OUA Men's Basketball Roundup (Dec. 4)
November 29, 2017
York 61 Queen’s 82
KINGSTON, Ont. (November 29, 2017) - The Gaels (6-3) treated a School-Day crowd of 1,800 elementary students to an 82-61 victory over the visiting York Lions (2-8) on Wednesday afternoon at the ARC.
GAME FLOW
Tanner Graham (Kingston, Ont.) opened the game for the Gaels, putting them on the board first with a layup. Harry Range (Carp, Ont) soon followed with a layup of his own. Queen's looked good from out the gate, getting penetration in the paint and applying lots of pressure on the other end. Off his own steal. Jaz Bains (Brampton, Ont) notched an impressive layup on the go. Mike Shoveller(Arnprior, Ont) made it a 10-point game with an and-1 play. Shoveller came right back with a low-post move to add 2-more. Queen's closed the first quarter ahead 14 points at 22-8.
The Gaels open the second frame with excellent ball movement, culminating with a big three from the hands of Quinton Gray (Richmond Hill, Ont). Tanner Graham got in his on 3-pointer to push the score to a 20-point margin. The Gaels were making work of the Lions in transition, pushing the ball right after a rebound.Dominating the quarter, the Gaels would go into halftime leading 45-22.
Like he did in the first quarter, Tanner Graham opened the third with a bucket for Queen's. Shoveller padded the lead with a layup from underneath the basket. The Lions could not get on enough of a run to make the game competitive. A 30-point game, York began to implement a full-court press. Quick ball movement maintained the lead by the end of the third with a 63-44 score.
Kicking off the fourth, Bains scored off his own rebound and forced a York timeout. Shoveller came out of the timeout with a big block, which Bains converted to 2-more points. Jesse Graham, who shot lights out all game, converted on a 3-point play mid-way through the fourth. The Lions' last efforts would not be enough and the Gaels would come away with the game 82-61.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
Ryerson 78 Toronto 69
TORONTO - Fourth quarter magic saw the Ryerson Rams leave their trip to the University of Toronto with their winning streak intact, toppling the Varsity Blues in a late-game 78-69 comeback at the Goldring Centre on Wednesday night.
It was a fairly even matchup on paper heading into Wednesday night’s game. Both teams had similar records against the same teams, setting the stage for a neck and neck battle. Instead, the Varsity Blues would dominate the first three quarters, leaving the Rams in a 10-point hole going into the fourth. Not taking their first lead until the midpoint of the fourth, the Rams held the Blues to only five points in the final frame after three 20+ point quarters, extending their winning streak to five games.
Third year standout guard Reilly Reid (Mississauga, Ont.) lead the way for the Varsity Blues early on. As offensive attention turned to Daniel Johansson (Stockholm, Sweden) - who would go on to put up 24 points - the Blues continued to lock the Rams out, offensively. An incredibly strong U of T defence kept the Rams shooting at threes with no clear openings.
However, the Rams would turn the tide of the game by ramping up their defensive presence to match that of the dominating Blues.
“We just had to be more aggressive, defensively,” Rams assistant coach Borko Popic said. “We were allowing them to get to their spots in the first three quarters, and in the fourth quarter we just kind of locked up and showed some toughness on the ball.”
While the Rams turned their attention to offence, fifth-year senior guard Manny Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) kept the Rams within reach at all times with an incredible presence from three point range. Diressa would go 7-for-9 from three, putting up a Rams season high of 27 points. Incidentally, the 16 threes put up by the entire Rams squad is the second highest in program history.
“[Diressa] made big shots throughout the game to keep us close early,” Popic said, “and then to put us over the top late.”
While the Ryerson Rams improve to 7-2 on the season to take sole possession of second place in the OUA East, there is still one game remaining before winter break. On Saturday night, the 0-8 Lakehead Thunderwolves make their way to the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
As the Rams look to close out the first half of the season on a high note with their winning streak intact, Popic’s goal for 2017’s closer is simple:
“Continue improving and finish strong.”
