Wednesday 31 January 2007

Wednesday's OUA West Results

McMaster (9-7) 75 at Waterloo (6-11) 56 The Marauders struggled for a good part of the game but broke it open with about 9 minutes to play, propelled by a big 3 by 6'4" John Obrovac, to garner a win on the road in Waterloo. Mac held just a 5 point lead after star guard Martin Ajayi went to the bench with his fourth foul on a controversial blocking call with 9:17 to play but, on the very next possession, Obrovac (pictured), a fifth-year senior, knocked down a long 3 that started a game-deciding 17-4 that gave the Marauders their largest lead at 69-51 with under 5 minutes left. The Marauders shuffled players in and out in the first half, playing all 12 guys and even deployed a zone for a good part of the game but could only grab a 35-31 halftime lead. Warriors second-year combo guard David Burnett was a one-man band for Waterloo in the first half with 13 points but was held scoreless in the second half until hitting a pair of free throws with 3 minutes left after a technical to Mac coach Joe Raso. Ajayi led Mac with 19 points, 3 below his league-leading average and 6'8" Adam Steiner continued his strong play at both ends with an 18-point/14-rebound double-double. Toms Lokmanis snarred 12 rebounds for Mac which outrebounded the Warriors 52-34. With Guelph's victory tonight against Windsor, the Warriors fall deeper into 7th place, making Waterloo's game, Saturday at home against the Gryphs, a virtual must-win. The Marauders welcome Western at home on Saturday as part of their annual Marauder Day celebrations.

#4 Windsor (12-4) 69 at Guelph (7-9) 81 Coming back from a ten point first half deficit, the Gryphs had what could be a turnaround game in defeating the Lancers, which for the second time this month lost decisively against a strong opponent on the road before about 1,000 fans in Guelph. 6'4" Nick Pankerichan (pictured) had maybe his best game as a Gryph, scoring 21 points including 3-6 from 3 while playing all 40 minutes and unheralded 6'7" forward Duncan Milne was a force at both ends, scoring 15 points and adding 11 rebounds but also holding down Windsor's 6'8" forward Greg Surmacz (13 points/9 rebounds), even blocking a couple of his shots. Milne put an exclamation mark on the game with a dunk down the stretch during Guelph's final run which turned a tight game with about 10 minutes remaining into a comfortable win. Guelph also got a tremendous effort from second-year guard Charles Agyemang (Toronto Henry Carr), who played a career-high 32 minutes and did a great job defending while filling in minutes for injured Jay Mott. The Lancers, led by star guard Ryan Steer (25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), who had 15 first-half points, looked like they might blow the Gryphs out of their own gym, taking leads as large as 10 in the first half however Guelph's Borko Popic (16 points) knocked down a big 3 at the buzzer, culminating a mini 6-0 run to bring the Gryphs back to within 4 by halftime. The Gryphs then turned up their "d" which held the Lancers to 38.1% shooting for the game and rode the hot shooting of Pankerichan and Popic and the strong inside play of Milne to their most important win of the season. On Saturday, Guelph travels to Waterloo, who defeated them earlier this month.

Western (9-7) 90 at Laurier (7-9) 80 OVERTIME 6'2" third-year guard Matt Curtis converted a layup with 0.9 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game and then took over the game in the overtime as the Mustangs kept pace with Mac in advance of their showdown this coming Saturday in Hamilton. Western outscored the hometown Hawks 16-6 in the overtime period to claim the road win after tying the game on the last possession of regulation when it appeared that the Laurier minor officials neglected to start the game clock promptly. Brad Smith led Western with 20 while Curtis had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals in 40 minutes. Rookie Jordan Smith had a big 3 in transition in overtime off a feed from Curtis as Curtis had a hand in virtually all Western's overtime points. Hawks second-year guard Jesse Macdonald had a career-high 27 points including 5-6 3's to lead Laurier which got 13 points from Matt Walker on only 3-14 shooting. 6'7" center Trevor Csima was effective for Laurier with 15 points and 15 rebounds and freshman Andrew Pennycook swatted another 5 shots but Western prevailed by scoring in and around the paint. Laurier now travels to Windsor and Western heads to Mac on Saturday.

OUA WEST STANDINGS after tonight's games
Windsor 12-4
Brock 9-6
McMaster 9-7
Western 9-7
Laurier 7-9
Guelph 7-9
Waterloo 6-11
Lakehead 1-15

Friday's Game: Brock at Lakehead 8:30 PM Eastern
Saturday's Games: Laurier at Windsor 1 PM; Western at McMaster 2 PM; Guelph at Waterloo 3 PM.

CIS Previews for Wednesday (OUA West Games)

The rise of the Windsor Lancers in the past 2 seasons has been spectacular and assuming the Lancers continue their winning ways, this season's team will end one of the longest running droughts in the OUA West. The last time the Lancers won the OUA West regular season title outright was 1979-80 (27 seasons ago) - Windsor did share the regular season crown in '80-'81 and '78-'79 but were seeded second both times for the playoffs. In fact, the Lancers won 4 consecutive OUA West playoff championships between 1978-79 and 1981-82, playing in 4 consecutive Wilson Cups, all against the York Yeomen (at the time), going 1-3, with the only victory an 80-78 win in 1979. Windsor represented the OUA West at the CIAU Nationals each of those 4 seasons, going 0-4 in the first round. The '79-'80 team was led by 6'9" OUA West Player-of-the-Year Stan Korosec (who later was named CIAU All-Canadian twice), shooting guard Phil Hermanutz, ex-Lancer assistant coach Vince Landry and a little-known walk-on from Nova Scotia named Henk Dykhuizen, now still starring in the Ottawa JCC Tuesday night runs.

OUA West Games Tonight (All Times are Eastern)

McMaster (8-7) at Waterloo (6-10) Both teams have glaring areas of concern as the Marauders are experiencing probably their worst defensive season in the Joe Raso coaching era while Waterloo is having difficulty scoring the ball. Mac and Western trail Brock by one game in the battle for second place and a first-round playoff bye. Recently, the Marauders have been carried offensively by their pair of all-conference candidates in 5'9" Martin Ajayi, the leading scorer in the OUA West and 6'8" Adam Steiner. With fifth-year forward John Obrovac still hobbled by a foot injury and playing hurt, Mac will need a young player to step up offensively. In losing 5 of their last 6 and their past 4 in a row, the Warriors, who have already played their two games against last place Lakehead, have simply not had any one of their senior players step up in their recent drought and are beginning to lose sight of the top half of the division. Both campus university radio stations will carry the game McMaster Radio and CKMS Waterloo Radio
Windsor (12-3) at Guelph (6-9) If any game could help turn a season around, this is the one for the Gryphs who have lost 5 in a row, many in decisive fashion including an 86-51 drubbing at Windsor one week ago. Guelph has had trouble finding consistent scoring lately from anyone except for Aron Bariagbre as 6'10" J.R. Bailey is in a slump and expected long-range threats Borko Popic and Jay Mott have simply not produced. The traditionally-tough Guelph half-court "d" has broken downs through a series of mental mistakes at key spots in games, eliminating the possibility of easy scores off their defence and putting the Gryphs, traditionally vying for first place, in a spot where they may have to battle for the final playoff spot in the division. The Lancers are three games ahead of second place Brock and with a win at Guelph will be only a total meltdown away from their first outright OUA West regular season league crown in 27 seasons. Also, a preview article from the Guelph Mercury Gryphs out to put breaks on skid
Western (8-7) at Laurier (7-8) A very interesting game between two young teams looking to mature quickly and push for a league championship. Hawks Big 3 freshmen: 6'7" Andrew Pennycook, 6'3" Justin Golob and 6'4" Evan Eliason each stepped up late in their win against Waterloo on Saturday after leading scorer Matt Walker fouled out with 5 minutes remaining. Pennycook is becoming a defensive force in the paint while Golob, lightly recruited coming out of high school, is knocking shots down and Eliason is maturing into a top player. The Mustangs have won 4 in a row with balance as 6'3" Andy Wedemire looks to have recovered from a mid-season offensive slump while 6'1" Matt Curtis is back to his stat-sheet-stuffing ways, scoring, rebounding and distributing from the guard spot. Up front, 6'6" Brad Smith has stepped up offensively and 6'7" Adam Ruickbie defends and rebounds. With a pair of young, rising teams, this game could preview two of the top OUA West teams in the next few years. These teams meet again on the final night of the regular season at Alumni Hall in three weeks.

