M-BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Marauders end Badgers postseason hopes with 87-73 victory
Wednesday, February 19
Brock 73 @ McMaster 87
The McMaster men's basketball team defeated the Brock Badgers 87-73 on Wednesday night in the Burridge Gym, with the loss eliminating Brock from post-season play.
Despite needing a win to have any chance at the playoffs, Brock allowed the Marauders to grab control early and behind some long range shooting from Adam Presutti and Aaron Redpath, McMaster was in front 23-12 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Marauders got their transition game in high gear and before the Badgers could call a timeout the Mac lead was 35-16. McMaster got the margin up to 44-20 before Brock scored the last five points of the quarter to take back some momentum, but still trailing 44-25 at intermission.
The Badgers fought to trim the deficit in the third and narrowed the gap to 49-35. But when Marauder Joe Rocca drained a trey to make it 54-35, the Badgers had to call timeout to stem the Maroon tide. After 30 minutes, the McMaster lead stood at 68-48.
McMaster ended any Brock hopes of a comeback early in the final quarter. Presutti and Trevon McNeil dropped long bombs on consecutive possessions and the lead was back up to 24 points at 76-52. Brock played hard up to the final buzzer, but was down by too much and could only get as close as the final margin.
McMaster had five players in double-figures led by Presutti with 14, Redpath and McNeil each chipped in 13, Rocca scored 12 and Taylor Black finished with 10 points and 12 boards for the double-double. Top shooter for Brock was Nolan MacKenzie with 17.
The Marauders won the battle of the boards 47-40.
The win improves McMaster's OUA record to 15 and 3, while Brock finishes at 7 and 12.
The Marauders will close out the OUA conference schedule on Saturday, February 21st vs. the Algoma University Thunderbirds. It is also Senior's Day as both McMaster teams will honour their graduating players. Game time on Saturday is at 2 p.m. for the men's game, immediately following the women's contest.
Souce: McMaster Marauders
Waterloo 54 @ Windsor 105
Windsor, ON – In their final home game of the regular season, the No. 5 ranked Lancer men's basketball team defeated the visiting Waterloo Warriors 105-54 Wednesday night at the St. Denis Centre.
With the win, the Lancers head into their final regular season contest with a firm hold on the west division with a 14-5 record.
All Lancers saw minutes on the court and registered points on the board in the dominating victory. The Blue & Gold led a balanced attack with six Lancers reaching double digits.
Brad Parker (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Rotimi Osuntola Jr. (14 points, 11 rebounds) each registered double-doubles, while Alex Campbell had 16 points, Khalid Abdel-Gabar had 13 points and Evan Matthews chipped in 11.
The Warriors were led by Myles Garvis with 16 points, while Jaspreet Gill led their defensive effort with 7 rebounds.
Windsor dominated the boards outrebounding Waterloo 75-43, and had 48 points off the bench compared to the Warriors. 14.
Following the victory, the Lancers honoured their graduating seniors Abdel-Gabar and Matthews in a post-game ceremony.
Windsor will now head to Laurier to face the Golden Hawks in their final contest of the regular season. The game tips-off at 3:00pm and can be seen live at www.oua.tv.
Source: Windsor Lancers
Laurier 48 @ Western 76
LONDON, Ont – A 10-0 run to start the game, followed by a 22-4 lead at the end of the opening quarter helped lead the Western Mustangs to a 76-48 win over the Laurier Golden Hawks on Wednesday night at Alumni Hall.
The Mustangs improve to 12-7, keeping them in second place in the OUA West Division standings right behind the Windsor Lancers. The Laurier Golden Hawks trail behind the Mustangs in third place with a record of 7-12 in the same divison.
Captain and fifth year player Quinn Henderson was honoured before the game to celebrate his career as a Mustang on Senior Day in his final OUA regular season home game. He went on to sink 10 points in addition to leading the defence with seven rebounds and four steals. Along with Henderson, the rest of the Mustangs starting lineup recorded double digits with Greg Morrow leading the pack at 18 points. Owen Coulthard of the Golden Hawks led his team with 10 points.
"It was a good win for us because that was a playoff team," said Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell. "Each game is different. Hopefully we get some momentum and some confidence from this game, but we put it behind us and get ready for Waterloo, who although they are not making the playoffs, will be very dangerous on Saturday. We're just trying to get better for that playoff game on Wednesday and see how far we can make a run in the playoffs."
The Mustangs came out fierce from the gate starting with a 10-0 run that saw Charles Drouin sink six points within the first three minutes. The Stangs laid defensive pressure on right from tip-off as the Golden Hawks struggled to find the bottom of the basket until the five minute mark. But the Mustangs wouldn't let the Hawks get more than four points as they increased their lead to 22-4 by the end of the first frame.
The second quarter was no different than the first, with the Mustangs driving the ball in the lane to sink multiple baskets and gain a 32-point lead by the five minute mark. Midway through the quarter, Laurier stepped up their offence to add some digits onto the visitor's side of the scoreboard, however, the large differential proved too difficult for the Golden Hawks to overcome, as they only came within 23 points of the Mustangs who amassed 41-18 lead at halftime.
The second half of the game saw the Golden Hawks force the Mustangs fight a little harder to keep their score on top. Laurier came back from halftime eager to start offensive plays and creep closer to their opponents. Yet, multiple turnovers and a lack of success from the key prevented the Golden Hawks from catching up, once again trailing by 23 at frame's end with the score reading 57-34.
The Mustangs never relinquished their large lead into the final frame. Despite the Golden Hawks best efforts, the the Stangs were able to keep the Hawks at bay and end their final home game of the regular season with a 76-48 victory.
The Mustangs will end the OUA regular season by visiting the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday at the PAC Gym. Tip-off is at 3 p.m. and can be watched live on OUA.tv.
Source: Western Mustangs
York 81 @ Toronto 72
The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team fell 81-72 to the York Lions on Wednesday, February 18 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the loss, U of T drops to 5-13 but remain tied with the Queen's Gaels (5-12) for third in the East. The Blues will be fighting for their post-season lives as they host the Gaels in their regular season finale this Saturday night (Feb. 21) at Goldring Centre.
Five Varsity Blues hit double digits with third-year forward Manny Sahota notching a team-high 15 points, while adding six board, on the night. Denis Ankrah also had a stellar night, recording 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Julian Clarke had 12 points, with both Sage Usher and Devin Johnson adding 10 points in the loss.
York's Nathan Culbreath led all players with 36 points, with Nick Tufegdzich notching a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards in the win.
Source: Toronto Varsity Blues
