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A couple of upsets and a foul-plagued game

#1 Carleton 83, McMaster 69

Link to Ottawa Citizen article by Wayne Kondro

Ottawa Citizen Article

When two teams combine for 61 fouls and 72 free throws, numbers alone would lead one to believe that the game was rough, tough and aggressive. However, this was absolutely not the case tonight at the Raven's Nest as perplexed looks, confusion and downright frustration reigned supreme as whistles were flying from every direction in Carleton's win over Mac, in a game that was clearly over-refereed. The zebras overshadowed another strong performance by the undermanned Marauders who took a 39-37 lead into halftime before succuming to foul trouble and a 23-10 Raven run off the start of the second half. In all, 6 players fouled out including 3 from each team; not surprisingly it was difficult to find any flow to the game despite the fact that Carleton picked up full court from the beginning and Mac pushed the tempo whenever possible.

Again Coach Joe Raso must be commended for his tremendous preparation in taking Carleton out of its wing-screen game with creative "d" and some hot shooting from a couple of less likely sources to build leads as great as 6 in the first half at 35-29. Freshman Amino Bello got off in the first half and Guelph transfer Mark Valvasori had a personal 5-0 run in the second half that brought Mac back to within 6 with 5:20 left in the game. That's when the officials put their final stamp on the game, putting the Ravens at the free throw line 5 straight times including a terrible call off the ball on Adam Steiner (his fifth) that re-extended Carleton's lead to 11 and essentially iced the game. The poor calls were not limited to just Mac as both coaches were basically exhausted by the end of the night.

Carleton made their second half run by getting the ball into the hands of Aaron Doornekamp (22 points) and Oz Jeanty (13 points), something they mystifyingly went away from in the first half (when they weren't lining up to shoot or watch Mac shoot free throws). Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie, maybe the most consistent Raven this season, again was a force around the rim with 19 points and team-high 7 rebounds including some signature put backs and finishes from nice feeds. The Ravens depth and discipline wore down Mac but the Marauders weren't put away until the late free-throw-a-thon.

Martin Ajayi had 18 points for Mac while freshman Geoff McLaughlin and Steiner had 9 each while Bello, Valvasori and second-year guard Jason Scully had 8 apiece. McLaughlin looks to be getting more and more comfortable each week and, although he still has room for improvement, likely will see his minutes increase and/or stay in starting lineup after Christmas even when John Obrovac returns. Bello shot the ball with confidence in the first half but got a little ahead of himself after making a few while Scully played with poise, confidence and an edge, getting into a short shoving match with Doornekamp during one of the many fouls called.

Carleton was worthy of the victory and remains undefeated while Mac falls to 3-5 and now 3 games behind Windsor which defeated Laurentian last night in Sudbury.

Western 77, York 74

In what has to be considered an upset, the Mustangs rolled into North York after the long bus trip from Sudbury and knocked off York as guard Matt Curtis flurted with a triple double, finishing with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists. Western held All-Canadian Dan Eves, who scorched Windsor for 34 points on Friday night, to 8 points on 3-14 shooting including 0-5 from 3. Jason Milliquet added 14 for Western and redshirt freshman Andrew Wedemire had 17. Rohan Steen (27 points) and Jordan Foebel (25 points) did their best to keep York in the game however they could not cover a 7 point halftime deficit. The loss may cost York a Top 10 ranking going into the holiday break but they will likely welcome back star guard Tut Ruach in the new year.

Ryerson 63, Waterloo 62 OT

Despite being in foul trouble all night, the Bakovic brothers delivered another fine performance as Ryerson swept a pair of games this weekend in Kitchener. Boris finished with 12 points and 17 rebounds before fouling out in regulation while veteran Igor has 17/10 for Ryerson, which is getting better each and every game.

Windsor 85, Laurentian 70

The Lancers rebounded from Friday's big loss at York with a resounding win in Sudbury, shooting a scorching 10-17 from 3 and 52% overall as U.S. D1 transfer Greg Surmacz had a career-high 26 points and added 10 boards to ensure the Lancers finish atop the West going into the holidays. Point guard Ryan Steer, quickly emerging as one of the top players in the OUA at any position, had another solid evening with 15 points (4-6 3's) and 9 assists while Kevin Kloostra added 18 for Windsor.

Ottawa 99 Lakehead 55

Despite being up only 9 at halftime, the Gee-Gees quickly put aside any chance of an upset with an early second half run to hammer the Thunderwolves as Josh Gibson-Bascombe had 19 while Alex McLeod and Sean Peter added 18 apiece to lead 5 players in double figures. Ottawa goes into the break in second place in the OUA East and should maintain their Top 5 ranking.

Queen's 63, Guelph 51

Ryan Hairsine went 7 for 8 from the floor and finished with 20 points and the Gaels pack-it-in "d" held Guelph to only 16 first-half points and 25% shooting for the game in picking up their second big road win in interlocking play by defeating the Gryphons. Simon Mitchell added 18 for Queen's which shot a near-perfect 13 of 14 from the free throw line.

Toronto 86, Laurier 64

The Blues rebounded from Friday's loss by getting after it often and early to lead by 20 by halftime before coasting to the 22 point win as 6 players scored in double figures led by Dwayne Grant with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Toronto went 6-11 from 3 point land and made 14 of 15 free throws. The young Hawks were held to 32% shooting by stifling U of T "d" despite welcoming back leading scorer Matt Walker, who ended with 27 points and 10 boards.

Brock 67, RMC 46

Scott Murray had 17 including 5 3's as the Badgers coasted to an easy victory, their third in a row to finish the pre-holiday portion of the schedule at 5-3. With a pair of wins this weekend, Brock will remain in the Top 10.

Standings
OUA East (36-28 vs. OUA West)
Carleton 8-0
Ottawa 7-1
York 6-2
Queen's 5-3
Toronto 4-4
Ryerson 3-5
Laurentian 2-6
RMC 0-8

OUA West
Windsor 6-2
Brock 5-3
Guelph 4-4
Western 4-4
McMaster 3-5
Waterloo 3-5
Laurier 3-5
Lakehead 0-8