Other articles of interest: Legendary Canada West referee Lew McCorkall was honoured this week on the occasion of his retirement. McCorkall, 86 years young, retired recently after 57 years officiating basketball and softball. The Victoria Times-Colonist reports Lew McCorkall Tribute

Fraser Valley Cascades kept their minuscule playoff aspirations alive over the weekend. The Cascades will need Trinity Western (8-12 in Canada West) to lose all three of their remaining games against Simon Fraser, and the Cascades will need to win-out their remaining schedule. From the Abbottsford News

Tuesday 30 January 2007

Canada West Contenders Broken Down, CIS Coaches Top 10

This week's official CIS Top 10 determined by a poll of coaches

Courtesy of the NABCC ...

NABCC Top Ten
January 30, 2007

LW Votes
-- -----
1. Brandon (35) #2 496 votes
2. Concordia (7) #3 460 votes
3. Carleton #1 399 votes
4. Windsor #5 385 votes
5. UBC #6 325 votes
6. Cape Breton #7 288 votes
7. St. Francis Xavier #4 247 votes
8. Victoria #8 220 votes
9. Ottawa #9 207 votes
10. Acadia #12 72 votes
11. Toronto #15 58 votes
12. York #12 48 votes
13. Alberta #10 42 votes
14. Brock #13 23 votes
15. Queen's #11 11 votes


CANADA WEST NOTES: The battle for the Canada West Final Four tournament which determines the two guaranteed spots for the CIS Nationals in Halifax has at least 5 legitimate contenders. Note: Thanks to Nathan Schellenberg, Saskatchewan Huskies assistant coach for pointing out some corrections including the name of the Central division (which used to be the Mountain division until it was pointed out that there are no mountains in Saskatchewan or Edmonton :) CIS #1 Brandon has been on fire lately, winning 9 in a row and has great athletes in the backcourt in 6'3" 2nd Year Dany "Rip" Charlery and 6'1" 4th year point Yul Michel, a long-range shooter in 6'0" 4th year guard
Chad Jacobsen (pictured) who can keep them in games singlehandidly when he get it going and a pair of forwards who complement each other well in 6'9" 4th year Yuri Whyms and 6'5" 4th year post Adam Hartman. If there is one potential achilles heel, for the veteran Bobcats it may be the bench as only 5'10" fifth-year shooting guard Taylor Cherris-Wilding, a former CCAA All-Canadian, has made steady contributions. Second-year Head Coach Barnaby Craddock has done a terrific job with this group in a short period of time and should be strongly considered for Canada West Coach-of-the-Year... Victoria, Nationals finalists from a year ago, have found a gem at the guard spot with 6'2" 2nd year combo guard Josh Whyte, a transfer from Mount Royal College, who complements well a pair of smooth shooting wings in 6'3" 5th Year Brandon Ellis and 6'2" 5th Year Steve Moore, although Moore left Saturday's game against Simon Fraser with an undisclosed injury and his status is not certain. Vikes strength is up front as last season's 6'6" CIS Rookie-of-the-Year Jacob Doerksen leads the way with support from 6'5" 3rd year forward Tyler Haas, an explosive athlete plus 6'6" 5th year post Graeme Bollinger. 6'7" third-year forward Mitch Gudgeon and 6'0" 2nd year guard Cyril Indome have also made steady contributions to a deep, athletic and talented team that runs disciplined sets and rebounds... UBC may have the deepest team in Canada West as Coach Kevin Hansen can play 10 or more players if need be but T-Birds' keys are their pair of scoring guards in 6'4" 5th year Casey Archibald (pictured), who injured his ankle last weekend and did not play on Saturday and 6'3" 3rd year Manitoba transfer Chris Dyck, who had 27 first-half points against TWU on Thursday. But the talent in the backcourt doesn't stop there as 6'1" Brent Leversage, 6'3" Jason Birring and 6'2" Adam Freisen all provide value minutes and could start on many other teams. Up front 6'7" 3rd year forward Matt Rachar, 6'9" 4th year center Cody Berg and 6'8" Bryson Kool share minutes while a pair of highly-touted freshmen 6'6" Brent Malish and 6'2" Alex Murphy look to push for rotation time. The T-Birds went to a smaller lineup in their last meeting with UVic and took off for a big second half come-from-behind win. With their depth and Hansen's ability to adjust, UBC can play it many ways depending upon the situation, which alone makes the T-Birds a nationals contender... It would be a mistake for any team to discount the ability of the Alberta Golden Bears to contend for a spot in Halifax and three-time CIS National champion coach Don Horwood again has his side doing all the little things needed to contend. As always, the Bears usually get the ball inside and take good shots (#1 in Canada West with .540 fg% and .433 3fg%) and make their free throws (.710 ft% #2 in Canada West), so expect them to be in most games. The Bears have a legitimate point guard in 2nd Year C.G. Morrison who has benefited from the return to form of 6'2" 5th year guard Tyson Jones. Expect 6'3" Andrew Parker, a freakish athlete, to start to contribute down the stretch while guard Alex Steele and forward Scott Gordon are their two go-to guys. The Bears have lots of depth and the guidance of a veteran coach who has been there before. Saskatchewan has 6'8" Andrew Spagrud, who leads Canada West in scoring 23.9 ppg and rebounding 10.2 rpg leading the way and needs him to score and rebound to contend. The remainder of the starting five is solid with 6'2" 4th year wing Kyle Grant, tough 6'0" off guard Rejean Chabot, 6'1" 4th year point guard Jordan Harbidge and 6'7" 4th year post Mark Lynch. Depth could be an issue as only 6'2" 5th Year guard Sam Lamontagne sees significant action off the bench.

To determine Canada West champion and the 2 automatic bids for the CIS Nationals, Canada West holds a four-team "Final Four" tournament, this season hosted by the Great Plains conference champions. The 3 division playoff champions qualify for the Final Four and the fourth team is invited as a wild card selection. Barring a huge upset, the Canada West Final Four should include four of these top 5 teams with the wild-card likely to come from the Pacific division as UBC and Victoria have been among the top teams in the CIS since the beginning of the season. Likely the odd team out of this equation will be the loser of a projected Saskatchewan at Alberta best-of-3 Central division final.

WEST IS BEST WITH CIS ATTENDANCE: Although detailed attendance statistics for all teams across the country are not kept, a quick check of the available data and anecdotal discussions points to Canada West drawing the most fans to their games day-in and day-out when compared to the rest of the country. Canada West does a tremendous job keeping accurate attendance statistics as well as their entire statistical package on their web page Detailed Canada West Statistics The good news attendance-wise is that 6 teams are regularly drawing 1,000 or more fans, led by Winnipeg, which has drawn an average of 1,725 fans for conference and non-conference games this season including a season-high of 2,500 to the Duckworth Center for the championship game of the Wesmen Classic in December plus 3 more crowds of 2,000 or more and 8 crowds of better than 1,500. Regina, which has had to deal with the pre-season loss of All-conference candidate Bryden Wright who was lost for the season due to injury sustained just 2 days prior to their season opener, also has drawn very well (~1,100 fans per game including a season-high 1,497 against Winnipeg this past Saturday). The Alberta Golden Bears also average over 1,100 fans per game while Victoria (with a season-high 2,521 fans last week against UBC on Ken & Kathy Shields Night), UBC (season-high 1,600 fans against Vic) and Lethbridge each average over 900 fans per game. The next challenge for Canada West is to think bigger as was done recently in Ottawa with the Capital Hoops Classic at Scotiabank Place (almost 10,000 fans), in Halifax with the annual AUS tournament at the Metro Centre each year and the old Great West Shootout concept at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton in the late 80's and think about a larger venue for their Final Four which has the potential to attract much larger crowds. Each of these aforementioned events had 5,000+ fans at a minimum. With this season's Canada West Final Four tournament slated for the winner of the Great Plains conference, there could be a situation, assuming Brandon wins their division, where the conference's flagship basketball event is played in a facility with a capacity of less than 1,000 people. Although not getting the advantage of playing in your home gym would likely hurt the Bobcats if they make it, a more sensible marketing-based decision could be to host the tournament at a facility such as the Duckworth Center with its larger capacity and more appealing asthetics.

ATTENDANCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY: Data is scattered and sometimes estimated instead of properly counted but there are teams that draw quite well for games - still, Canada West basketball games appear to be the best-attended across the country. Among the teams that regularly draw well in other parts of the country are in Ontario West: Windsor (usually 1,500-2,000 fans for big games at St. Denis Center), Waterloo, Guelph, McMaster and Brock; Ontario East: Carleton (unconfirmed but likely to be averaging over 1,000 fans with many sell-outs of 1,800), Queen's (recently has had more fans) and Laurentian (small but boisterous gym that holds about 800); Ottawa will sell-out their Carleton home game (1,200 fans) well in advance however attendance is usually about 250 or less for other games. Quebec: Laval (likely average over 1,000 fans/game), Bishop's (have had 1,000 fans this season); Atlantic Canada: St. FX(sell-outs of 2,000+ at least a couple of times this season), Acadia (1,289 on Jam-the-Gym night last week against X) and UNB (averaging just over 600 fans per game).

