rely heavily on OUA East Most Valuable Player Osvaldo Jeanty (Gloucester, Ontario) who finished the season sixth in league scoring with a points per game average of 17.14. Defensively, Carleton comes into the game allowing only 62.82 points per game for tops in the OUA. Ottawa will need to bring everything to the table in this game, to continue their two game winning streak against the Ravens. In the home and home regular season series Ottawa defeated the Ravens 64-62 on January 23, and again 77-71 on February 17. The Gee-Gees leadership will come from fifth year guard Alex McLeod (Lindsay, Ontario) who has lead his team for the past five years. McLeod finished the season with a 10.9 points per game average. The front man of the team offensively with a 14.5 points per game average will be OUA first-team all-star, Josh Gibson-Bascombe (Ottawa, Ontario). Gibson-Bascombe led the Gee-Gees in minutes per game (30.7) as well as tallying team highs in steals (60) and assists (73) on the season. Both teams will hope to be rested and energized for the game this Saturday night, as they have both had a week off to prepare. With a sold out crowd this will be a game to watch in OUA playoffs this season.

Carleton vs Ottawa- #1 East vs #2 East
East Division Final- March 3 – 8:00 pm- Carleton

24 teams, 4 CIS berths, 2 OUA champions- the OUA basketball playoffs, presented by Investors Group

- OUA -

Michelle Church
Communications & Media Relations Coordinator
Ontario University Athletics

Tel: (905) 540-5156
Fax: (905) 574-2840
E-mail: michelle.church@oua.ca
Web: www.oua.ca