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
1 comment:
Great work as always, Mark!
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