CANADA WEST TO EXPAND AGAIN?: There are at least 5 schools that are on the horizon of CIS membership in the Canada West division including Grant MacEwan College (Edmonton), Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and Mount Royal out of Calgary, UNBC in Prince George and UBC-Okanagan. The Gateway, U of Alberta's student newspaper, again does a tremendous job reporting on some of the challenges these schools can expect if and when they join the CIS The Changing Face of Sports in Canada West

Recap of a pair of terrific games in the "Q" between Laval and Bishop's including the exciting double overtime win by Rouge et Or at home Bishop's Laval home-and-home review

Sean Anthony Article in McGill Tribune

Monday 29 January 2007

Monday's Weekend Review


CONGRATULATIONS to former UPEI Panther and current Humber College Head Coach Darrell Glenn who recently welcomed a third child into his family in a very exciting way! Chris Doucette of the Toronto Sun reports Baby's First Trip a Doozy

Oliver gets his first win against mentor Raso as Larry Moko from the Hamilton Spectator reports Windsor Beats Mac

Owen White's recent solid play has helped the Brock Badgers White Delivers for Brock PLUS Guelph Mercury Report NOTES: With his 22 point performance against Guelph on Saturday, Brock's 5'10" Brad Rootes surpasses Brock Hall of Famer David Picton (1,123) in all-time OUA career points, moving into 5th all-time with 1,132. He also became the first Brock player to record 250 career steals.

Report from Waterloo on the cross-town rivalry game between Laurier and Waterloo Hawks' Walker Puts on Show

Kingston Whig-Standard reports on all 4 games in that town over the weekend including Queen's come-from-behind victory against Ryerson on Saturday Basketball Gaels Rally for Win

Cape Breton solidified their hold on the top seed in the AUS with a pair on wins at PEI. We have two reports Cape Breton Post: Caper Men Improve on League Leading Totals PEI's perspective; Panthers played without starting point guard Brent MacLaren PEI Guardian: Tough weekend for Panthers

Howard Tsumura's Canada West University Notebook here

UBC defeats Trinity Western No Archibald, No Problem

Sunday 28 January 2007

Newest Top 10 Thoughts

Two games in Atlantic Canada this afternoon:

Memorial (4-8, 8 pts) 64 vs. Saint Mary's (6-6, 18 pts) 87 AT HALIFAX METRO CENTRE The Huskies rebounded from a tough home loss on Saturday against UNB to dominate Memorial as Aaron Duncan had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists.
Cape Breton (10-1, 30 pts) 66 at UPEI (4-8, 16 pts) 61 The Capers moved into sole possession of first place and six points ahead of X in the battle for one of two byes in the first round of the AUS Final 6.

Western's Brad Campbell talks about the turnaround of the Mustangs with the London Free Press Coaches Help Mustangs Rebound

An article from Saturday's Ottawa Citizen by Wayne Kondro on the Gee-Gees come-from-behind win against York on Friday Gee-Gees Atone for earlier setback

Wayne also reports on Carleton's loss to York last night Lions Humble Ravens in first half en route to convincing victory

AUS wrap up from Chad Lucas of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald X adjusts to Metro Centre, wins big over Dal

Jacob Doerksen hit a buzzer-beating three in Vic's tight win at home against Simon Fraser Vikes Prayer Answered

UBC defeated Trinity Western in a closer game Saturday than it was on Thursday. Casey Archibald did not play for UBC after suffering an ankle injury on Thursday while Spartans star guard Brian Banman missed both games this weekend. UBC Sweeps Trinity Western

CISHOOPS.CA TOP 10 for week of January 29th, 2007

#1 Brandon (16-2 in Canada West, 23-3 vs. CIS overall): LAST WEEK: a pair of tight wins at home against Manitoba 83-81, 87-85. UPDATE: Winners of nine in a row and sailing in first place in Canada West Great Plains, the Bobcats have 3 wins against Top 10 competition: a pair of home wins two weeks ago against UBC and Victoria and a neutral court win at the Wesmen Classic against #10 Toronto. Bobcats have also lost to Winnipeg twice (once in the finals of the Wesmen Classic) and also to Trinity Western in their second league game of the season in November. Brandon's last 4 games are against Regina twice at home and then home and home with Winnipeg before awaiting the winner of the Best-of-3 Great Plains semi-final. All 3 games of the Best-of-3 division final will be played in Brandon. Have had an easy schedule relative to other Top 10 teams including 2 games at home against UVic and UBC, the Bobcats need to win out to maintain their #1 ranking.

#2 Concordia (9-1 in QSSF, 14-2 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: Defeated UQAM 92-70 UPDATE: With only one loss since the pre-season and the return of star guard Damian Buckley, the Stingers once again are looking like the prohibitive favorite in the "Q". The Stingers are 2-0 against teams in the Top 10: wins out west over the holidays against Victoria and at UBC as well as a six point win vs. Brock at the Laurier tournament in October. Concordia faces Bishop's next Friday night and then have 2 meetings with Laval in the final 2 weeks of the regular season.

#3 Windsor (12-3 in OUA, 15-4 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: won a pair of home games defeating Guelph 86-51 and McMaster 85-66. UPDATE: The Lancers remain the class of the OUA West with a somewhat-decisive loss at Brock as their only post-holiday blemish. The emergence of their bench will only help their depth that includes a top point guard in Ryan Steer and two Division 1 transfers up front in Kevin Kloostra and Greg Surmacz. With the home advantage all but sewn up throughout the OUA playoffs (including Wilson Cup), a high or even top seed at Halifax is their's for the taking. Two of Windsor's four losses have come decisively on the road at Brock and at York - the other two have come to Carleton in close games. Windsor is 3-2 vs. the current cishoops.ca Top 10 including the 2 losses to Carleton and wins against Toronto (big comeback), Ottawa (decisive) and Victoria at Carleton's House-Laughton tournament.

#4 Carleton (15-2 in OUA, 23-2 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: Lost 64-62 to Ottawa at Scotiabank Place; defeated Laurentian 77-53 at home, lost at home to York 95-81. UPDATE: Last season, the Ravens also lost a pair of games within about a week of each other (at Brock and then at home to Ottawa) but recovered to win another National championship, even without 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp. With a game on the road at Toronto this Saturday, Carleton has a chance to get back to where they feel they belong. The possibility is slim, however if cross-town rival Ottawa wins out, including a win over Carleton at Montpetit Hall on the last weekend of the season, Carleton may not even finish first. Look for the Ravens, who finish their season with 5 consecutive road games including at #10 Toronto, at Queen's and at #7 Ottawa, to use this week as extra motivation to ensure that possibility never happens. The Ravens are 5-1 vs. teams currently in the cishoops.ca Top 10 including 2-0 against Windsor and wins at home against Toronto plus early season wins against Victoria and Cape Breton.

#5 UBC (17-2 in Canada West, 23-3 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: Swept a pair of home games with Trinity Western 101-79 and 85-77. UPDATE: Won on Saturday despite the absence of star guard Casey Archibald as Manitoba transfer Chris Dyck had 27 first-half points on Thursday and hit big shots down the stretch on Saturday. The T-Birds own one game lead and a 2-1 series lead on arch-rival Victoria in the battle for top spot in the Pacific. Both teams travel to Alberta next week to face U of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the top two teams in Mountain division, before closing their regular season at home against winless Thompson Rivers and non-playoff team Fraser Valley. All of UBC's three losses to CIS competition have come against ranked teams (at #1 Brandon, #2 Concordia at home, at #8 Victoria). The T-Birds are 3-3 against cishoops.ca-ranked team including an early season victory against Cape Breton on a neutral court at the Memorial tournament in early October.

#6 Ottawa (14-3 in OUA, 23-3 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: defeated Carleton 64-62 at Scotiabank Place, defeated York at home 80-65, defeated Laurentian 78-63. UPDATE: Still with only 3 losses to CIS competition this season, Ottawa is riding a four game winning streak after handing Carleton their first loss against CIS competition and handling York by 15 as part of a 3-0 week. The Gee-Gees have gone back to their gambling ways on "d", pressuring and creating turnovers and are getting solid contributions from deeper in their bench with 6'5" David Labentowicz and 6'3" Donnie Gibson. 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe, who missed the stretch run last season with a broken wrist, is healthy this season and emerging as an all-conference first team candidate. 6'3" Sean Peter has been much more consistent and the Gee-Gees can still rely on their 3 fifth-year seniors. Ottawa is 3-1 vs teams in the cishoops.ca Top 10 with their only loss at Windsor in November. Much more will be learned about the Gee-Gees as their next 4 games are on the road including encounters at Toronto this Friday and at Queen's the following weekend.

