M-BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: No. 3 Rams drop both games on difficult Ottawa roadtrip
(Photo: Richard A. Whitaker)
Friday, November 28
Brock 68 @ Windsor 91
The No. 5 Lancer men's basketball handily defeated the Brock Badgers 91-68 on Friday night at the St. Denis Centre.
With the win the Lancers are now 5-1 on the season and remain in first place in the OUA west division, while the Badgers fall to 2-4 and are in last place in the central division.
Windsor was led by Mitch Farrell with 18 points and 4 rebounds, while Rotimi Osuntola Jr., who only played 18 minutes over three quarters, registered 16 points and 9 rebounds. Alex Campbell chipped in 13 points in the win.
After a back and forth first quarter, the Lancers broke out in the second to hold a 44-29 lead at the half.
The Lancers once again dominated the third quarter before the Badgers broke out in the fourth and edged the Lancers 23-21 in the final ten minutes. However, it was not enough as the home team had built a substantial cushion to earn the win.
Windsor will face a tough contender on Saturday night when they host the No. 4 ranked McMaster Marauders at 8:00pm at the St. Denis Centre. The game can be seen live on TVCogeco and www.oua.tv. The game will also be broadcast on CJAM 99.1FM Windsor and CFMU 93.3 FM.
Source: Windsor Lancers
Algoma 62 @ Queen's 72
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 28, 2014) – The Gaels (2-5) won their second game of the OUA season 72-62 against the visiting Algoma Thunderbirds (0-6) on Friday night at the ARC.
Greg Faulkner (Kingston, Ont.) led all scorers with 26 points and seven rebounds. Cy Samuels (Vaughan, Ont.) put up 10 points of his own in the win, while Ryall Stroud (Toronto) and Tanner Graham (Kingston, Ont.) dominated the backboard with 10 rebounds a piece. The Thunderbirds had a big night from Thomas Chalmers who scored 19 points and AJ Andre Barber who scored 17 points.
It was another close game for the Gaels with both teams trading baskets in the first quarter, ending with the score all tied up at 14 points. The Gaels gained some traction over the Thunderbirds to pull ahead early in the second quarter. Their dominance didn't last long as Sean Clendinning heated up for Algoma, scoring six points to help the Thunderbirds get ahead of Queen's 30-25 at halftime.
The Gaels exploded into the second half scoring three back-to-back trifectas and pulling into the lead.
"The third quarter was the turning point for us," said head coach Stephan Barrie. "It was really good on both sides of the ball holding [Algoma] to 10 points and us scoring 25."
It was an offensive turnaround for the Gaels who came back from the deficit to head into the final frame up 50-40 over the Thunderbirds.
The momentum continued for the Gaels into the last quarter as they connected on 11 three pointers over the Thunderbirds seven. With 30 seconds left in the game, Faulkner was fouled twice and went 4-4 from the charity stripe to put the Gaels ahead by 13 points. The Thunderbirds sunk a clutch three-pointer with seconds left but the Gaels were too far ahead and ended with a 72-62 victory.
Going into the break Barrie says their main goals for the team are to get rest and get healthy. "We need to work on getting committed in the second half to improve in all aspects; offensively, defensively, individually and as a team."
The Gaels head into the winter break with a 2-5 record in their 2014-15 OUA season. They'll return to regular season action on January 9 to host Nipissing University. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 pm in the ARC Main Gym.
Source: Queen's Gaels
Guelph 85 @ Laurentian 69
After a tough loss to Ryerson in the rescheduled game last Sunday, the Laurentian Voyageurs Men's
Basketball team looked to redeem themselves as they took on the Guelph Gryphons on Friday night (November 28th). Guelph came into the game with a 2-3 record on the season. It was a tight race for the lead for the first half before Guelph's shooting abilities gave them the advantage in the third quarter. Guelph was able to hold the lead and take the game 85-69.
The first quarter was an intense one, and halfway through the score was tied at 10 apiece, before Laurentian picked up the pace with a pair of hard drives to the net and taking the lead 15-10 with 2 minutes left in the quarter. Laurentian was able to hold the lead and at the end of the first quarter the Voyageurs held a 17-14 advantage. The Voyageurs were able to hold the advantage for the first 5 minutes of the second quarter 22-17. Guelph was able to regroup and push Laurentian in the final 5 minutes of the half, and took a 4 point lead at the end of 20 minutes.
Gryphons Trevor Thompson led both teams in the first half with 10 points, while Voyageurs Tychon Carter-Newman led in rebounds with 9 of Laurentian's 18. Sam Hirst led the Voyageurs in points with 6 after 20 minutes.