Source: ryersonrams.ca
December 1, 2017
Laurentian 80 Western 74
The Voyageurs started off their last weekend of the semester strong with a vying face-off with the Western University Mustangs. The match was tight, with teams exchanging minimum leads each quarter until the last minutes of the game. Protecting their impressive record, Laurentian brought a little more during the last quarter, winning the quarter 21-17 and thereby winning the game with an end score of 80-74.
A major strong point in the Voyageurs' game came from their domination on the boards, out-rebounding the Mustangs 41-23. Free throw percentage was likewise in favour of Laurentian as they were able to connect on 80.8% of their visits to the charity stripe compared to the Mustangs' 64.7% success rate.
Kadre Grey once again performed notably with his contribution of 24 points and 9 rebounds. Fifth year guard David Aromolaran added an additional 17 points and 7 rebounds in the Voyageurs' victory.
Top scorer for the Mustangs in their fall was Omar Shiddo with 19 points.
Laurentian will attempt to close out their first semester of competition with an eighth win when they match up with the Windsor Lancers at 4pm tomorrow afternoon at St Denis Centre in Windsor.
Source: luvoyageurs.com
Nipissing 80 Windsor 82
The Lancer men's basketball team split their final pair of home games of the 2017 calendar year this weekend at the St. Denis Centre. Windsor narrowly came away with an 82-80 win over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday night before dropping a 90-63 decision to the Laurentian Voyaguers on Saturday afternoon.
Windsor heads into the Christmas break with a 4-6 record and is tied with Algoma for third place in the OUA west division.
Mike Rocca played all but three minutes of the game and led the Lancers with 20 points. Windsor had five other athletes hit double digits including Lucas Orlita with 15 points, Chris Poloniato off the bench with 12 points, Anthony Zrvnar with 11 and Damian Persaud with 10.
Jaaden Lewis led all scorers with 30 points for the Lakers, while Marvin Ngonadi had 11 points and Ismeal Kaba and Marcus Lewis with ten points each.
Defensively, the Lakers out-rebounded the Lancers 45-32.
Source: golancers.ca
Lakehead 69 Toronto 85
Four players hit double digits as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team defeated the Lakehead Thunderwolves 85-69 on Friday, December 1 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
With the win, the Blues end the first half of the season with a 6-4 record.
Fourth-year guard Sage Usher led the Blues with a season-high 18 points, while adding four assists and three rebounds on the night.
Chase Ruttenberg added a career-high 16 points, and had five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Fellow fifth-year veteran Reilly Reid notched 15 points, a game-high seven rebounds and four assists, while rookie Evan Shadkami tallied 10 points in the win.
Usher led the Blues with seven points through the first quarter as Toronto held a narrow 20-18 advantage after 10 minutes. Shadkami and Ruttenberg steered U of T through a dominant second quarter with six and eight points, respectively, as the home team took a 44-30 lead into halftime.
Lakehead closed the gap in the third quarter, outscoring the Blues 23-15, but Toronto, led by eight third-quarter points from Usher, took a 59-53 lead into the final frame. U of T sealed the win with a dominant fourth quarter performance (26-16), as Reid led the way with eight points.
Lakehead's Kache Kopec led all players with 24 points in the loss.
The Varsity Blues resume regular season action in the New Year as they travel to Ottawa to take on the Gee-Gees on Friday, January 5.
Source: varsityblues.ca
Carleton 83 McMaster 40
HAMILTON, ON – The Carleton Ravens rode a first quarter surge that saw them outscore the McMaster Marauders 22-8 in the opening frame to an eventual 83-40 victory on Friday night at the Burridge Gymnasium.
Fourth-year point guard Emmanuel Owootoah (Rexdale, ON) had perhaps his best all-around game of the season in a 14-point performance that saw him nail four three-pointers, dish out three assists and collect three steals.
GAME FLOW:
The Carleton Ravens came out firing on all cylinders on Friday night, racing out to a 16-4 lead in the first three and a half minutes of the game, capped off by a short jump shot by sophomore power forward Eddie Ekiyor (Ottawa, ON). McMaster’s Kareem Collins hit a turnaround jumper to halt Carleton’s run momentarily before Carleton closed out the first up 22-8.
