February 28, 2010
THUNDERWOLVES EDGE WARRIORS IN MEN'S BASKETBALL PLAYOFF CLASSIC
THUNDER BAY, Ont. - In a thrilling second half comeback, the No. 8 nationally-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves men's basketball team dispatched the upstart Waterloo Warriors 64-59 in their OUA West semifinal match-up, Saturday night at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse in Thunder Bay, Ont. Waterloo led by 11 points at halftime, but Lakehead stormed back, outscoring the visitors by seven in the third quarter and winning the decisive fourth quarter 16-7.
The win was Lakehead's first in the post-season since 2005 when they defeated the Guelph Gryphons on the road before bowing out to Waterloo in the semis.
Freshman forward Ryan Thomson (Oakville, Ont.) had the steady hand, dropping 17 first half points and 20 overall to lead the Thunderwolves. Sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) fought his way to a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds after failing to register a single point or rebound in the opening 20 minutes while Seb Kasiuk added an important eight points in the first half. Point guard Greg Carter added 11 points with three steals while cementing his reputation as one of the nation's top defensive players by harassing the Warriors leading scorer Cam McIntyre (Kitchener, Ont.) into a 1-for-9 shooting night.
Waterloo got 13 points from Matt Hayes (Midland, Ont.) in his final game with the team. Another fifth-year senior, guard David Burnett (Heidelberg, Ont.) added 11 points.
Lakehead shot 41.0 percent from the field while limiting the Warriors to a 32.8 percent effort. A ball-hawking defence and an imposing Thunderdome crowd made the second half a nightmare for the Waterloo players who went 4-of-27 (14.8 percent) from the field in the final two quarters.
The Thunderwolves got their offensive game together early in the third as a 16-2 run tied the game up at 45-45. From there, the veteran Warriors restored their lead with a 7-0 spurt of their own before a conventional three-point play from Carter brought Lakehead back within four points at the start of the fourth.
Lakehead eventually took a 58-57 lead on a pull-up jumper by Carter, with Joe Jones (Washington, D.C.) added a free throw later for a three-point lead. McIntyre's game-tying free throws with under two minutes left were the last points for Waterloo as Salhia scored the winning basketball on a tough inside finish. The game was official out of reach when Lakehead came up with a loose ball in their own end before Andrew Hackner (Thunder Bay, Ont.) found senior guard Jamie Searle (Belleville, Ont.) for a big lay-up that sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy.
"I am proud of our team for stepping up in the second half and especially in the fourth quarter on the defensive end," said Thunderwolves head coach Scott Morrison. "Waterloo played a strong defensive game in the first half and their experienced players were not affected by the sell-out crowd. We had to really be perfect in the second half with our defensive fundamentals. Credit goes out to both teams for playing playoff basketball tonight and to our guys for hanging in there and taking it one possession at a time in the second half."
The Thunderwolves will now advance to the OUA West final next Saturday against the Windsor Lancers at Windsor, Ont.
The OUA basketball playoffs are presented by Investors Group.
Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves
The win was Lakehead's first in the post-season since 2005 when they defeated the Guelph Gryphons on the road before bowing out to Waterloo in the semis.
Freshman forward Ryan Thomson (Oakville, Ont.) had the steady hand, dropping 17 first half points and 20 overall to lead the Thunderwolves. Sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) fought his way to a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds after failing to register a single point or rebound in the opening 20 minutes while Seb Kasiuk added an important eight points in the first half. Point guard Greg Carter added 11 points with three steals while cementing his reputation as one of the nation's top defensive players by harassing the Warriors leading scorer Cam McIntyre (Kitchener, Ont.) into a 1-for-9 shooting night.
Waterloo got 13 points from Matt Hayes (Midland, Ont.) in his final game with the team. Another fifth-year senior, guard David Burnett (Heidelberg, Ont.) added 11 points.
Lakehead shot 41.0 percent from the field while limiting the Warriors to a 32.8 percent effort. A ball-hawking defence and an imposing Thunderdome crowd made the second half a nightmare for the Waterloo players who went 4-of-27 (14.8 percent) from the field in the final two quarters.
The Thunderwolves got their offensive game together early in the third as a 16-2 run tied the game up at 45-45. From there, the veteran Warriors restored their lead with a 7-0 spurt of their own before a conventional three-point play from Carter brought Lakehead back within four points at the start of the fourth.
Lakehead eventually took a 58-57 lead on a pull-up jumper by Carter, with Joe Jones (Washington, D.C.) added a free throw later for a three-point lead. McIntyre's game-tying free throws with under two minutes left were the last points for Waterloo as Salhia scored the winning basketball on a tough inside finish. The game was official out of reach when Lakehead came up with a loose ball in their own end before Andrew Hackner (Thunder Bay, Ont.) found senior guard Jamie Searle (Belleville, Ont.) for a big lay-up that sent the sold-out crowd into a frenzy.
"I am proud of our team for stepping up in the second half and especially in the fourth quarter on the defensive end," said Thunderwolves head coach Scott Morrison. "Waterloo played a strong defensive game in the first half and their experienced players were not affected by the sell-out crowd. We had to really be perfect in the second half with our defensive fundamentals. Credit goes out to both teams for playing playoff basketball tonight and to our guys for hanging in there and taking it one possession at a time in the second half."
The Thunderwolves will now advance to the OUA West final next Saturday against the Windsor Lancers at Windsor, Ont.
The OUA basketball playoffs are presented by Investors Group.
Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves
