M-Basketball Friday Roundup
Carleton, 81@ Ottawa, 60 Box Score
The No. 1 nationally ranked Carleton University Ravens men’s basketball team has closed the 2010-11 regular season with a perfect 22-0 record after defeating the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 81-60 at Montpetit Hall Friday night.
The Gee-Gees claimed the scoreboard first with a quick two points to open the game. But it wouldn’t be long before the Ravens would retaliate and take control of the quarter.
The Gee-Gees came within one in the following quarter, but after back-to-back baskets from Willy Manigat (Montreal), Carleton held a 41-37 lead going into the halftime break.
The Gee-Gees found success with their field goals and overtook the Ravens early in the third. But the lead would be short lived as Kyle Smendziuk (Kanata, Ont.) completed a three-point play and tied things up. The Gee-Gees saw one more lead before closing the quarter, but the Ravens would finish on top heading into the fourth.
The Ravens confirmed the win in the final quarter, stretching to a 21-point lead and out-scoring the Gee-Gees 22-7.
Raven Tyson Hinz (Ottawa) recorded a double-double, taking a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. Elliot Thompson (Fredericton) and Philip Scrubb (Richmond, B.C.) also reached double digits for Carleton with 18 and 16 points respectively.
The Ravens will now look to the playoffs, as they host a second-round game on February 26 at 8 p.m.
Source: Carleton Sports Info
Ryerson, 80 @ Toronto, 77 Box Score
Veteran Ryan McNeilly scored 27 points, including draining six straight three pointers, helping the Ryerson Rams (11-11) overcome a 12-point deficit to defeat the Toronto Varsity Blues 80-77 on Friday night.
The Toronto native sunk a total of eight from beyond the arc and was lights out from the mid-way point of the third quarter on. He ended the night going an incredible 8-for-11 from three-point range, while rookie Jahmal Jones helped out with 15 points.
"It was a real character win, being down to one of the best teams in the league and being able to fight back," said Head Coach Roy Rana. "I thought our young guys represented, and we just have the fighting spirit. We never gave up."
The Rams jumped out to an early lead courtesy of McNeilly's first two three's of the contest. Jones also picked up a basket as Ryerson held a 13-4 lead. However, the Varsity Blues (14-8) kicked it up a gear, and went on a 12-4 streak, managing to notch the game at 19-19 at the end of the opening period.
The Blues only continued the momentum into the second, scoring five straight as Sean Nickel drained a couple of buckets, picking up nine points in that quarter alone for Toronto. Alex Hill also picked up five points, while Andrew Wasik was a force in the low post, hitting two strong lay-ups before the halftime buzzer to take his team into the break with a commanding 10-point lead.
However, Bjorn Michaelsen, who made his return since being injured for over a month, found his stride in the second half, as the big rookie drained a couple in the paint for Ryerson. Michaelsen finished with nine points and five boards in 22 minutes of court time.
Some strong shooting from Ola Adegboruwa (Toronto) pulled the Rams back in the contest, and then the veteran McNeilly simply took over the game. His two consecutive jumpers cut a healthy lead to just three points at the end of the third quarter.
Rana had one word to describe McNeilly's performance on this night. "Special."
After he tied the game at 62-62, Michaelsen came down on the next possession and gave Ryerson its first lead since the opening quarter.
From there, the shooting gallery began with just minutes left in regulation. After Anthony DeGiorgio nailed a three to tie the game, McNeilly answered again, followed by the two centres Michaelsen and Wasik exchanging foul shots at both ends of the floor.
DeGiorgio again brought his team within three with another difficult shot that found the basket. However, with time running out and Toronto down three, the veteran guard missed the final shot and the Rams would seal their first victory over the Blues since February 21, 2003.
Adegboruwa finished with 13 points and four steals, giving him 58 take-aways on the year, which is the most in a single season in team history. Adegboruwa surpassed the previous mark of 57, set by Ben Gorham in the 1999-00 season.
The Rams finish with an 11-11 record, giving Rana his first .500 season in just two years behind the bench. Ryerson ends the season tied for third in the OUA East with Ottawa (11-11) but the Gee-Gees hold the tie breaker.
"It's a great win going into the playoffs. Hopefully the confidence and momentum can carry over into Wednesday night," said Rana.
The Rams will open the OUA playoffs by hosting the York Lions (10-12) at Kerr Hall Gym on Wednesday, February 23 at 8:00 p.m.
Source: Ryerson Sports Info
RMC, 37 @ Queen's, 86 Box Score
Jordan Kirchberger of Orleans, Ont., recorded 18 points and seven rebounds as the Queen's Gaels closed the 2010-11 men's basketball season with a 86-37 win over Royal Military College on Friday.
The win was the Gaels third in a row and put their record at 6-16 to end the season in seventh place of the OUA East. RMC finished the 2010-11 campaign winless at 0-22 in eighth place.
Kirchberger's 18 points were a career-high for the third year forward. He was five-of-eight from the field and eight-of-10 from the free-throw line. He also led a group of Gaels who posted seven rebounds in the game.
Nick Misljencevic of Ottawa, Tim Boyle of Belleville, Ont., Alex Wetherill of Hamilton, Jerome Josz of Chevy Chase, MD., USA, also recorded seven rebounds.
Boyle was the only other Gael to break double digits posting 13 points in what could be his final game in a Queen's uniform. Team scoring leader Dan Bannister of Newmarket, Ont., closed his four year career with Queen's posting eight points.