The Marauders struggled to keep up with Carleton’s fast-paced style of play throughout the second quarter, allowing the Ravens to get out in transition for easy baskets. TJ Lall (Cambridge, ON) picked up two steals in the first 47 seconds of the quarter and added a turnaround jumper minutes later to help Carleton extend its lead to 27-8. Collins countered with a three-pointer to keep the Marauders to within 16 at 29-13 at the 5:49 mark of the frame. But it would be as close as McMaster would get for the rest of the game as Owootoah hit a three of his own to ignite a 16-8 Carleton run that helped the Ravens wage a 45-21 lead heading into halftime.
McMaster came out in the second-half determined to cut into the 24-point deficit, but Carleton had an answer for each of the Marauders’ baskets. Ekiyor was a force on the offensive glass throughout the game, picking up two of his three offensive rebounds on the night in a sequence at the 7:31 mark that saw him deposit an impressive put-back lay-in. The Ravens kept their foot on the gas throughout the quarter and Owootoah finished the frame with a buzzer beating three-pointer to put Carleton on top 68-32 entering the fourth.
Well-ahead, Carleton head coach Dave Smart used the opportunity to rest his starters and give solid minutes to productive bench contributors like Mitch Jackson (Regina, SK). Jackson played the entire quarter and responded with 10 points on an impressive 4-for-5 from the field to go along with two steals. Jackson’s high-energy style of defence was infectious as the Ravens allowed the Marauders to score just eight points in the final frame.
Carleton heads to Hamilton on Saturday to take on the 9-1 Brock Badgers in a marquee OUA matchup between the two top-ranked teams in Canada.
Source: goravens.ca
Ottawa 78 Brock 69
In a thriller of a game pitting two U SPORTS Top 10 national contenders against each other, the Gee-Gees men’s basketball team defeated the Brock Badgers 78-69 on their home floor.
The second-ranked Badgers threw the first punch to get the action going, the Gee-Gees needed to respond to a 10-0 run to start the game. After settling into their defence, the team had some success limiting the Badger attack.
Once the Gee-Gee offence got rolling, they were able to tie and trade the lead twice. The high-energy half came to an end on a small Badgers run, giving the hosts a six-point lead into the locker rooms.
The Gee-Gees came back and powered back into the game, mid-way through the third they retook the lead and began pressuring harder on both ends of the floor. The Badgers struggles from beyond the arc hampered the team’s offensive attack.
Down the stretch, the Gee-Gees made big shots when they needed them and Brock was left without a response as they lost their first game of the season.
“For this group to do this tonight on the road, it says a lot,” said Gee-Gees head coach James Derouin. “We got big stops and big rebounds when we needed them. We had some huge threes in the third and fourth quarter to ice the game. Brock has a fantastic team, we were undersized out there, but I thought we competed.”
Sean Stouqa was undoubtedly dominant for his team, scoring 21 points to go along with four steals, three assists, and two rebounds in the win. The performance was particularity impressive, as he only arrived in St. Catharines hours before the game after writing a final in Ottawa on Friday morning.
Big performances from Calvin Epistola, Kenny Jean-Louis, Mackenzie Morrison, and Brandon Robinson also went a long way for the Gee-Gees in the win.
“I had to prepare for the final and the game throughout the week which is always difficult,” said Stoqua. “I think people were kind of overlooking us after some bad losses early in the year. This win shows we’re still in the conversation and we can still compete with and beat the best teams in the country.”
Source: geegees.ca
Waterloo 85 Laurier 74
On Friday night the Warriors men's basketball team made the trip across University Ave. to face the Laurier Golden Hawks in what was a must-win game for the black and gold. Justin Gunter's squad delivered with a complete team effort while getting a brilliant effort from their starting point guard in an 85-74 victory to close out the calendar year.
Simon Petrov (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary) has been brilliant in his last six games, reaching double digits in all of those contests, and tonight he earned a career high in points with 30, leading his team to their third win of the season. Petrov went 11-of-23 from the field while hitting seven of his nine free throw attempts.