#7 Cape Breton (10-1 in AUS, 15-6 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: Sunday at UPEI 66-61 and won at UPEI 83-57. UPDATE: Currently tied with Acadia for the AUS pennant but with 3 games in hand, the Capers latest run is making many forget about their lacklustre pre-season and decisive loss to York at the Ryerson tournament over the holidays when the Lions zone stymied Cape Breton in the second half. This team is very capable of making a National championship run with veterans at all key positions especially point guard with the steady if not spectacular Ryan Keliher. With 2 games remaining at second place Acadia and their final 3 games of the season on the road at Dalhousie, St. Mary's and St. FX on the final night of the season, the Capers will have to earn the #1 AUS ranking. The recent win at X was the Capers second win against a cishoops.ca Top 10 team (2-3) with losses coming to Carleton, UBC and X.

#8 Victoria (16-3 Canada West, 20-6 vs. CIS overall): The Vikes struggled Saturday night at home against Simon Fraser, needing a buzzer-beater to defeat Simon Fraser but are dangerous team as long as sophomore guard 6'1" Josh Whyte continues his recent fine play. A tournament-tested team with a solid shooting guard in 6'2" Brandon Ellis and a tough, athletic front line which includes 6'5" Tyler Haas and 6'6" former CIS Rookie-of-the-Year Jacob Doerksen, the Vikes are definite Top 10 team. Fifth-year guard Steve Moore left Saturday's game against Simon Fraser with an injury and did not return. Victoria's ranking could be considerably higher except for a 1-6 record thus far against teams in the Top 10, with the only win coming against UBC at home (losses: UBC twice, at Brandon, vs. Concordia at UBC tournament, at Carleton, vs. Windsor in overtime at Carleton tournament). The Vikes travel to Saskatchewan and Alberta next weekend.

#9 St. Francis Xavier (8-4 in AUS, 16-4 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: lost 76-70 at Acadia; defeated Dal 83-53 at Halifax Metro Centre. UPDATE: Knocking down X five spots could be viewed as harsh however with 4 conference losses already and only third in their league, the young X-Men are starting to show signs of the challenges of integrating 5 freshmen into the roster. 6'10" Neil McDonald and 6'3" Garry Gallimore have been solid but 6'2" Tyler Richards has been inconsistent from the perimeter lately and Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw, while spectacular in spurts and destined to be a great one, sometimes still shows he is only a freshman. Prior to Saturday afternoon's convincing win against Dal at the Halifax Metro Centre, the X-Men had lost 3 of their last 4 including a home loss to St.Mary's which was in turn defeated at home Saturday against last-place UNB. X is 1-2 in games against Top 10 teams (all against Cape Breton) however they did have a pre-season win against York, a team on the verge of a Top 10 ranking. X still has three games remaining against the two teams ahead of them in the standings: Cape Breton twice including in 10 days at home as well as one more trip to Acadia. The top 2 teams avoid having to play on the Friday night of the AUS Final 6 tournament and would need only one win in the semi-finals of that tournament to qualify for the Nationals.

#10 Toronto (10-6 in OUA, 15-8 vs. CIS overall): THIS WEEK: Won at Queen's 59-44 and at RMC 84-52. UPDATE: Riding a six game winning streak that easily could be eight save for a pair of close losses in the Nation's Capital, the Varsity Blues, arguably Canada's top overall defensive team since the holidays, are red hot. Of their six league losses, 5 were by a combined margin of 9 points including games against Ottawa, Carleton and Windsor that came down to the final possession. Losses to Waterloo, Guelph and Western by 14 before the holidays hurt but with wins against Queen's (twice), Brock, Alberta and York, four other teams considered for Top 10 ranking, putting the Blues in this spot is more than justified. The Blues are 0-5 against teams in this weeks cishoop.ca Top 10 however have a chance to improve on that record this weekend as they host #6 Ottawa on Friday and #4 Carleton on Saturday.

New CIS #1 Certain: Late Saturday Scores

Two games in Atlantic Canada this afternoon:

Noon local/ 11 AM Eastern Memorial (4-7, 8 pts) vs. Saint Mary's (5-6, 16 pts) AT HALIFAX METRO CENTRE
3 PM local/ 2 PM Eastern Cape Breton (9-1, 28 pts) at UPEI (4-7, 16 pts)

For other CIS results and game reports from Saturday including AUS, QSSF and OUA action, where #1 Carleton lost their second game of the week, this time at home to York on Senior's Night when Osvaldo Jeanty was honoured, click here As well, an excellent story on York's shocker at Carleton from our blog buddy Neate Sager can be found here

Canada West

Michel's late free throws sink Bisons: Manitoba (6-12) 85 at #2 Brandon (16-2) 87 4th year point guard Yul Michel (Montreal) converted a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds left after being sent to the line on a controversial loose ball foul called against Bisons Issac Ansah as Brandon won again. Brandon blew a 13 point lead allowing Manitoba to take a 85-84 lead with 43 seconds remaining but Michel tied the game by making 1 of 2 throws. Ansah was then called for a foul during a scramble for a loose ball at midcourt. The Bobcats are now in-line for the #1 ranking after their ninth straight victory. Jeremy Sawatsky's story from Brandon and Box Score
Saskatchewan (11-7) 70 at #10 Alberta (13-5) 83 The Bears moved into the driver's seat for top spot in the Mountain division with a 50 point first half and a 17 point halftime lead in defeating the Huskies to gain a split of their weekend series as C.J. Morrison went 9-10 from the floor as part of his game-high 24 points. Alberta opens up a two game lead with 4 games remaining. However, the race for first is not over yet however as both Saskatchewan and Alberta hosts the top 2 teams in the Pacific next weekend in UBC and Victoria. Bears Bounce Back against Huskies PLUS Box Score
Winnipeg (8-10) 77 at Regina (7-11) 80 Before 1,500 fans, the Cougars moved into sole possession of the third and final playoff spot in Great Plains division by edging the Wesmen as Drew Kuzminski had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Erfan Nasajpour again led the way for Winnipeg with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, which led by 7 early in the second half before watching the hosts go on a 27-8 run. Still, Winnipeg had a shot to tie but Nasajpour missed a three with 2 seconds remaining. Regina faces soon-to-be #1 Brandon twice next week on the road. Box Score ... also, report from Wesmen web site (scroll to the bottom) Winnipeg Regina Game Report
Simon Fraser (9-11) 65 at #8 Victoria (16-3) 68 Brandon Ellis scored 23 points but it was Jacob Doerksen's three at the buzzer that gave Victoria a thrilling win over the Clan. Vic held Clan's high scoring forward Aaron Christensen to 9 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists but Vikes emerging star guard Josh Whyte was in foul trouble all night, playing only 22 minutes yet still contributing 12 points and 7 assists. Clan stayed in the game on the glass as they outrebounded Vic 34-24 including 12 on the offensive end. Vikes also made only 10 of 20 free throws. Sean Burke led Simon Fraser with 20. Pete Lewis's Game Report from Victoria PLUS Box Score
Trinity Western (8-12) 77 at #6 UBC (17-2) 85 Note that Casey Archibald, who left Thursday's game with a suspected ankle injury, did not play in last night's game and his status is unknown going forward Box Score
Lethbridge (6-12) 61 at UCFV (6-14) 76 Box Score
Calgary (8-10) 100 at Thompson Rivers (0-20) 82 Box Score

CANADA WEST STANDINGS (not including UBC/TWU game)
Great Plains
Brandon 16- 2
Winnipeg 8-10
Regina 7-11
Manitoba 6-12
Mountain
Alberta 13- 5
Saskatchewan 11- 7
Calgary 8-10
Lethbridge 6-12
Pacific
UBC 17- 2
Victoria 16- 3
Simon Fraser 9-11
Trinity Western 8-12
Fraser Valley 6-14
Thompson Rivers 0-20

Saturday 27 January 2007

Saturday's Results: #1 Carleton Upset at Home

Cape Breton (9-1) 83 at UPEI (4-7) 57 The Capers jumped out to a 45-18 lead by halftime on the road and coasted to victory against the Panthers. Cape Breton went a white hot 13 for 24 from 3 point land led by Paul Blake's 4 threes, part of his 21 point effort. Eric Breland finished with 18 for Cape Breton.

Memorial (4-7) 72 at Acadia (9-4) 87 The Axemen continued their winning ways by defeating a travel weary Seahawk team that had flight delays necessitating the game being changed to 9 PM local time. Acadia's emerging star transfer Sean Berry, who scorched X last night, again led the way with 26 points while shooting guard Peter Leighton had 15. Sean Thistle finished with 21 points and 10 boards for Memorial, which meets St. Mary's tomorrow at noon in Halifax at the Metro Center prior to the ABA All-Star game.


