Monday 31 December 2007

Ravens win in overtime; Lethbridge score/article from yesterday

Carleton 72, Broward Community College 71 OVERTIME 6'5" Daron Leonard went 1 of 2 from the free throw line in the final moments to lift the Ravens to a victory over the hosts at the BCC Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Basketball Holiday Classic in Florida. Once again, the Ravens played all 13 players and used 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp and 6'5" Jean Emmanuel Jean-Marie sparingly in the game in an effort to provide more playing time for their younger players. 6'4" Ryan Bell knocked down a pair of late 3's to keep Carleton in the game and also did a solid job on BCC guard Tony Dennison, headed to Hofstra. However, Seahawks 6'9" Miklos Szabo, also headed to Hofstra next season, gave the Ravens all they could handle inside. Carleton went 2-0 in the tournament.

In a late game from last night, Lethbridge Pronghorns was on the short end of a 83-76 result against University of Great Falls Argos, an NAIA school from Great Falls, ND. The Pronghorns led by nine in the first half, fell behind by 12 in the second half only to mount a late charge that fell short, aided by a pair of ill-timed technical fouls. The Great Falls Tribune has a write-up and summary of the game Hooking the Horns: Argos shoot over Lethbridge

Media from around the country

Chad Lucas sums up X's victory at the Shoveller tournament in his Posting Up blog. Chad also has his Best of Basketball 2007 posting which is great reading again. Here is his article in today's Halifax Chronicle-Herald X-Men exact revenge on Gee-Gees Note the new X-Men uni's in the picture.

The Scrum provides a detailed account of last night's Brock victory over Minot State including several interesting factoids not found in any other articles Brock wins Wesmen Classic Ken Wiebe sums up the Wesmen Woes in this morning's Winnipeg Sun.

Greg Layson compiles thoughts on Carleton hosting the Nationals, a discussion sparked up again in various mediums recently Three times a charm, or not?

Neate Sager takes stock of holiday hoops on the CIS Blog

Badgers Capture 41st Wesmen Classic

Even without 6'2" Rohan Steen, it appears that the Brock Badgers are running on virtually all cylinders. Once again last night, the high powered Badger offense got virtually whatever they wanted, as tournament MVP 6'1" Scott Murray had a pair of threes during the game deciding second-quarter run and Brock captured the championship at the 41st Wesmen Classic. The Badgers broke open a reasonably tight game with a 27-16 second quarter run to lead by 15 at 51-36 at halftime and then led by as many as 24 in the second half to cruise to the win. 5'10" Brad Rootes had 15 points and 15 assists, many in transition including a sweet look to 6'7" Owen White which was promptly flushed hard and also several back door looks to make Minot State pay for overplays on the wing. Brock also got a sterling effort from newcomer 6'7" Mike Muir, who had 21 points in 21 minutes. Rootes was named a tournament all-star along with Calgary's Ross Bekkering, