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CIS BASKETBALL ALUMNUS "DRAWS THE PERFECT CIRCLE": MOST WIDELY WATCHED VIDEO ON YOUTUBE.COM
Big Al Overwijk, former Carleton Raven player in the late 80's and former Head Coach of the Raven's women's team for a number of years has made headlines in another capacity. Click on the following link and watch Al create a circle my daughter's protractor would be envious of Big Al draws the perfect circle Al was captain of the 87-88 Ravens, a team that won the OUA East championship to qualify for the Nationals and then lost by 5 to a Brandon team led by Patrick Jebbison that was in the midst of a three-year reign as CIS champions.

For last night's results and game reports click here

Some news items from last night:

Saskatchewan breaks school record for threes made with 16 Saskatchewan sets school record with 16 three-pointers

Jeremy Sawatsky reports on Brandon's big win over UBC last Bobcats defeat T-Birds

The story on Calgary's win over Lethbridge from godinos.com Dinos grab third place

Alberta's first half cushion was enough in their win against Winnipeg Bears over Wesmen

UVic outlasts Regina game story from Cougars web site Vikes defeat Cougars

Simon Fraser knocks off Trinity Western Clan defeat TRU

Lakehead Upsets Mac Article from Thunder Bay Source

The veteran and the heir apparent: nice article in today's Hamilton Spectator featuring Martin Ajayi and Jermaine DeCosta Marauders Double Threat

CIS COVERAGE AVAILABLE FOR SATURDAY'S GAMES
all games Eastern time
7 PM #10 Cape Breton at #2 St. Francis Xavier EASTLINK as well as through the ST.FX Booster's web site
8 PM #5 Ottawa at York Rogers Television in Toronto (tape delayed to 10:30 PM in Ottawa)
8 PM Waterloo at Guelph Rogers Television in Guelph & Kitchener (tape delayed from this afternoon)
8 PM Lakehead at McMaster Available on the internet via CFMU Mac radio Click on WEBCAST in left column
10 PM UBC at Regina LIVE STATS AVAILABLE from Regina web site UBC/Regina LIVE STATS
10 PM Manitoba at Alberta Available on CJSR Alberta campus radio via Internet U of A campus radio

OUA WEST PREVIEWS
3 PM Waterloo (5-6) at Guelph (6-4) The Gryphs will look to exploit Waterloo's inexperienced (with the exception of Michael Davis) front-line with 6'10" fourth-year forward JR Bailey, among the league leaders in scoring and rebounding. The Warriors patterned "o" will need to execute to perfection as Guelph's traditionally-tough half court defence rounds into mid-season form. Guelph will try to keep teams in the 50's or low 60's while Waterloo, playing their second consecutive road game, will try to tighten up defensively after Windsor ran away from them in the second half of Wednesday's game.

4 PM #10 Brock (6-4) at Laurier (3-7) The Hawks desperately need a home victory against the explosive Badgers and their three point shooting barrage. Laurier loves the 3 ball as well so expect a high scoring affair as both teams exploit their strengths in the backcourt. 6'5" Matt Walker leads the Hawks and he can probably expect Brock's stalward defender Mike Kemp as a check. Fifth-year pg Omar Miles will be in for a tough test against Brock's star point Brad Rootes.

8 PM #7 Windsor (8-2) at Western (4-6) The first of the home-and-home rivalry series as the Mustangs try to win their first after the holidays. As with most of their opponents, the Lancers will challenge Western's front line, which enjoyed a nice night against Brock with 6'6" Brad Smith and 6'5" Adam Ruickbie both scoring in double digits. Look for Smith to look for a favorable matchup to face up while Windsor looks to attack Smith defensively. Western will have a tough matchup in the scoring and playmaking abilities of Windsor's valuable 6'3" point guard Ryan Steer, trying to deal with his size and strength with smaller defenders. Look for a return to offensive form for 6'3" freshman Andrew Wedemire, trying to exploit 6'5" Kevin Kloostra. Windsor's Kyle Kane, a wildcard in the Lancers season, appears to be gaining confidence offensively and getting more and more time in the rotation.

8 PM Lakehead (1-10) at McMaster (5-5) The Marauders hope to re-group after last night's shocking home loss to the Thunderwolves. To win, Mac will probably have to shoot better than 3-18 from beyond the arc.

OUA East
8 PM #5 Ottawa (10-1) at York (7-4) In the first rematch after last season's OUA East semi-final when the Lions pounded the Gee-Gees in Ottawa, York tries to salvage one of the two weekend games against top ten teams as star guard Tut Ruach works his way back into game condition. Recently teams have exploited York's larger front line off the bounce with a good degree of success and the Lions may consider utilizing a zone defensively, which has served them well over the years. York's Rohan Steen has quietly put together a tremendous season, ranking second among the league's scoring leaders at 18.4 ppg. Gee-Gees 6'4" sophomore point guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe is in the midst of an all-conference-like season, averaging 16.0 ppg from the point guard spot. Two of the tallest players in the league face off this evening as York's 6'10" Jordan Foebel and Ottawa's 6'10" Dax Dessureault resume their battle which in the past has seen both play well against each other. 6'8" fifth-year senior Dan Eves leads the OUA East in scoring at 19.7 ppg.

8 PM #1 Carleton (11-0) at Laurentian (3-8) Coming off what might be their best half of basketball against Canadian competition all season, the #1 Ravens are feeling good in advance of their tangle with the scrappy Voyageurs in Sudbury. 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp, rounding into form for the stretch run, had a probable career-high of 29 against York while Ozvaldo Jeanty continued his fine decision-making dishing out 6 assists last night. Laurentian has played both Queen's and Ottawa very tough, is always a difficult out at home and 3 years ago did defeat Carleton at Ben Avery gym.