AUS
UNB (3-10) at Saint Mary's (5-6) Oliver Glencross had a game-high 25 points and added 5 rebounds as the Varsity Reds upset the Huskies at the Tower. St. Mary's missed a chance to claim sole possession of 4th place as they are still tied with UPEI. Two season-long issues came out again this afternoon for the Huskies as the smaller Reds outrebounded SMU by wide margin (44-28 including 16 "o" boards) and St. Mary's simply could not guard the ball, allowing UNB to get to the rim easily or pitch out for open 3's (the Reds went 11-25 44% from downtown). The Reds got out to a double-digit lead by halftime but an early St. Mary's run got the game back to 4. However, just as quickly, a "T" and a conventional 3 point play got the lead back up to 9 for UNB and the Reds fought to the win from there. Bill Walker added 14 for UNB while Colin Swift had 12 and Thor Jensen 10. Mark McLaughlin led St. Mary's with 22 while Aaron Duncan added 20. St.Mary's has a quick turnaround tomorrow as they play the preliminary game prior to the ABA All-Star game in Halifax against Memorial at noon Atlantic time.


#4 StFX (8-4) 83 vs. Dalhousie (5-8) 53 AT HALIFAX METRO CENTRE In a preamble to Day One of the ABA All-Star festivities in Halifax, the X-Men stormed out to a 16-0 lead in the first 5 minutes to topple the Tigers in front of about 3,000 fans. Neil McDonald led the way for X with 19 points and 15 boards as St. FX dominated the glass and held the Tigers to 16 for 60 (27%) shooting including only 3-18 3's. X's experience playing in the Metro Center was evident off the tip as they built leads as great as 19 at 25-6 before Dal brought the game back to 10 late in the half. X then built on their 42-28 lead with a run off the start of the second half that buried Dal. Tyler Richards, who has struggled of late with his shooting, added 15 for X including 2 of 3 from downtown while Garry Gallimore had 14. Dal leading scorer Germain Bendegue picked up 2 quick fouls in the early minutes and then picked up his third on a peculiar call in which one official called a block but a second official called a charge on Bendegue, his third. When the meeting of the minds ended, both players were assessed a foul: one on Bendegue for a charge and one on his X opponent who took the charge and got called for a block. Drew Stratton knocked in 16 points to lead Dal.
OUA West
Waterloo (6-10) 66 at Laurier (7-8) 75 Third-year forward Matt Walker had 25 points and the Hawks shot a blistering 11 of 21 from 3 point land in defeating their cross-town rivals at home. Freshman Justin Golob added 16 points on 4 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc in just 14 minutes for Laurier, which held the Warriors to only 34.3% shooting for the game including 6/22 3's. The smaller, younger Hawks dominated the glass, outrebounding Waterloo 49-39 including 15 offensive rebounds and got great performances from each of their three top freshman as Golob hit big 3's at key times, 6'7" Andrew Pennycock blocked a bunch of shots and 6'5" Evan Eliason had 10 points/10 rebounds, his first career double-double. Second-year guard David Burnett had 16 in the loss for the Warriors, stuck in 7th place in the OUA West and currently out of a playoff spot. This coming Wednesday night, Waterloo hosts McMaster in a must-win game for the Warriors while Laurier hosts Western in their attempt to move into position to host a playoff game.

Guelph (6-8) 64 at Brock (8-6) 74 The Badgers went on a game-deciding 25-3 run to end the first half to hand the Gryphs their 4 consecutive loss. Brock's big 3 of Brad Rootes (20 points), Chris Keith (20 points) and Mike Kemp (16 points) led the way after Guelph took a 24-16 lead midway through the first half on the strength of Nick Pankerichan's 10 points in the run. But the Badgers toughened up defensively and started making shots to lead by 14 at the half. The lead got to 20 midway through the second half and the Badgers coasted from there. Aron Bariagbre led Guelph with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists including 11-11 free throws. Brock travels to Thunder Bay next weekend for a pair of games against last place Lakehead while the Gryphs face first-place Windsor on Wednesday.
Lakehead (1-15) 46 at Western (8-7) 72 The 'Stangs moved into a tie for third with Mac by thrashing Western as Brad Smith led 4 scorers in double figures with 15 points and 5 rebounds while third-year guard Matt Curtis scored 13 points, added 11 assists and 6 rebounds to push a triple/double. Western visits Laurier next Wednesday.
McMaster (8-7) 66 at Windsor (12-3) 85 The Lancers took advantage of easy transition opportunities and shaky Mac "d" to record a comfortable win and put themselves in the driver's seat for top spot in the conference. The Lancer bench was key as Windsor got 18 of their 51 first half points from non-starters, led by Matt Handsor who had 4 3's off the bench. Kevin Kloostra led the way for Windsor with 24 including 4 3's while 6'8" Greg Surmacz had 20 points/8 rebounds. Once again, point guard Ryan Steer was solid with 16 points and 9 assists, many on transition looks after Mac misses. Forward Greg Allin scored only 5 points but pulled down a season-high 16 rebounds for Windsor. Martin Ajayi had 24 to lead Mac but forced the issue shooting only 6 for 21 and turning the ball over 8 times. Adam Steiner added 18 points and 15 rebounds for the Marauders.

OUA WEST UPDATED STANDINGS including today's completed games
Windsor 12-3
Brock 9-6
McMaster 8-7
Western 8-7
Laurier 7-8
Guelph 6-9
Waterloo 6-10
Lakehead 1-15

QSSF
McGill (5-5) 67 at UQAM (3-8) 77
Laval (5-4) 79 at Bishop's (3-7) 86 Herman Tesfaghebriel scored 20 and added 7 rebounds including 6 on the offensive glass as the Gaiters won their third to stay in fourth place. Junior Nicholas hit 4 3's as part of his 19 point effort for Bishop's, which took a 12 point lead into halftime and held on for the win. CIS Rookie-of-the-Year candidate J.F. Beaulieu-Maheux kept Laval in the game, going for a game-high 26 points including 4 3's and All-Canadian J.P. Morin added 24 for the Rouge et Or. The teams split their weekend series with each side winning at home.

QSSF STANDINGS after tonight's games
Concordia 9-1
Laval 5-4
McGill 5-5
Bishop's 3-7
UQAM 3-8

OUA East
Toronto (10-6) 84 at RMC (1-15) 52 Breaking open a 3 point game at the half with a 12-4 run and then coasting from there, the Varsity Blues won their sixth consecutive game. Toronto shot 6-13 from three point land including 3 for 5 for Ben Katz, part of his game-high 18 points. Katz has one of Canada's top 3 point field goal shooting percentages. Dwayne Grant added 13 while sophomore Nick Magalas continued his stellar play off the bench for the Blues, adding 12. Paul Hungler had 12 for RMC while Adam Asquini added 11 for RMC which shot only 29% in the second half while being outscored 48-22. The Blues now await the arrival of the OUA East's top 2 teams as Ottawa comes to Toronto on Friday while Carleton visits on Saturday.
Ryerson (6-9) 67 at Queen's (9-6) 76 Third-year guard Ryan Hairsine led a Queen's comeback, scoring 20 including 3-6 from 3 point land, one of which gave the Gaels the lead for good with 3 minutes remaining as the Gaels squeezed past Ryerson. Queen's overcame a two point halftime deficit to keep pace with U of T for third-place in the conference. Hairsine, who for his first two seasons was strictly a spot up shooter, has added some muscle and an ability to get to the rim to complement his pure shooting ability. Ryerson stayed in the game by shooting 10 for 20 from 3 point land including 3-5 by Brandon Krupa who finished with 13 points. Ryerson held star freshman Mitch Leger to 4 points on only 1-9 shooting but veteran post Glen Smith had a career-high 16 points including 4-6 3's. Gaels Simon Mitchell (8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) kick started Queen's in the second half, providing veteran leadership. Queen's, which shot a solid 12-28 from 3 themselves, held Ryerson's freshman Boris Bakovic to only 10 points and 9 rebounds. A very good and detailed article on Queen's resurgence behind Coach Rob Smart from the Queen's Journal including some candid comments from coach and players (solid read) Queen's Journal Report: Gaels Demand Respect

Laurentian (3-12) 63 at #9 Ottawa (13-3) 78 Fifth-year guard Alex McLeod had 18 first-half points including 5-6 from 3 point land, leading the Gee-Gees to within one game of first-place Carleton, which was shocked tonight at home by York. McLeod finished with 22 points while Willy Manigat came off the bench to score 16 and Sean Peter 14. Josh Gibson-Bascombe fought foul trouble all night, ending with 4 points. Brody Bishop knocked down two quick 3's to get Laurentian started early and finished with a team-high 13 points.
York (10-6) 95 at #1 Carleton (15-2) 81 The Lions shocked the #1 Ravens with a 61 point first half, leading by an incredible 39 by halftime and then held off a late Carleton run to defeat the Ravens and remain in a three-way tie for third place in the conference. Tut Ruach (pictured) led the way with 26 points and 5 assists and was a perfect 10-10 from the line while Dan Eves had 24 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Osvaldo Jeanty tried to bring his team back with 30 points while Aaron Doornekamp finished with 15 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.