Laurentian kept it close for the first 5 minutes of the third quarter, falling behind by 2 points, but Guelph played a strong final 5 minutes of the third and was able to outscore Laurentian 32-22 and extend their lead to 63-49. The Voyageurs were looking for a big fourth quarter come back and were playing with intensity, but were unable to close the gap and fell to Guelph by a final score of 85-69.
Guelph Gryphons Jack Beatty finished off the game leading in points with 20, and added 10 rebounds to his stats. Voyageurs Carter-Newman led the game with 12 rebounds, as Laurentian was able to fight for 27 of 63. Hirst led the Voyageurs with 18 points on the game, with Ryan Bennett a close second at 17
points after he was able to light up the 3-point line multiple times. For the full box score on the game, schedule, stats, and more check out oua.ca.
The Laurentian Voyagers Men's and Women's basketball teams will look to end off the 2014 year on a high note at home tomorrow night (Saturday November 29th) as they host the Lakehead Thunderwolves.
Source: Laurentian Voyageurs
Toronto 56 @ Carleton 94
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team fell 94-56 to the No. 1 Carleton Ravens on Friday, November 28 in Ottawa.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 2-5 and are in a three-way tie for second in the OUA East division.
Fourth-year guard Julian Clarke led the lues with 14 points, while Dylan Churchill had 12 points, going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Manny Sahota chipped in with 11 points, while Kwasi Otwi-Awere had a team-high six boards in the loss.
Phillip Scrubb led all players with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gavin Resch had 15 points on the night. Thomas Scrubb, Cameron Smythe and Guillaume Boucard all added 12 points in the loss.
The Varsity Blues return to action tomorrow night as they take on the Gee-Gees in Ottawa. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
Lakehead 92 @ Nipissing 49
It's often hard to pinpoint one specific reason for a loss, but for the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team, it might have been the outside shooting of both teams.
The Lakers didn't shoot particularly well from the three-point line, while their Friday night opponent, the Lakehead Thunderwolves shot 38 per cent and earned the 92-49 win.
It was a slow start for Nipissing, and one they couldn't recover from.
As has been the case a few times this season, the Lakers fourth quarter was their best, as they put up 17 points, but it was too little too late at that points.
Marcus Lewis was solid in the loss, scoring 17 points.
Christian Casimier added nine points and Jerron Rhodes chipped in with five for Nipissing, who will now turn their attention to the Guelph Gryphons Saturday night.
The Gryphons evened their record to 3-3 with a convincing win over the Laurentian Voyageurs Friday night in Sudbury.
They have now won two games in a row.
The Lakers will look to close out the first half with some success when they entertain the Gryphons tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at the RJS Athletic Centre.
"That's a big win, our guys have to feel good about themselves," said head coach James Derouin. "I thought our defence was the difference tonight, really. I was thrilled with our defence. A nine-point quarter and an 11-point quarter, and 64 points on the game, that's almost 30 points below their average. Our guys were locked in."
An 8-2 run in the middle of the second quarter gave the Gee-Gees some breathing room after the opening frame saw the lead change six times and the score tied on seven occasions.
As the Gee-Gees showed off their ability to penetrate and hit shots from close range, not to mention hit from the perimeter, they dared Ryerson to keep up. Another run 9-0 run helped the Gee-Gees carry a 44 - 31 lead into halftime. That run was made possible mostly because of a number of second chances when uOttawa was able to crash in and secure the ball off missed shots. Their 14 points gained off turnovers also made an impact.
It was more of the same in the second half. The Gee-Gees continued to attack the Rams and built up a 23-point lead by the seven minute mark of the third quarter. uOttawa would seal it in the fourth, outscoring Ryerson 19-11 in the final frame.
"I think we were just really focused and ready for the game tonight," said fifth-year forward Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue, who eclipsed the 400 career rebound mark on the night putting him 11th all-time in program history. "It was our first real tough opponent and our biggest game before Christmas so we knew we had to get the job done."
Caleb Agada had another sensational game for the Gee-Gees leading all scorers with 21 points. Agada also led Ottawa in rebounding with eight, and added four assists. Johnny Berhanemeskel wasn't far behind with 18, while Mike L'Africain hit five treys to finish with 15 points and five assists.
Derouin praised the job Agada and Mehdi Tihani did in particular defending Ryerson's most dangerous player, Jahmal Jones, whom they held to 12 points. Other scorers for the Rams were Kadeem Green also with 12 points and Aaron Best with 11.
