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NOTE: Updated with Saskatchewan Result Below... LAURENTIAN AT ALGONQUIN: 6'3" Davidson Sanelus led all scorers with 20 points and the host Algonquin Thunder led for most of the way, save for a couple lead changes in the fourth quarter as the hometown Thunder spoiled the coaching debut of Laurentian Head Coach Shawn Swords with a 65-59 victory over the Vees in Ottawa this evening. The match was very typical of an early October affair with turnovers, missed free throws, numerous second chances and plenty of scattered play but the Thunder were able to put together a 13-5 run to end the game to claim the victory. Algonquin had leads as large as 11 at 31-20 in the second quarter and went into halftime up with a 34-30 advantage which would have been much higher except for numerous missed free throws, many off multiple second chances as Laurentian had trouble rebounding the basketball. The Vees kept the game close and took their first lead of the evening on a baseline three by 6'3" Paul Kovacs (7 points) with about 9 minutes remaining in the game. Laurentian took their last lead at 54-52 as 6'4" Robert Hood got to the rim on a baseline drive but later 6'3" Craig Smith (13 points), the former Ottawa Gee-Gee, capped a 7-0 run by knocking down his second three of the game to give the Thunder a 59-54 lead and Laurentian came no closer the rest of the way. 6'6" Didier Dorion, a former Carleton Raven, added 9 for Algonquin while 5'10" lefty point guard Darrell Drake led Laurentian with 13 points while 6'6" Matas Tirilis added 11 and burly 6'2" Bryan Davidson added 8. Coach Swords had his team playing hard on every possession, defending well in the quarter court and running their offense for the most part but a lack of defensive rebounding and some questionable shot selection and decision making down the stretch when they still had a chance to win the game sealed the Vees fate. Laurentian has the makings of a decent squad with Drake and backup Ben Blanc running the point and Kovacs, Davidson and 6'0" Mike Raskevicius on the wing. Up front, Laurentian has a nice complementary pair of posts in 6'5" Omar Linder (Saginaw, MI) and 6'6" Matas Tirilis, who showed signs of becoming a nice offensive tandem however tonight the team rebounding was mediocre as Algonquin kept possessions alive consistently on the offensive glass. Laurentian moves on to face the host Concordia Stingers tomorrow night at 6 PM in Montreal in the first semi-final of the Concordia NIKE Invitational.

In other scores tonight, McGill jumped out to a 30-4 lead and then later held Memorial to only 4 fourth-quarter points as they pounded the Seahawks 97-47 in Montreal. Five Redmen were in double figures led by 6'4" Sean Anthony with 17 points and 6'3" Moustafa El-Zanaty with 16 points. All 12 Redmen who dressed saw action in a very tough start for Memorial which looks like they may have a long season ahead of them... The Carleton Ravens opened their pre-season with a 82-58 victory over CEGEP Sainte-Foy at the Raven's Nest in Ottawa while the Laurier Golden Hawks came back from a 2 point halftime deficit, using an 11-2 run off the start of the third quarter to defeat St. Lawrence College (OCAA/CCAA) in Kingston 87-78 as 5th year 6'7" post Trevor Csima led the way with 14 points and grabbed 7 rebounds (6 offensive). 6'5" freshman wing Dominique Brown from Henry Carr C.S. in Toronto, ON added 12 points and 5 assists. St. Lawrence is coached by former Queen's Golden Gaels mentor Barry Smith. Laurier also moves on to Montreal to meet Memorial tommorrow night in the first round of the NIKE Invitational in Montreal. In a later game, Saskatchewan Huskies got a pair of free throws from 6'2" Rejean Chabot with 5.3 seconds remaining to edge Lakeland College 80-79 at Warman High School in Warman, SK as 6'8" Andrew Spagrud had game-highs of 28 points and 14 rebounds while Chabot added 21 points and a career-high nine assists. The Huskies had defeated Lakeland 104-67 about 2 weeks ago. Saskatchewan travels to Brandon to take on Simon Fraser next Thursday to begin the Super 8 Tournament, while Lakeland travels south to take on the University of Regina Friday night.

Thursday Night's Scores
Laurier 87, St. Lawrence-Kingston 78(exhibition)
Memorial 47 at McGill 97 (non-conference) Game Report
Ste-Foy 58 at Carleton 82 (exhibition)
Laurentian 59 at Algonquin 65 (exhibition)
Lakeland 79 vs. Saskatchewan 80 (non-conference/neutral site) Game Report plus Box Score