"It was an excellent road win to end the first term," said Justin Gunter. "Simon really stepped up for us while we got great contributions from the whole roster."
Other Warriors stepped up big in this match as Waterloo lost Nedim Hodzic (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary) to injury midway through the opening half. David Ramon Prados (Madrid/Virgen de Atocha (North Platte College)) put up 13 points and six rebounds while Justin Malnerich (Cambridge/St. Benedict's Catholic Secondary School) came off the bench to log big minutes, tallying 14 in the win.
Evan Rodenburg (Cambridge/St. Benedict's Catholic Secondary School) was also put into a bigger role in this match and stepped up big time with eight points in his 11 minutes of action while playing a big factor on the boards, collecting a game high seven rebounds.
"Evan gave us a great 11 minutes in the second half which was the boost we really needed," mentioned Gunter.
Two other Warriors, Jeff Baradziej (Grimsby/Wasatch Academy (Utah)) and Justin Hardy (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary) also chipped in on the offence with eight points each.
Waterloo was big from beyond the arc knocking down 10 compared to six from the Hawks. The Warriors also hit 15 free throw's to Laurier's 12.
Source: athletics.uwaterloo.ca
Queen’s 88 Guelph 86
GUELPH, Ont. (December 1, 2017) - The Queen's Gaels (7-3) travelled to Guelph to take on the Guelph Gryphons (2-8) on Friday night coming away with an 88-86 victory at the Gryphons Athletics Centre on a buzzer-beating shot from Jaz Bains (Brampton, Ont.).
MAJOR PLAYERS
The Gaels had big outings from Tanner Graham (Kingston, Ont.) who had a double-double with 25 points and 17 rebounds while picking up three blocks. Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, Ont.) put back 23 points of his own while hauling in 12 rebounds and Bains had 12 points. The Gryphons were led by the sharpshooting Taylor Boers who finished with 18 points shooting 6-11 from three.
GAME FLOW
Bains was able to find Shoveller for a jumper to put the Gaels out in front early 5-0. Daniel Dooley responded with a pair of three-pointers to put Guelph ahead in an evenly matched opening quarter.
Daniel Dooley hit all three of his shots from beyond the arc for the Gryphons in the frame, and Guelph led 20-18 after the first.
Guelph continued to shoot well on the night in the second frame and finished the opening half shooting 9-13 from beyond the arc. Queen's had no trouble scoring themselves going 6-15 in the half.
After Bains stepped up and drained a triple to get the Gaels to within three, the Gryphons closed out the half on a 9-0 run which included a buzzer-beating shot from just inside the half court line.
In the third, Queen's kept hanging around not allowing Guelph to pull away with the game entirely.
Queen's was able to feed Shoveller in the post consistently in the frame, and he went to work. He finished with 10 points in the third alone giving the Gryphons matchup problems and controlling the boards.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Gaels trailed by just 10 points looking to make a game of it.
After Landon Brickenden (Summerland, B.C.) got Queen's on the board in the fourth with a three-pointer, it was the duo of Shoveller and Tanner Graham and pulled Queen's back into the game.
The duo scored 19 straight fourth-quarter points for the Gaels to make the score a one-possession game at 86-84 for Guelph.
After Bains stepped up with a bank-shot off the glass to tie the game, the Gryphons missed on a three-point shot with 16 seconds left.
Bains took the ball up the court and stepped inside the three-point line for a quick jump-shot that went straight in with no time left on the clock to seal the Queen's victory 88-86.
Source: gogaelsgo.com
December 2, 2017
Laurentian 90 Windsor 63
The Voyageurs men's basketball team will end their first semester of competition with an impressive 8-1 record after their second half comeback this afternoon against the Windsor Lancers.
After a 13-0 run made by the Lancers in the second quarter, Laurentian was in an uncommon situation at the half as they trailed the home team. Nevertheless, the Voyageurs rallied in the latter half of the game, with an especially dominant final quarter where they outscored Windsor 23-9 capturing the game with a final score of 90-63.