OUA EAST UPDATED STANDINGS including today's completed games
Carleton 15-2
Ottawa 14-3
Toronto 10-6
Queen's 10-6
York 10-6
Ryerson 6-10
Laurentian 3-13
RMC 1-15

Saturday Games, Canada West Friday Night in the CIS


For those around the country who did not see any video on Tuesday's Capital Hoops Classic, here are a couple of clips from youtube.com including the sequence that ended with the game winning shot by Josh Gibson-Bascombe Game winning shot and Fall away at the end of the first half As well as a well-written piece on the game from the Fulcrum, Ottawa's English-language student newspaper Fulcrum report

LATE RESULTS FROM GAMES ON FRIDAY NIGHT
For scores and game reports from Friday's earlier games, click here

Ryerson defeated RMC by 8 in Kingston, giving the Rams a three-game lead on Laurentian for the final playoff spot in the OUA East. Ryerson and Laurentian play one more time in Sudbury in two weeks.

Manitoba (6-11) 81 at #2 Brandon (15-2) 83 The Cats blew a big lead but then held on for the late win at home. Issac Ansah had 31 points for Manitoba in the loss. Brandon web site game report PLUS Box Score

Winnipeg (8-9) at Regina (6-11) All-Canadian candidate Erfan Nasajpour had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals as the Wesmen broke open a tight game at halftime with a 45 point second half to grab a two-game lead for second place in the Great Plains division. Winnipeg can all but clinch second with a win again tonight at Regina. Box Score

Saskatchewan (11-6) 90 at Alberta (12-5) 71 The Huskies got 20 points and 10 rebounds from star Andrew Spagrud and got a tremendous all round effort from Kyle Grant (18 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) as they moved to within a game of first-place Alberta before 1,100 fans in Edmonton. The Huskies dominated the glass, outrebounding the hometown Bears 32-19 including 16 offensive rebounds while holding Bears top gun Scott Gordon to only 5 points. The teams meet again tonight at the U of A gym Game Report from Bears web site plus huskiehoops.com as well as box score

Calgary (7-10) 109 at Fraser Valley (5-14) 76 Shooting a sizzling 79.3% while scoring a CIS season-high 70 points in the second half, the Calgary Dinos strengthened their hold on the third and final playoff spot in the Mountain division by running away from the home town Cascades. Sonny Khangara came off the bench to lead all scorers with 24 while Ross Bekkering added 22 for Calgary. The loss virtually eliminates UCFV from the post-season. Game Story and box score

Lethbridge (6-11) 94 at Thompson Rivers (0-19) 89 The Horns stayed within a game of the final Mountain division playoff spot with a tight win at Thompson Rivers.

Simon Fraser (9-10) 49 at #8 Victoria (15-3) 79 The Vikes had possibly their strongest defensive outing of the season, holding the Clan to 19 first-half points while jumping out to a 20 point halftime lead as no Vikes starter played more than 21 minutes. Vikes Crush Clan from Simon Fraser web site as well as box score

Read more on Acadia's big win at home against X as Lake Superior State transfer Sean Berry broke open a tie with a late slam dunk (captured nicely on the site) Acadia wins in front of 1,200

OUA West
2:00 pm Waterloo (6-9) at Laurier (6-8) The first of two in the cross-town rivalry in what could end up being the battle for the final playoff spot in the OUA West. Laurier played Mac tough on the road on Wednesday while Waterloo, losers of 3 in a row, had maybe their poorest effort of the season in a home loss to Brock.
4:00 pm Guelph (6-8) at Brock (8-6) The Gryphs, who have been reeling losing 3 straight, desperately need a victory to maintain site of fourth place and a home playoff date. The Badgers must finish with a better record than Mac to grab second spot (Mac holds the tie-breaker).
8:00 pm Lakehead (1-14) at Western (7-7) The Mustangs look to move over .500 for the first time in 4 seasons with a home win. Western still has a chance to finish second with a strong surge to the end of the regular season.
8:00 pm McMaster (8-6) at Windsor (11-3) In the first meeting since the Marauders ended the Lancers season last March in the OUA West semi-finals, student (Chris Oliver) meets mentor (Joe Raso) in what is expected to be a capacity crowd at the St. Denis Center. Key matchups include Windsor's front line against Mac's fifth-year star Adam Steiner and Windsor's emerging 6'2" All-conference candidate Ryan Steer and Mac's 5'8" Martin Ajayi, the conference's leading scorer. Look for 6'4" John Obrovac to be assigned the task of shutting down Windsor's explosive Kevin Kloostra.

AUS
3 PM local/2 PM Eastern UNB (2-10) at Saint Mary's (5-5)
4 PM local/3 PM Eastern #4 StFX (7-4) vs. Dalhousie (5-7) AT HALIFAX METRO CENTRE
8 PM local/7 PM Eastern Cape Breton (8-1) at UPEI (4-6)
8 PM local/7 PM Eastern Memorial (4-6) at Acadia (8-4)

QSSF
8:00 pm McGill (5-4) at UQAM (2-8)
8:00 pm Laval (5-3) at Bishop's (2-7)

OUA East
4:00 pm Toronto (9-6) at RMC (1-14)
8:00 pm Ryerson (6-9) at Queen's (9-6)
8:00 pm Laurentian (3-12) at #9 Ottawa (13-3)
8:00 pm York (9-6) at #1 Carleton (15-1)

Canada West
8 PM local/ 9 PM Eastern Manitoba (6-11) at #2 Brandon (15-2)
8 PM local/ 10 PM Eastern Saskatchewan (11-6) at #10 Alberta (12-5)
8 PM local/ 10 PM Eastern Winnipeg (8-9) at Regina (6-11)
8 PM local/ 11 PM Eastern Simon Fraser (9-10) at #8 Victoria (15-3)
8 PM local/ 11 PM Eastern Trinity Western (8-11) at #6 UBC (16-2)
8 PM local/ 11 PM Eastern Lethbridge (6-11) at UCFV (5-14)
8 PM local/ 11 PM Eastern Calgary (7-10) at Thompson Rivers (0-19)

Friday 26 January 2007

Friday Night's Results, Game Previews + UBC over TWU

Scores and game reports for tonight's games will be updated as they become available.

Concordia (9-1) 92 at UQAM (2-8) 70 Aided by the return of star 6'2" guard Damain Buckley, the Stingers jumped out to a 20-8 lead and never looked back, growing the margin to 32 at one point, in a thrashing of QAM, avenging a loss two weeks ago. Buckley continually got himself in the paint breaking down Citadins full court pressure and quarter-court zone to find perimeter shooters for open looks. 6'4" Ben Sormonte, back in his more natural position spotting up on the perimeter, was the main beneficiary, scoring a game-high 26 points on 6-13 shooting from 3 point land. Dam.Buckley finished with 9 points and was credited for only 5 assists. QAM stayed in the game on the foul line as Concordia had only 2 fouls called on them in the first 8 minutes of the game and then had 26 fouls called in the last 32 minutes, allowing QAM to go 25 for 35 at the foul line. All 12 Stingers who dressed saw action in both halves as Dwayne Buckley finished with 14 points while Kevin Boucher led the Citadins with 17 points including 8-10 from the line. Concordia travels to Bishop's next Friday night.

Bishop's (2-7) 86 at Laval (5-3) 91 2 OVERTIMES The Rouge et Or outlasted the Gaiters in a thrilling classic as freshman sensation J.F. Beaulieu-Maheux had 34 points on 12-22 shooting while J.P. Morin added 25 points and 10 rebounds on 9-13 shooting before fouling out in front of 1,000 excited fans. Laval jumped out to a 14 point first half lead and looked to be running away but the Gaiters patiently ran their stuff and got on the offensive glass, reducing the deficit to only 8 by halftime. Bishop's chipped away at the lead, finally catching the Rouge et Or with 3 minutes to play and leading by 3 in the waning moments before Laval's fifth-year senior J.M LeBlanc knocked down a three to tie it. Laval dominated the early stages of the second overtime, scoring the first 9 points to claim the big win. Junior Nicholas led the Gaiters with 21 points as Bishop's stayed in the game with 18 offensive rebounds but hurt themselves with an 11 for 20 effort at the foul line. The teams meet again tomorrow in Lennoxville.