"Now we have to come out and take care of business tomorrow," said Derouin. "But I think this group understands that we still have work to do. I know that sounds cliche, but this is a tough league when there's Carleton and we'll see Ryerson again. So we've still got a long way to go but hopefully I can keep their heads at a point where they still understand there's work left to do."
Tomorrow's game against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues will tip off at 8 pm in Montpetit Hall and will be the Gee-Gees' final game regular season game before January.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Saturday, November 29
McMaster 84 @ Windsor 72
In what could be a preview to the OUA playoffs, the No. 4 Lancer men's basketball team tipped off against the No. 4 McMaster Marauders in an intense match-up on Saturday night at the St. Denis Centre.
In a very tight game, the Lancers fell to the visiting Marauders 84-72 and are now 5-2 heading into the holiday break. The Marauders improve to 6-2 on the season and are in first place in the OUA central division.
Windsor was led by Rotimi Osuntola Jr. with a game high 28 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks. Mitch Farrell had 17 points in the loss, while Evan Matthews had the team's other double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
McMaster had six players hit double digits and were led by Aaron Redpath with 21 points and 5 rebounds, while Taylor Black had McMaster's only double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Both teams controlled the game at different points throughout the match, as they traded points back and forth for the entire forty minutes.
In the end, the game came down to free throws where the Marauders shot 71.4% from the charity stripe compared to the Lancers 50%.
Windsor will now break from the regular season until January 7th when they host the Western Mustangs at 8:00pm at the St. Denis Centre. The game will be available live at www.oua.tv.
Source: Windsor Lancers
Toronto 60 @ Ottawa 86
The no. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees closed out the opening portion of the OUA regular season schedule with an 86-60 victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday night. The win runs Ottawa's record to 7-0 in the regular season and 13-0 overall against CIS competition this year.
Johnny Berhanemeskel led all scorers with a 27 point night before sitting out the fourth quarter. The fifth-year guard shot 11-16 from the field in his 21 minutes of action, and was masterful in his decision making on offence.
Toronto's duo of Julien Clarke and Devin Johnson each scored 14, with Johnson adding a game-high nine rebounds. The Blues had a tough day from the field, shooting 34 per cent as a team.
Ottawa was in control throughout the first half, holding Toronto to 12 points through the opening 14 minutes of action. Still, the nation's leading offence looked slow and defensive lapses allowed the Blues to pick up some easy baskets, trailing just 37-24 at half.
"I had anticipated a slow start but I thought we would get over it sooner. Tonight was disappointing, and Johnny had to carry us," said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin. "We weren't sharp on our layups and finishing around the rim. We didn't look good tonight, and our consistency is what we need to work on, particularly defensively."
Things opened up in the fourth quarter, with the teams pouring in a combined 52 points. Caleb Agada provided the offensive highlight of the night as the third quarter drew to a close, taking passes on back-to-back Toronto turnovers into the hands of pressuring Ottawa defenders, and converting with a dunk and a pretty spinning lay-up.
Matt Nelson was the highlight on the defensive end, picking up four blocks including two which showed all 6-foot-9 of his height. Nelson and Noel Jones put in solid performances in relief of Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue, who played just ten minutes.
"Noel is still getting his legs behind him but I thought he showed signs tonight and that's certainly a positive," said Derouin.
Source: Ottawa Gee-Gees
Algoma 75 @ York 110
The York University Lions men's basketball team conquered the Algoma Thunderbirds 110-75 in a home game on Saturday (Nov. 29) at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
The Lions played an impressive game, scoring a total of 18 three-pointers en route to their highest offensive output of the season. There were also some electric plays with a pair of big dunks in the second half.
The first dunk came when Nick Tufegdzich (Tecumseh, Ont.) intercepted the ball from the Thunderbirds, then ran alone to dunk the ball into the net in the third quarter.
The second dunk came in the fourth quarter from Nana Adu-Poku (North York, Ont.) in the last minutes of play, which sent the crowd roaring.
O'Neil Halstead (Toronto) was on fire as he scored six exceptional threes in the contest.
In the first quarter, Tufegdzich led the attack with a trio of threes, two jumpers and a smacking block. He finished with 21 points and nine rebounds in just 26 minutes of action.
AJ Andre Barder from the Thunderbirds played a great game, scoring many three-pointers and blocking the York attack. The first ended with a score of 24-16, with the Lions in the lead.
In the second, Halstead lit up the court as he scored four of his three-pointers, helping the Lions open the gap to 54-34.
In the third, Tufegdzich, Nidun Chandrakumar (North York, Ont.), Nathan Culbreath (Kingston, Ont.) and Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.) all contributed to the Lions' attack as the team put up another 30 points to raise the score to 84-48.