A notable difference between the teams' performances was seen in rebounding, the Voyageurs crashing the boards hard tallying 48 rebounds compared to the Lancers' 33.
Laurentian's Kadre Gray had another textbook performance with one assist shy of earning a triple double. Gray had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists in the game while fifth year guard David Aromolaran contributed 17 points and 9 rebounds of his own in the victory. Ultimately the pair of guards proved to be instrumental in the Voyageurs' sweep this weekend.
Top scorer for the Lancers was Anthony Zrvnar with 19 points.
Source: luvoyageurs.com
Ottawa 101 McMaster 97
The Gee-Gees men’s basketball team closed out a tough December road trip with a 101-97 win over the McMaster Marauders in Hamilton on Saturday.
Both teams battling back and forth throughout the early goings, as neither team could secure a comfortable lead. Heading into the half, the Gee-Gees held an 11-point lead, one that extended to start the second half.
McMaster’s offence caught fire mid-way through the second half as they mounted a comeback to tie and eventually take the lead. The shootout that ensued saw the game tied at the end of regulation after the Marauders won the fourth quarter by a 33-18 margin.
In the outset of overtime, the Gee-Gees locked in and hit their shots. With big three-pointers from Brandon Robinson and Mackenzie Morrison, the team secured the win to close out the semester with two tough wins.
“Just like yesterday, we’ve been in situations where we have to grit it out,” said Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles, who had a 24 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in the game.
“I think this team builds character every time we have a game like this. We have to learn to have a killer instinct and close the game. We have to be better, but at the end of the day I think these games are going to help us big time.”
For the second consecutive night, fourth-year point guard Sean Stoqua led the Gee-Gees with 27 points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Robinson also added 20 points in the win.
Source: geegees.ca
Nipissing 88 Western 83
Two exciting games wrapped up the first half of the season for the Nipissing Lakers men's basketball team, as they faced the Windsor Lancers and Western Mustangs this past weekend.
The Lakers battled to a weekend split, losing to Windsor 82-80 Friday night, before bouncing back to defeat Western 88-83 Saturday.
A more consistent effort led the Lakers to bounce back and grab a victory over Western to close out the semester.
Nipissing trailed at the end of the first, but just by two, 25-23.
At halftime, the score was 44-42 in favour of the Lakers.
They pushed their lead to three after three quarters and like the previous periods, the fourth was a battle.
The Lakers outscored Western 25-23 to secure the victory.
Four players hit double digits, with Marcus Lewis lead the way with a double-double.
He had 26 points and 11 rebounds, along with Kaba's 23 points, Jaaden Lewis' 17 and Justin Shaver added a double-double as well.
He finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in the win.
Source: nulakers.ca
Lakehead 52 Ryerson 98
JV Mukama (Hamilton, Ont.) and Manny Diressa (Toronto, Ont.) accounted for nearly half of the Ryerson Rams’ points as they head into the holiday break with a 98-52 win over the Lakehead Thunderwolves Saturday night at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
The match saw Diressa as top scorer for the third consecutive game with 25. He was joined in the 20+ club by Mukama, who backed up his 21 points with an impressive 8-11 record from the field and nine rebounds, proving his exemplary effectiveness on both ends of the court.
Having a number of figures able to step up and lead the team has been key to the Rams’ success throughout the first half of the season.
While the Thunderwolves had a strong scoring core in Mor Menashe (Ein-Carmel, Israel), Quincy Johnson (Kelowna, B.C.), and Nick Burke (Hamilton, Ont.), ultimately their inability to come up with rebounds and tendency to allow turnovers would keep them out of the hunt throughout.
Myles Charvis (Mississauga, Ont.) came off the bench to put up 11 points, but the true strength of his game was his ability to move the ball around the court. With four steals, many coming back to lead to assists to Diressa - those counting for much of his six assists - Charvis and Diressa showed how their chemistry leads the team.
