Tourney host Rams off to first-ever national semifinal

TORONTO (CIS) – Jahmal Jones scored 20 points as the No. 7 Ryerson Rams dominated the No. 2 Windsor Lancers 82-68 on Thursday night in quarter-final action at the 2015 ArcelorMittal Dofasco CIS Final 8 Men's Championship.
 
Six points from Jones sparked an 11-2 run for Ryerson to close out the first quarter of play, in front of a home crowd.
 
"We feed off of it, that's what helped spark our run," Jones said about the crowd atmosphere.
 
For Jones, who grew up in Mississauga, Ont., it was a tough game physically from start to finish.
 
"It was a draining game, it's the most tired I've felt in a little while," he said. "Hopefully we recover now and get ready for the semifinals."
 
Adika Peter-McNeilly had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Rams, while both Aaron Best and Bjorn Michaelsen added 10 each.
 
Ryerson entered the game having lost its last two straight, both at the OUA Wilson Cup last weekend.  The Lancers, however, had been on a roll in the new year, going on a nine-game winning streak before losing to the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the final of the OUA championship.
 
"We just got off to such an unconfident start. We needed to be better from the beginning and it just snowballs from there and I thought we had moments where obviously we were getting better and back into a flow but we just weren't getting consistent scoring from anyone," Chris Oliver, Windsor's head coach, said.
 
Khalid Abdel Gabar led the Lancers with 20 points. Alex Campbell added 17 with Rotimi Osuntola Jr chipping in with 14.
 
Jones generated the offence all-night long, including a crowd-admired fake, drop-back and shot to put Ryerson ahead 57-42 in the third quarter.
 
Even with his team's dominance, Rams coach Roy Rana felt that his squad could have been better.
 
"It was kind of a sloppy game in many ways, both teams were a little bit tight but I thought we toughed it out," Rana said.
 
Ryerson will advance to the semifinals for the first time in school history on Saturday night against either Ottawa or the Bishop's Gaiters, live on Sportsnet 360 at 8:30 p.m. Windsor will play the loser of the fourth quarter-final on Friday afternoon.
 
STAT LEADERS
 
RYE: 19-23-23-17: 82
WIN: 10-21-13-24: 68
 
Ryerson
Points: Jahmal Jones (20), Adik Peter-McNeilly (19), Bjorn Michaelsen (10), Aaron Best (10)
Rebounds: Adik Peter-McNeilly (10), Jordon Gauthier (9)
Assists: Jahmal Jones (5)
 
Player of the game: Adik Peter-McNeilly
 
Windsor
Points: Khalid Abdel-Gabar (20), Alex Campbell (17), Rotimi Osunttola Jr. (14)
Rebounds: Rotimi Osunttola Jr. (8), Alex Campbell (7)
Assists: Khalid Abdel-Gabar (4)
 
Player of the game: Khalid Abdel-Gabar
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS
 
Thursday, March 12
11:00 Quarter-final 1: No. 1 Carleton 90, No. 8 Saskatchewan 50
13:00 Quarter-final 2: No. 4 Victoria 57, No. 5 Dalhousie 56
18:00 Quarter-final 3: No. 7 Ryerson 82, No. 2 Windsor 68
20:00 Quarter-final 4: No. 6 Bishop's vs. No. 3 Ottawa (Rogers TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv) * 
 
Friday, March 13
14:00 Consolation 1: Saskatchewan vs. Dalhousie (Rogers TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv) * 
16:00 Consolation 2: Windsor vs. Loser QF 4 (Rogers TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv) * 
 
Saturday, March 14
14:00 5th-place game (Rogers TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv) * 
18:00 Semifinal 1: Carleton vs. Victoria (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) ** 
20:30 Semifinal 2: Ryerson vs. Winner QF 4 (Sportsnet 360 / www.CIS-SIC.tv) ** 
 
Sunday, March 15
11:30 Bronze (Rogers TV / www.CIS-SIC.tv) *  
15:00 Final (Sportsnet 360 & ONE / www.CIS-SIC.tv) ** 
 
* Rogers TV, Rogers TV Sports +, Super Sports Pak.
** The webcast of the semifinals & final are on pay-per-view basis.