In the fourth quarter, the Lions continued to impress as they played with unity, strength and determination to end the game 110-75.
In addition to Tufegdzich, Halstead also contributed 21 points, a new career high, while Iheadindu had 15 points, four rebounds and six assists. Culbreath also reached double digits, scoring 14 points and adding seven rebounds.
For the Thunderbirds, Sean Clendinning with 17 points and Barder had 14.
The Lions improved to 3-4 heading into the December break, while the Thunderbirds continue to look for their first win of the year.
The next game for the Lions is a home game in the new year on Friday, Jan. 9 at 8pm against the Laurentian Voyageurs at the Tait McKenzie Centre.
Source: York Lions
Guelph 67 @ Nipissing 44
Don't let the scoreboard fool you, the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball played a solid game, but caught very few breaks or bounces.
The Lakers dropped their final game before the Christmas break, losing 67-44 to the Guelph Gryphons on home court.
The second and third quarters are where the Lakers weren't able to keep pace, as they were outscored 41-14.
That middle portion of the game was the difference in the end, as the Lakers hung tough and actually outscored Guelph 19-12 in the fourth quarter.
Marcos Clennon had a strong game offensively, scoring 19 points and adding 16 rebounds to lead the Nipissing attack.
Down just three after the first quarter, the Lakers went cold and couldn't get a shot to fall, as they only put up four points in the second quarter.Guelph opened things up in the second and didn't miss a beat in the third, continuing to pad their lead.
The Lakers were unable to mount a comeback until the final quarter, and while they pushed, it was too little too late.
Joey Puddister and Jordon Campbell each chipped in with eight points for Nipissing.
The Lakers showed improvement throughout the first half of the season and should be in a position to take the next step in the second semester of their inaugural season."To start off the game our defence was poor in the first quarter," said Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell. "We got it together in the second quarter, and I think the last three quarters our defence was relatively solid. That's got to be the way we play, is with tough defence. To keep a team like Brock, who likes to score about 85 a game, we had to keep them under 70 to have a chance to win- and we were able to do that."
Western now heads into the holiday break with a 5-3 record, putting them into a tie with Windsor for first place in the OUA West Division. Brock falls to 2-5 on the season, and occupies fourth in the OUA Central.
Morrow's 26 points came off of 10-14 shooting, including one three-pointer, while also recording five points from the free throw line. The forward also played a key role in the Mustangs defensive efforts, placing second on the team with seven rebounds and also added a block and two steals.
Two other Mustangs, first-year guard Jedson Tavernier and captain Quinn Henderson also hit double digits, contributing 10 and 11 points respectively. Second-year forward Cameron Morris had one of his strongest games of 2014, scoring a season-high nine points in 14 minutes of action.
"Jedson had two crucial buckets in the fourth quarter, a sweeping layup and a spin move off the glass, those were two big crunch time buckets," said Campbell when asked about the performance of the team's younger players against the Badgers. "Cam has been struggling a little bit shooting the ball, but he really came today and gave us points off the bench and some really quality minutes."
Brock's offence was led by forward Matt Marshall, who scored 21 points on the night, including going an impressive 3-for-4 from the three point line. Teammate Johneil Simpson also shot well from beyond the arc, scoring 12 of his 18 points from long distance.
Although the night would end with the scoreboard in the Mustangs favour, it was the Badgers that got out to a hot start on Saturday, taking a 6-5 lead just over three minutes into the game. The visitors refused to relinquish their early advantage, and it eventually morphed into a 24-17 lead by the end of the first, thanks in large part to the efforts of Simpson and Zachary Angelini who combined for 12 points in the frame.
Western began to chip away at the Badgers lead right from the start of the second quarter, going on a long 14-3 run to take a 31-27 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter. While Brock kept things closer in the final portions of the frame, Western headed into halftime with a 38-31 lead.
While the Mustangs carried the play for the majority of the second, things were more balanced after the half. Western slowly extended their lead throughout the frame with strong free throw shooting, although the Badgers kept the Mustangs from going on any significant uninterrupted scoring runs. After 30 minutes of play Western held a 60-48 lead.
Much to the delight of the Mustangs fans in attendance the purple and white maintained their lead throughout the final frame, and although the Badgers outscored Western 18-16 in the final 10 minutes they never narrowed the gap to less than eight points, leaving the Mustangs to walk away with a 76-66 win.
With their final regular season game of the calendar year now behind them, the Mustangs will enjoy some much deserved time off and work on preparing for the stretch drive when play resumes in 2015.