8 PM Queen's (8-3) at Toronto (5-6) After maybe the most unlucky weekend in Coach Katz’s coaching career in which the Blues had two winnable games against Top 5 teams but completely melted down at the foul line especially, Toronto needs a a victory over Queen’s at home to keep their fainting hopes of hosting an OUA East playoff game alive. When these teams last met, the Gaels upset the Blues in Toronto in an OUA East quarter-final affair and the Gaels have added two of the top freshman in the country in 6’6” Mitch Leger and 6’1” Baris Ondul. The Blues have a pair of rapidly emerging sophomores in 6’8” Nick Snow and 6’2” Nick Magalas, both of whom logged significant minutes on the weekend and made big contributions. In both weekend games, Toronto was deadly from the perimeter through early in the second half and then went ice cold in both games. This is a team that just as easily could be 8-3 with very close losses, all on the road, against 3 teams in the top 10 (at Windsor, at Carleton, at Toronto) all primarily the result of free throw line meltdowns. Queen’s continues to craftily exploit mismatches in their read-and-react offense and as long as teams don’t make a lot of shots on them, their defense will allow them to stay in games. Freshman Leger continues to gain respect league-wide for his array of skills and maturity on the offensive end. Fellow first-year man Baris Ondul can stick it from beyond the perimeter and is quickly establishing himself as a solid defensive stopper on team’s top guards, allowing 6’3” Simon Mitchell the opportunity for more favorable defensive matchups.

8 PM RMC (1-10) at Ryerson (3-8) Rams star freshman Boris Bakovic looks to rebound from a sub-par effort against Queen's while RMC looks to rebound after getting smacked at U of T last night. Ryerson welcomed 6'10" Igor Bakovic back into the lineup last night but he played only 18 minutes while prized 6'6" freshman Khrys Montague remains sidelined. With a victory tonight coupled with a Laurentian loss against Carleton, the Rams can sneak into the 6th and final playoff spot in the very competitive OUA East.

AUS
2:00 pm Saint Mary's (3-4) at UNB (1-8) Both teams are coming off 4 point game losses to Nelson division opponents last night and the Varsity Reds desperately need a victory at home to put themselves back into position to qualify for the AUS tournament. Currently they sit 4 points behind Memorial, which has a pair of games this weekend at home against Dal. The Varsity Reds had 6 players in double figures in last night's overtime loss at home to Acadia.
6:30 pm Dalhousie (3-4) at Memorial (3-5) These teams meet again this weekend after Dal's 5 point overtime victory last weekend in Halifax. Tigers have been playing well after Christmas with a 3-1 record and are getting solid production from 6'6" center Germain Bendegue who had a 19 point/14 rebound double-double against the Seahawks last weekend. The Seahawks are led by all-star candidate Sean Thistle and generally go a little deeper than the Tigers, playing 10 guys significant minutes whereas Dal usually gives their top 6 players the majority of the floor time.
7:00 pm Acadia (6-3) at UPEI (3-5) Both are coming off key 4 point victories last night and the Panthers are usually tough at home with their pair of 5th year seniors 6'10" Doug McKinney and 6'5" athlete Sherone Edwards. UPEI got maybe the most productive effort of the season last night from explosive rookie Jon Cooper (Toronto, ON). The Axemen continue their strong play since mid-November and should begin to see more production from prized transfer 6'5" Sean Berry as he becomes more comfortable. Expect an entertaining, above-the-rim, up-and-down game at Charlottetown tonight.
7:00 pm #9 Cape Breton (6-1) at #2 StFX (6-1) In the feature game on the AUS schedule, another pair of athletic teams renew their growing rivalry in Antigonish. The most important matchup of the game could be at point guard where fifth-year senior Ryan Keliher is pitted against X's freshman sensation point Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw. In the one and only league meeting between the 2 teams earlier this season, the Capers came up with a 6 point win and Keliher had 23 points and 6 assists while Upshaw was held to 9 points and 4 assists. All-conference candidates Capers' Paul Blake (25 points vs. X last time) and X's Tyler Richards (26 points last time) will go at each other again, likely on both ends of the floor, although expect two-time All-Canadian defensive player of the year Garry Gallimore to have to strongest effect on the game with his defence and scoring. When Gallimore is making shots, X is very tough to beat, especially at home. This key game is available for viewing via web cast over EASTLINK as well as through the ST.FX Booster's web site

QSSF
8:00 PM Laval (3-3) at McGill (4-2) Both teams are slowly getting back to full strength after battling injuries and McGill finally has their full team back while the Rouge et Or are also almost through their injury bug. QSSF leading scorer, J.F. Beaulieu, a freshman, and double/double machine J.P. Morin lead the way for Laval while the young Redmen, with all 5 starters in their third year or less, look to be on the verge of national prominence. McGill defeated Bishop's at home last night and has already defeated Laval in their only league meeting of the season on Nov. 17th, outscoring the host Rouge et Or 40-25 in the second half for what was considered then an upset. The deep Redmen had 5 players in double figures on that night and usually go 10 deep. With Concordia losing last night to a recharged QAM team and the status of Stingers star point guard Damain Buckley still up in the air, the "Q" may be more wide open than some may have recently thought.

Canada West Schedule for Saturday
9:00 pm #6 Victoria (13-1) at #8 Brandon (11-2)
10:00 pm #4 UBC (13-1) at Regina (5-8) LIVE STATS AVAILABLE here
10:00 pm Manitoba (4-9) at Alberta (9-4)
10:00 pm Winnipeg (5-8) at Saskatchewan (8-5)
10:15 pm Calgary (5-8) at Lethbridge (4-9)
11:00 pm Trinity Western (7-8) at Thompson Rivers (0-15)
12:00 pm Simon Fraser (8-7) at UCFV (4-11)