Along with these established veterans, the Rams have been giving opportunities for freshmen to step into the spotlight. Liam O’Leary-Orange (Toronto, Ont.) put up eight points off of six offensive rebounds across 10 minutes, while Tanor Ngom (Dakar, Senegal) continued to impress with his defensive prowess, blocking with ease and keeping the Thunderwolves off of the scoreboard.
“I think it’s great,” Charvis said of his younger teammates stepping up. “The biggest thing with Tanor is just confidence and not being too hard on himself, because he’s a great basketball player. He’s 7’2, there’s not too many guys that are going to be able to block his shot. So just to take his time, stay confident, and just trust himself, and I think he’s going to be fine.”
Nearly doubling the score of their opponent, the Rams close out the first half of the season with an 8-2 record and a six-game winning streak. They will return to the court against the Carleton Ravens in January 2018 sharing second place in the OUA East with the Laurentian Voyageurs and Ottawa Gee-Gees.
Source: ryersonrams.ca
Carleton 80 Brock 75
ST. CATHARINES, ON – The battle of the two top-ranked teams in Canadian university basketball came down to the wire on Saturday night as the Carleton Ravens and the Brock Badgers traded blows before Carleton outlasted Brock in overtime 80-75.
Third-year point guard Munis Tutu (Windsor, ON) struggled from field goal range throughout the evening, but found other ways to fill up the box score. Tutu finished with 14 points, including 3-for-6 from three-point distance, while also collecting five rebounds, handing out three assists and registering three steals.
Brock entered the game with 9-1 record and stood as the second-ranked team in the nation behind only the Ravens. The Badgers’ record now falls to 9-2 following their second-straight loss, the first of which came against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday night.
GAME FLOW:
Saturday night’s game had all the makings of an OUA Marquee Matchup. It didn’t disappoint. Both U SPORTS powerhouses came into the game looking to set a physical tone early. The Badgers opened the game with a quick 8-3 run that was capped off by a deep three-pointer by Cassidy Ryan. Cam Smythe (Vancouver, BC) answered with soft hook shot from just inside the paint before Tutu canned an open three from the wing to knot the score up at 8-8 three minutes into the game. Smythe and Tutu’s effort sparked a 12-0 Ravens run that was instrumental in supporting a 19-14 Carleton lead entering the second quarter.
The back-and-forth affair showed no signs of slowing in the second quarter. Third-year guard Yasiin Joseph (Ottawa, ON) opened the frame with a quick three, but Brock had an answer for each Carleton bucket. A three by Tutu extended Carleton’s lead to 28-20, but the Badgers battled back to within four after Daniel Cayer hit a short jump shot to trim the score to 31-27. Two threes by TJ Lall (Cambridge, ON) helped Carleton end the quarter on an 8-4 run to go up 39-31 heading into halftime.
Carleton pushed its lead to double-digits early in the second-half thanks to a three-pointer by Smythe in the first two minutes of the third quarter. With the Ravens showing signs of blowing the game open, Brock responded with a defensive stronghold that stymied Carleton’s offence. A pull-up jump shot by Godsman Kwakwah with three seconds left in the third reduced the lead to just 53-50.
With the comeback in full swing, the Badgers continued to press the Ravens, racing out to a 59-53 lead to begin the fourth quarter after Cayer hit a three-pointer off a setup from Dani Elgadi. The Badgers’ determined effort put the Ravens on the ropes, but head coach Dave Smart’s squad rallied back following a strong defensive rebound in traffic by Eddie Ekiyor (Ottawa, ON) that resulted in a quick breakout and a Tutu finger roll on the other end to give Carleton a 60-59 lead with 3:34 left. Both teams traded slim one and two-point leads in the game’s final minutes, but were unable to break the deadlock after Emmanuel Owootoah (Rexdale, ON) missed a last-second prayer that would have ended the game in regulation. Instead, the Ravens and Badgers entered overtime tied 66-66.
Carleton fed off the momentum of a late game surge and opened overtime determined to not let the win slip away. The Ravens waged a quick 73-67 lead in the first two minutes of the extra frame and managed the clock the rest of the way before Owootoah hit a pair of free throws in the game’s dying moments to put an exciting 80-75 win on ice.
Source: goravens.ca