"We'll have a little break right now and start to retool and make some adjustments of things from the first half that we think need tweaking," said Campbell. "Basically we just need to continue to get better. The teams that play well are the teams that continue to get better, and that's we have to do. Some defensive tweaks, offensive tweaks, and we'll be fine."
The Mustangs will return to the court on January 7, 2015, with a road game against the Windsor Lancers. Game time is set for 8 p.m. and fans can watch all the action live on OUA.tv
The Laurentian Men's Basketball Team looked to break their 2 game skid and end the 2014 year off on a high note as they took on the Lakehead Thunderwolves Saturday night (November 29th). The Voyageurs held on for the first half but Lakehead pulled away in the third quarter and took the game 62-52.
Laurentian started out strong and showed strength throughout the first quarter, but Lakehead was able to keep the pace and took a 12-9 lead with 3 minutes left. At the end of the first quarter Lakehead held a slight 1 point advantage as they lead 15-14. The second quarter was well matched with lots of back and forth plays, as both teams came out of the quarter with 15 points apiece. Voyageurs Ryan Bennett was able to tie the game at 26 with just less than 2 minutes left, after hitting a beautiful 3 point shot. The Thunderwolves gained back the single point advantage and finished off the half with a 30-29 lead.
Voyageurs Ryan Bennett led the first half with 11 points, as opponent Bacarius Dinkins led in rebounds with 6. The Voyageurs were able to fight for half of the 34 rebound opportunities, shot 40% on attempted field goals, and 36.4% on attempted 3-point field goals. Laurentian went 1 for 1 on free throw shots. Lakehead shot 36.7% on field goals, 28.6% on 3-point field goals, and 6 for 6 on free throws.
The Thunderwolves came out with purpose during the second half and were able to extend their lead, and with 5 minutes left in the third the Voyageurs trailed 41-35. With 3 quarters down Lakehead held a 7 point advantage, up 45-38. The Thunderwolves took the final quarter, outscoring the Voyageurs 17-14 and taking the game 62-52. The Voyageurs played hard and kept the fans at the edge of their seat, but were unable to make the comeback and finished off 2014 with their third straight loss.
Dinkins led both teams in points and rebounds with 20 and 12 as the final whistle blew, and the Thunderwolves fought for 45 of 80 rebounds on the game. Lakehead shoot 36.1% on field goals, 12.5% from the 3-point line, and 76.2% on free throws. Voyageurs Sam Hirst and Bennett led Laurentian with 16 points apiece, and Hirst fought for 8 of Laurentians 35 rebounds, leading the team. Laurentian went 31.4% on field goals, hit 20% of 3-point shots, and 75% on free throws.
For the full box score visit oua.ca.
The Laurentian Voyagers Men's and Women's basketball teams will be back in the New Year as they take on York on the road January 9th. They'll be back at home against McMaster Friday January 16th.
Continue to follow your Laurentian Voyagers at www.luvoyageurs.com for up-to-date news and results.
Laurentian University's Department of Athletics is home to 18 varsity sports teams. The Voyageurs decorated history of pride and tradition includes 62 provincial championships as well as 10 national championships in 52 years of competition.Source: Laurentian Voyageurs
Ryerson 73 @ Carleton 91
OTTAWA – The No. 3 ranked Ryerson Rams men's basketball team lost their second consecutive game on Saturday night, falling 91-73 to the No. 1 ranked Carleton Ravens.
The first quarter proved to be the difference as the Ravens held a commanding 29-15 advantage after the first ten minutes of play. For the remaining three quarters the Ravens only outscored the Rams by a combined four points.
Carleton extended its lead at halftime with a score line of 50-33 and furthermore to 72-52 after three quarters. Ryerson won the fourth quarter to make the final score 91-73.
Both teams let their starters play the majority of this game, and each of the Rams' starting five reached double figures. Jahmal Jones (Mississauga, Ont.) had a team-high 17 points while Aaron Best (Scarborough, Ont.) added 14, Adika Peter-McNeilly (Scarborough, Ont.) had 12 and Kadeem Green (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Bjorn Michaelsen (Otterburn Park, Que.) each chipped in ten points.
Carleton's Thomas Scrubb led all scorers with 26 points and also collected ten rebounds for the double-double. The Rams limited Phil Scrubb to just 16 points which is below his season average but the senior point guard also dished for 12 assists for the double-double.
Ryerson drops to 6-2 on the season while Carleton remains undefeated at 8-0. The Rams will now break for the exam and holiday season and return to regular season action on Wednesday, January 7 when they take on the Toronto Varsity Blues at Toronto.
Source: Ryerson Rams