UNB (2-10) 67 at Dalhousie (4-7) 79 2 PT. GAME The Tigers got 17 points and 12 rebounds from 6'6" Germain Bendegue and 15 from Drew Stratton, leading all the way in a 12 point win against last place UNB to solidify their hold on a playoff spot. Dal created 17 Varsity Red turnovers and helped themselves by going 28 for 32 (87%) from the free throw line. Oliver Glencross led UNB with 21, which went only 4 for 26 (15%) from three point land.

#4 StFX (7-4) 70 at Acadia (8-4) 76 2 PT. GAME The Axemen avenged a home defeat ten days prior with a come-from-behind win against X to move 4 points ahead of St.FX in the battle for second place and one of two byes in the first round of the AUS Final 6 playoffs. Acadia's U.S. transfer 6'5" Sean Berry had his coming out game, scoring 19 points and adding 7 rebounds in 38 minutes as the Axemen scored 45 second half points to fight back from a 4 point halftime deficit. Achuil Lual had a terrific 21 point/16 rebound performance. X-Men held normally high scoring Paolo Santana to only 4 points in 15 minutes but Berry and Lual took over when needed. 6'3" Garry Gallimore led X with 17 points, while freshman Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw and 6'2" Tyler Richards added 16 apiece but Richards went only 6 for 18 from the floor. 6'10" Neil McDonald battled foul trouble all night, finishing with only 10 points in 21 minutes.

York (9-6) 65 at #9 Ottawa (13-3) 80 The Gee-Gees scored the first 10 points of the second half to erase a 10 point halftime deficit and then took the lead for good with a 17-10 run to solidify their hold on second place in the OUA East with a victory over the Lions. Once again, 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe (14 points) was the catalyst, leading an up-tempo attack, especially down the stretch as the Gee-Gees created numerous turnovers that lead to many easy scores. 6'5" Curtis Shakespeare led the way with 22 points, many exploiting Jordan Foebel on the perimeter and 6'3" Sean Peter (16 points) did yeomen's work defensively and made big shots, including the clincher down the stretch, an 18 footer to give Ottawa an 8 point lead and stopping York's last run. Ottawa simply wore down the Lions with unrelenting defensive pressure and transition pushes despite Coach Bob Bain's efforts to slow the game down with a zone during parts of the game. The zone strategy worked early as the Lions ended the first half on a 12-0 run to lead by 10 at 39-29. But Ottawa held York to only 26 second-half points to secure the solid win.

Toronto (9-6) 59 at Queen's (9-6) 44 The Varsity Blues put on a sterling defensive effort, holding the Gaels to 4-26 shooting from three point land and limiting star freshman Mitch Leger to 10 points on 3-11 shooting and moved into a 3 way tie for third place in the OUA East. Toronto started the game on a 14-2 run before the Gaels climbed back in with about 5 minutes to play. Another big run at the end of the first half put the Blues on top 30-19 going into the break. The Gaels then opened the second half on a 12-2 run to pull to within 1 at 32-31 but then the Blues, who outrebounded the Gaels 37-20, held Queen's to only 13 points the remainder of the game. 6'3" fifth-year swingman Ben Katz led a balanced Toronto attack with 15 points and added 9 rebounds while 6'9" Mike Williams added 13. Once again, 6'2" sophomore guard Nick Magalas was very key off the Toronto bench with 10 points. The Blues now face RMC tomorrow at 4 p.m. while Queen's welcomes Ryerson tomorrow night.

Laurentian (3-12) 53 at #1 Carleton (15-1) 77 The Ravens jumped out to a 23 point halftime lead and coasted to an easy win against the Voyageurs. Stu Turnbull led 4 Ravens in double figures with 12 points and added 5 assists in a game where all 12 Carleton players who dressed saw at least 8 minutes of action. The Voyageurs played the game without 6'3" Jason Brown due to injury. The Ravens welcome York in a game to be seen on Rogers Television in both Ottawa and Toronto. The Vees move across town to face Ottawa.

Lakehead (1-14) at Western (7-7) The Mustangs dominated from start to finish as Andrew Wedemire had a team-high 16 points while Brad Smith added 15 and 6'8" Alan Paron had a season-high 11 off the bench. Warren Thomas led Lakehead with 26. The teams meet again tomorrow at Alumni Hall in London.

A couple of good articles from the press: McMaster's Nathan Histed has suffered through an injury-plagued career, culminating in the fifth concussion of his career last weekend against Lakehead. Histed came out of St.Mary's H.S. in Hamilton where he played for ex-Marauder Jamie Giorlametto with an reputation as a long-range shooter. For most of his first two seasons at Mac, Nathan did not disappoint. However, this season has been very tough and Larry Moko from the Hamilton Spectator caught us up with Nathan and his recent challenges He's Had it Tough: Nathan Histed Article

As was brought up earlier this week, the Victoria Vikes biggest challenge this season was replacing All-Canadian Chris Trumpy and his combination of playmaking and scoring abilities. With a solid group from the two through five spots, observers mentioned the point guard spot as the biggest challenge to Vic's ability to contend for a national championship. Enter Mount Royal College transfer Josh Whyte, who, after an ordinary start, has been spectacular, contributing as much if not more than his predecesor, allowing the Vikes to become even more of a transition and pressure defence type of team. Victoria Times-Colonist writer Ron Ruach tells the story Excellent article by Ron Ruach on Victoria's emering star Josh Whyte

CANADA WEST POWER RANKINGS as published by the Vancouver Province
The Province
Published: Friday, January 26, 2007
CANADA WEST
Men's basketball (conference record in parentheses)

1. Brandon Bobcats (14-2) (LW -- 1)
2. UBC Thunderbirds (15-2) (2)
3. Victoria Vikes (14-3) (3)
4. Alberta Golden Bears (12-4) (4)
5. Simon Fraser Clan (9-9) (6)
6. Saskatchewan Huskies (10-6) (5)
7. Trinity Western Spartans (8-10) (7)
8. Calgary Dinos (6-10) (8)
9. Winnipeg Wesmen (7-9) (12)
10. Manitoba Bisons (6-10) (13)
11. Regina Cougars (6-10) (11)
12. Fraser Valley Cascades (5-13) (10)
13. Lethbridge Pronghorns (5-11) (9)
14. Thompson Rivers WolfPack (0-18) (14)


Just one game last night in the CIS as the UBC T-Birds won their second straight behind Manitoba transfer Chris Dyck, who went off for 27 first-half points, believed to be a UBC all-time league record for points in a half, as the Birds ran away from Trinity Western 101-79. The Birds had 59 first-half points, making 17 of their first 23 shots, in jumping out to a 22 point halftime lead before another great crowd of 1,400 fans (UBC averages 1,400 fans per game at home). After falling behind by as many as 25 early in the second half, the Spartans had a nice run to bring it back to within 11 but Dyck hit another 3 and the Birds pushed the game back up to 19 at 80-61 and TWU got no closer. TWU played without star 6'2" guard Brian Banman, who was dressed but did not take his warm-up off, and had top 6'7" forward David Bron go to bench with 3 early fouls. The T-Birds got some potentially bad news as veteran guard Casey Archibald left the game about 5 minutes into the second half, limping gingerly off the court to the locker room and did not return. Dyck finished with 34 points to lead all scorers while Matt Racher added 20 for UBC, now 16-2 and 1 1/2 games in front of second-place UVic. Luke Robinson led the Spartans with 22. NOTES: UBC star J.D. Jackson holds the school record for points in one half, scoring 34 points in a half in 1989 for UBC while current Bird Casey Archibald had 33 in the second-half of a tournament game against York in 2003. The teams meet again on Saturday with the UBC broadcast team of Jim Mullen and Howard Tsumura, who do a tremendous job, on gothunderbirds.com calling the action. Vancouver Sun game report (subscription)

TONIGHT'S CIS BASKETBALL ON THE INTERNET OR ON TV
8 PM Eastern York (9-5) at #9 Ottawa (12-3) video webcast LIVE! Streaming Sports Network (SSN)
10 PM Eastern Saskatchewan (10-6) at #10 Alberta (12-4) Alberta Campus Radio
10 PM Eastern Winnipeg (7-9) at Regina (6-10) LIVE! STATS from Regina
11 PM Eastern Simon Fraser (9-9) at #9 Victoria (14-3) Click to listen here


