M-BASKETBALL WEEKEND ROUNDUP: Lions upset No. 5 Lancers on the road
The No. 5 Lancer men's basketball team came out on top Friday night with a 93-86 victory over the Queen's Gaels at the St. Denis Centre.
Friday, January 30
Queen's 86 @ Windsor 93
The No. 5 Lancer men's basketball team came out on top Friday night with a 93-86 victory over the Queen's Gaels at the St. Denis Centre.
With the win, the Lancers improve to 9-4 and are tied with the Western Mustangs for first place in the OUA west division, while the Queen's Gaels fall to 4-9 and are currently in third place in the east division.
Windsor was led by sophomore Mitch Farrell with 24 points over 31 minutes of play. Rotimi Osuntola Jr. recorded his fifth consecutive double-double registering 17 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Evan Matthews also hit double digits in both categories with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The visitors were led by Greg Faulkner with a game high 25 points and team high 7 rebounds. Patrick Street had an impressive 19 points while Tanner Graham and Mike Mullins each had 12 points.
It was a tight match from start to finish, but the Lancers just held the upper hand throughout. Windsor shot 49.3% from the field, while the Gaels were at 48.5%. On the boards the Lancers out-rebounded Queen's 41-37, and also held the edge on shooting percentage from the free throw line at 61.5% compared to the visitors 50%.
Windsor returns to the court Saturday night when they host the York Lions at 8:00pm. The game is part of the Windsor Lancers Breast Cancer Awareness Day, which is in its ninth annual campaign. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the event, and there will be brand new commemorative t-shirts available for $10 each. Proceeds from the sales will go directly to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Waterloo 70 @ Lakehead 77
York 75 @ Western 87
A purple and white lead of 22 points going into the fourth quarter proved too large for the Lions to catch up, making the Mustangs victorious with a score of 87-75 on Friday night at Alumni Hall.
The Mustangs record now moves to 9-5, keeping them in second place in the OUA West Division standings, following the Windsor Lancers. York also stays second in the OUA East Division standings with a record of 7-7 after tonight's loss.
Greg Morrow took the game high with 35 points and led the Mustang pack with 11 rebounds. Teammate Quinn Henderson followed with 19 points with a 5-8 success from the arc. 6'7" Nick Tufegdzich of the York Lions took his team high of 25 points, with three other teammates hitting double digits as well.
"I was able to get in the paint and get some space in there to finish" says Morrow on his play.
Head coach Brad Campbell praised his team's execution saying, "We did a nice job with executing our game plan. We did a good job of getting the ball inside and inside touches."
The Mustangs came out of the gate with no intention to lose momentum against the Lions. The purple and white were persistent in the key by making smart plays to keep the Lions moving to keep them out from under the basket so the Mustangs can sink the layup. Lion player Tufegdzich made 11 points in the first quarter alone proving him to be the Lions toughest player to defend. Despite Tufegdzichs impressive contribution to the Lion's offence, the Mustangs were able to stay on top of the board to end the first with a score of 22-14.
It was raining three-point shots in the second quarter as the Lions attempted to catch up to the home team. Philip Cunningham-Gillen went 2-2 from the perimeter within the opening three minutes of the quarter that allowed the Lions to get within four. Yet, the Mustangs had their own success from the arc where Henderson went a perfect 4-4 in the first half to add to the team's lead. Recognizing the Lions' heightened adrenaline to catch up, the Mustangs stepped up their defence to prevent any further success for their opponents, with the leadership of Tom Figliano who grabbed three rebounds in the half. The Mustangs were able to stay in the lead and finished with a score of 48-34 going into the second half.
The third quarter had the Mustangs' name all over the board. The purple and white kept their eyes on the ball and took advantage of any chance they had for a point. A steal by Henderson in the middle of the quarter assisted Morrow with a clear path to dunk the basket. Morrow made 11 of the teams 26 points in the frame, showing the Lions he is someone to be reckoned with. With a 70.6% success rate in their field goal attempts in the third quarter, the Mustangs took the lead at the end of the frame with a score of 74-52.
Trailing behind 22 points, the Lions refused to let the Mustangs win with a comfortable lead by going on a 20-6 run in the beginning of the frame to cut the Mustang lead to 10 points. The Mustangs answered the Lions effort with rebounds, some of which were offensive to give themselves another chance at sinking a basket. The continued persistence of the Mustangs in their offence and defence allowed them to stick to the top of the score. Despite the efforts of the Lions, the Mustangs lead proved too large to retain in the last couple minutes of play. The Mustangs walked away with a final score of 87-75.
In preparation for the Mustangs game against Queen's, Campbell says, "defensively we need to be solid and we should be in good shape."
"Tomorrow I'm just going to keep attacking the rim" says Morrow on his thoughts for Saturday night's game. "Queen's is a good team to attack the rim at, and I can create a lot for my teammates if I can do that."