RMC's top scorer was Nicolas Cook of Toronto who tied Kirchberger's 18 points for a game high. He also recorded the game most rebounds with eight.
Queen's posted 20 plus points in all but the final quarter of the game controlling the game from the onset. Queen's held a 22-3 advantage after the first quarter and posted 25 and 21 points in the second and third quarter respectively. Queen's finished with 18 points in the fourth. RMC never posted more than 12 points in any quarter with their high of 12 coming in the final frame.
Source: Queen’s Sports Info
Lakehead, 85 @ Western, 75 Box Score
In a back-and-forth offensive and defensive game, the Western Mustangs lost 85-75 to the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Feb.18 at Alumni Hall.
Brett Lawrence opened up Mustang scoring just over two minutes into the game. Soon after Ryab Barbeau’s defensive pressure forced a Lakehead turnover that he turned into a scoring opportunity. Andrew Wedemire and Nathan DiLoreto led Western’s scoring with six points each, including DiLoreto’s three-pointer.
For the majority of the first quarter, the Thunderwolves led, as top scorers Yoosrie Salhia and Ben Johnson each had four points. Late in the quarter, Peter Scholtes drained a three giving the Mustangs their first lead of the game. DiLoreto helped extend the Mustangs lead, netting a lay-up amidst the foul, and then capitalizing on foul shot. At the end of the first Western led 22-14.
Marcus Barnett exploded offensively, in the second quarter, with ten points as he went two-for-two at the three-point line and four-for-four inside the key. Lakehead’s Greg Carter reclaimed the Thunderwolves lead after his foul line success late in the quarter, bringing the score to 35-36. Carter then extending the Lakehead lead with a well-executed jumper. Moments later, Barnett’s long three, assisted by Dillion Hamilton, tied the game again. Barnett’s turned his strong offensive rebound into a scoring opportunity, allowing the Mustangs to reclaim the lead. Western held onto the lead, 42-38, at half.
The third half saw the Mustangs put offensive and defensive pressure on the Thunderwolves in an attempt to maintain their lead. Lawrence led the offensive pressure with six points, while Quinn Henderson and Scholtes each contributed five. Despite Western’s 17 third quarter points, Lakehead outscored them with 24 points, taking the lead as a result of Russel Venzal’s six points. Heading into the last quarter the Thunderwolves had a tight 62-59 lead.
The fourth quarter was a back and forth effort as the Mustangs attempted to regain the lead. Turnovers on Western gave Lakehead scoring opportunities. Henderson drained his second three of the game, closing in on the Thunderwolves 75-71 lead. Scholtes’ six fourth quarter points, 18 in total, was not enough as Lakehead defeated Western in the last minutes of the quarter, 85-75.
Source: Western Sports Info
Laurentian, 70 @ York, 77 Box Score
The York University Lions men's basketball team concluded the regular season with a hard-fought 77-70 victory over the Laurentian Voyageurs at the Tait McKenzie Centre on Friday night (Feb. 18).
The game did not have playoff implications for either team. Prior to the contest the Lions (10-12) had already clinched fifth place in the OUA East Division while the Voyageurs (7-15) were settled in sixth.
Laurentian was dominant in the first quarter of the game, posting 25 points compared to just 17 for the Lions.
The Lions picked up their game in the second quarter as the defence played a huge role in the comeback. Forward Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) got right into his opponent's face on several occasions, forcing the Voyageurs to miss a number of shots.
Midway through the quarter guard David Tyndale (Mississauga, Ont.) had a great steal and made a great underhand pass to Stefan Haynes (North York, Ont.), who drilled the ball into the basket.
After their offensive strike in the second, the Lions had closed the gap to just one point and were down 35-34 at the half.
In the third quarter, Haynes and Tufegdzich made a couple great offensive rebounds and thanks to their efforts the Lions took their first lead of the game. The home squad held on to that lead after the third quarter with a great individual effort by Ostap Choliy (Oakville, Ont.) who made a last-second three pointer to push the score to 53-51.
The momentum of the game changed in the final frame as the Lions outclassed the Voyageurs at both ends of the floor to open up their biggest lead of the game. Forward Aaron Rados (Ottawa) came off the bench in the fourth to make a huge block on Voyageurs guard Isaiah Pasquale, one of four blocks by the team in the game.
Haynes followed the play with a huge dunk to put the Lions ahead 55-52.
Choliy was on fire for the Lions throughout the quarter, running in for clean lay-ups and swishing three-pointers while the Voyageurs defence simply did not have a response. He finished with the Lions' only double-double of the game with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Late in the quarter, the Lions scored five points in two seconds as Tyndale drove to the basket, sinking his shot plus the first foul. He missed the second free throw but Tufegdzich was there to pick up the rebound and earned an easy basket, plus a foul. Tufegdzich then added a free throw to make the score 73-64 in favour of the Lions.
From there, the Lions held on and let the clock run down en route to the victory.
Haynes put in a tremendous performance in the final regular-season game of his career, scoring 23 points and adding seven rebounds, two steals and one block. Tyndale finished the game with 18 points and finishes the season ranked seventh in OUA scoring.
Laurentian guard Pasquale led his team with 23 points and chipped in with three rebounds.
As the fifth seeds in the upcoming playoffs, the Lions will face the fourth-seeded Ryerson Rams (11-11) in a division quarter-final game on Wednesday (Feb. 23) on the road. The teams split the season-series earlier this year, with the road team winning by one point in each contest.
Source: York Sports Info