Excellent AUS mid-season update from Chad Lucas of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald AUS Report from Chad Lucas
Last weekend's UPEI at UNB game, postponed due to snow and windy conditions that prevented UPEI from getting to UNB, has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Feb. 21. It is a 4 point game
For those who can attend, the AUS tournament is the Canadian equivalent of the ACC tournament. Annually held at the Halifax Metro Center, it is three days of excitement and decides the AUS participants at the Nationals AUS Men's Final 6 Tournament Details
A big weekend in AUS basketball as there are 8 games, including a pair of games at the Halifax Metro Center as part of the ABA All-Star weekend. Two games on tap tonight, then all 8 teams play on Saturday plus a pair of games on Sunday. Tonight's games:
7:00 pm #4 StFX (7-3) at Acadia (7-4) 2 PT. GAME The X-Men had a solid win at Acadia 10 days ago in a game in which they ran into first-half foul trouble but clamped down defensively when it counted, breaking a 4 game Axemen winning streak. X has swept both games to date however Acadia has not played since the most recent loss and as Chad Lucas notes in his article above, coach Les Berry has revived this program quickly. Expect another high-tempo, above-the-rim game between two very athletic teams.
7:00 pm UNB (2-9) at Dalhousie (4-7) 2 PT. GAME The Tigers desperately need this win as they battle Memorial for the sixth and final playoff spot in the AUS. The Varsity Reds spanked Dal by 20 last weekend at home.
There are a pair of games in the QSSF as Laval plays their first game in 2 weeks at home against Bishop's while Concordia meets UQAM. Laval (4-3) hosts Bishop's (2-6) after not playing since winning at McGill by 9 two weeks ago. With the break in the schedule, coach Jacques Paiement was able to get some players healthy and finally consistently practice with a full allotment of players for an extended period of time. Laval's solid one-two punch of 6'7" J.P. Morin (averaging a double-double this season despite playing with a sore wrist that he has had to tape each game) and 6'5" freshman J.F. Beaulieu-Maheux, one of the favorites for CIS Rookie-of-the-Year, lead Rouge et Or. The Gaiters broke a losing streak last weekend with a tremendous second-half effort against UQAM for their second league win. Trying to avenge their only league loss of the season Concordia (8-1) visits UQAM (2-7), which shocked the Stingers in their previous game with a 59 point second half. With the loss of 6'5" Robin Cooper and 6'2" Damian Buckley, Concordia has had to shorten their bench, meaning more minutes for 6'4" Ben Sormonte running the point. Here is some Concordia news from their campus newspaper Concordia news from the Concordian

In Canada West's Great Plains conference, three teams are battling for two playoff spots as this weekend all 4 teams play within the division.
8 PM local/9 PM eastern Manitoba (6-10) at #2 Brandon (14-2) The first of two games this weekend between the two long-time rivals. Brandon has clinched first place while the Bisons are battling Regina and Winnipeg for second place. The Bobcats are looking to sweep and claim CIS #1 ranking after Carleton's loss on Tuesday. Brandon web site preview as well as Manitoba web site preview Brandon University has designated Friday, January 27th as Bobcat Day, with plenty of sports-based celebrations planned Bobcat Day

8 PM local/10 PM Eastern Winnipeg (7-9) at Regina (6-10) A pair of Winnipeg victories on the road this weekend in Regina will put them in the driver's seat for not only a playoff spot but the home advantage in a Best-of-3 Great Plains semi-final. The teams split a pair of games at the Duckworth Center in early November.

In the showdown for first place in the Mountain Division, the Huskies need a sweep to move into a tie with the Bears - a sweep would give the Huskies the lead because of a season-series lead. But the newly-Top10-ranked Bears (#10) are very tough at home and have hit their stride, winning 5 of their last 6, just as fifth-year guard Tyson Jones has contributed more offensively. 8 PM local/10 PM Eastern Saskatchewan (10-6) at #10 Alberta (12-4) Alberta web site preview as well as huskiehoops.com preview Alberta's student newspaper is one of the better campus rags in comprehensive coverage of their home teams Bears review from the Gateway Meanwhile, the Calgary Dinos and Lethbridge Pronghorns are in a battle for the final playoff spot and both teams hit the road for games in B.C. against Pacific division opponents.

8 PM local/11 PM Eastern Calgary (6-10) at Fraser Valley (5-13) Cascades weekend preview vs. Calgary and Lethbridge UCFV is 3 games behind Trinity Western for the final Pacific division playoff spot with only 5 games remaining, so this is a big one for both teams.

8 PM local/10 PM eastern Lethbridge (5-11) at Thompson Rivers (0-18) TRU's Charlie Spurr is in the Top 5 nationally in scoring and the Horns will need to hold him down to prevent the Wolfpack from garnering their first win of the season.

In the Pacific Division, the Clan looks to strengthen their hold on third place with a victory with a chance to grab a two-game lead over TWU, which lost at UBC last night 8 PM local/ 11 PM Eastern Simon Fraser (9-9) at #8 Victoria (14-3) Simon Fraser web site preview as well as Victoria Marlet student newspaper article

OUA EAST Key Game Previews (all games 8 PM Eastern)

Toronto (8-6) at Queen's (9-5) These teams met 2 weeks ago in Toronto and the result was thrilling overtime affair in which the Blues pulled away late to win. After a pair of tight losses in Ottawa during the first weekend in January, Toronto has been the hottest team in the division, winning 4 straight. The Blues streak has coincided with tremendous free throw shooting, dominating performances on the glass and solid offensive efforts from Toronto's key players especially 6'9" fifth-year center Mike Williams. The Gaels hope to have freshman sensation Mitch Leger back in the lineup after he missed last Saturday's Carleton game with a suspected apendicitis attack which tests showed was negative. Williams' ability to guard the perimeter against the slick shooting Leger and the Blues overall ability to guard the ball will determine whether or not the Blues win streak continues. Gaels defensive stopper Baris Ondul has been guarding the opponent's creator recently allowing 6'3" Simon Mitchell to guard shooters, forcing smaller opponents to shoot over a big defender with length. Preview from Queen's web site

York (9-5) at #9 Ottawa (12-3) The Gee-Gees had little time to celebrate their victory over #1 Carleton on Tuesday as the experienced, athletic Lions visit Ottawa. The Lions held Ottawa scoreless in the last 5 minutes of their game two weeks ago in North York, scoring the last 8 points of the game to win by 3 as Dan Eves got it going when it mattered. Both Eves and 6'3" Rohan Steen missed last week's games for York and expect the Lions to notice if either of them are not available this weekend playing the top 2 teams in the division. Both 6'10" fifth-year center Jordan Foebel and 6'10" third-year pivot Dax Dessureault seem to have great games against their opponent tonight, with Dessureault playing his best game of the season two weeks ago in North York. Key matchup could be 6'3" Tut Ruach and 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe in a battle between 2 GTA stars. An Ottawa victory will put them in the driver's seat for second place in the division and one of two opening round byes in the playoffs.

Laurentian (3-11) visits Carleton (14-1) at the Raven's Nest where the home team is very difficult to beat let alone coming off a loss against their cross-town rivals. Ryerson (5-9) hopes to continue to distance themselves from the Voyageurs in the chase for the sixth and final playoff spot as they visit RMC (1-13), which played Carleton to a first-half draw last Friday night at the Raven's Nest.

In the lone OUA West game, Western (6-7) looks to move over .500 this late in the season for the first time in 4 years with a pair of games against last place Lakehead (1-13). The Mustangs are in a solid position to battle for one of two first-round playoff byes in the tight OUA West.

More on Carleton Ottawa game from Carleton's campus newspaper including Game Report from The Charlatan as well as another article entitled Capital Hoops Classic: Behind the Game from The Charlatan

Finally, a report from the Guelph Mercury on the Gryphs one-sided loss at Windsor on Wednesday night Guelph Gryphon game report

Thursday 25 January 2007

Thursday's CIS News: Wed. Recap; TWU at UBC previews

For more on last night's three OUA West games including detailed recaps for each Click here

Windsor Star article from Guelph at Windsor played in front of 1,600 fans Windsor Star reports on Lancers romp over Guelph

Laurier at Mac game report including an update on Martin Ajayi's assault on the Marauders all time scoring record Larry Moko's Hamilton Spectator report on Mac/Laurier

Unranked Waterloo women upset #8 Brock in women's play; also a summary of Brock at Waterloo men Waterloo vs. Brock men's and women's reports

Canada West Preview

Only one game tonight in the CIS as Trinity Western travels to UBC in the first of two games (second game on Saturday night). This could be a preview of Canada West Pacific semi-final playoff action as TWU currently sits 4th while UBC leads the division as well as the tie breaker with UVic, which is one game behind. Third-place Simon Fraser visits Victoria for a pair of games this weekend so by Sunday there should be much more clarity with respect to the order of the four playoff spots in the Pacific division.

11 PM (Eastern)/ 8:00 (Local) Trinity Western (8-10) at #6 UBC (15-2) Link to UBC WEBCAST

Here is a game preview from UBC's web site UBC TWU preview

UBC Ubyssey (student newspaper) with an article recapping UBC's with at Vic last weekend, playing "small ball" UBC employs new strategy against UVic

Vancouver Sun article on FIBA U-19's being taken away from Canada Top Teen Hoops Stars bypass Vancouver