Saturday, January 31
McMaster 85 @ Toronto 63
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team fell 85-63 to the No. 4 McMaster Marauders on Saturday, January 31 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the loss, the Blues drop to 3-10 and remain in fourth place in the OUA East, while the Marauders are 12-3 and remain atop the Central division.
Third-year forward Devin Johnson led all players with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds. Julian Clarke added nine points, while Manny Sahota had eight points on the day.
Rookie guard Sage Usher recorded six points and a game-high seven assists in the loss.
The Marauders were led by third-year guard Rohan Boney's 18-points performance. Aaron Redpath notched 14 points, while Taylor Black had a double-double of 11 points and 12 boards in the win.
Laurier 82 @ Lakehead 86
Finishing strong became a case in point for the men's basketball team on Saturday, as they topped the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 86-82.
Carleton improved to 12-2 while Algoma fell to 1-13. Connor Wood of the Ravens earned 14 points. Algoma's Terrell Campbell had 13.
The Gryphons got off to a quick start against Brock, jumping out to an early first quarter lead. Jonathan Wallace (Toronto, ON) would drive the lane and score while getting fouled for an "and one" play that he would convert to cap a 7-0 run to start the game. Moments later Brock's Head Coach Charles Kissi would be assessed the first technical foul of the game as the Gryphons held an early a 10-1 lead. Guelph would continue their torrent pace, with Trevor Thompson (Burlington, ON) fouled on a three-point attempt. The third year forward would hit all three free throws. At the end of the quarter the Gryphons led the Badgers 21-9. Things would tighten up in the second quarter as the Badgers outscored the Gryphons 18-17 making the score at half time 38-27 in favour of Guelph.
Head Coach Chris O'Rourke must have had the team fired up in the locker room at half time. The Gryphons came out firing to start the third quarter. Adam Kemp (Toronto, ON) would throw down a huge put back slam-dunk to increase Guelph's lead to 15 at 43-28. Guelph would continue to keep a steady lead as the third quarter ended by a score of 55-48.
In the fourth quarter, the Gryphons were able to consistently get into the paint and as a result, to the free throw line. Daniel Dooley (Burlington, ON) would hit a three in the corner to extend their lead to 10 with four minutes left in the game. With two minutes left the Gryphons would be able to grab three offensive rebounds in a row to run the clock down to a minute and a half, ending the possession with a three pointer by Jonathan Wallace. The game would end 82-68 in favour of the Gryphons. Daniel Dooley led the Gryphons with 21 points while Adam Kemp had a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Gryphons are now tied for second in the OUA Central Division as both Guelph and Lakehead boast identical 7-6 records. The Gryphons have six games remaining on their regular season schedule. Their next four games all come on the road (Ryerson, Toronto, Brock and McMaster).
"We just ran out of gas and we became undisciplined" said head coach Brad Campbell of the Mustangs' fourth-quarter effort post-game. "We had some foul trouble, we did not deal with their full court pressure well."
Before the game, the Western Department of Sports & Recreation Services recognized volunteers who have made significant contributions to athletics at Western in the first ever Mustangs Honour Circle. Coleen Dalton, Gary Gorham, Geln Burston, Helen Luckman, Jacquie & Wynn Downing, Josip Mrkoci, Murray Bryant, Steve Kopp, and Ted Hessel were honoured in front of a Mustang Days home crowd for their tireless dedication and commitment to university athletics. The recipients were applauded in high-esteem for supporting sportsmanship through coaching, training, and behind-the-scenes work for the Mustangs.
With the loss, the Mustangs' record now moves to 9-6, keeping them in second place of the OUA West Division standings behind the Windsor Lancers. The Queens Gaels stay in third of the OUA East Division Standings with a record of 5-9 after their victory.
It was all purple and white from the tip-off to the end of the first half. The Mustangs followed the Gaels all over the court, defending their every move to ensure they wouldn't get the ball to the net. Figliano lead the Mustang defensive pack by becoming a resilient force under the net to grab seven defensive rebounds in the first frame alone. His work in the paint assisted his team in going 20-3 to end the first frame, which saw the Gaels score all three of their points at the free throw line.
With the loss, No. 5 Windsor remains tied with the Western Mustangs for first place in the OUA west division, while the Lions improve to above the .500 mark and are now 8-7 on the year.
The Lancers were led by Mitch Farrell with 18 points, while Khalid Abdel-Gabar chipped in 15 and Rotimi Osuntola Jr. registered his sixth straight double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Defensively, Brad Parker also contributed 11 boards in the loss.
York had a solid showing from Nick Tufegdzich who had a game high 30 points and 14 rebounds that included 10 defensive boards. Nathan Culbreath also had a solid showing for York with 23 points.
Despite being down by 22 at the half, the Lancers came storming back in the second half to eventually take a one point lead late in the fourth quarter. However, foul trouble and a few struggles at the line prevented the Lancers from maintaining the lead, giving the Lions the win.
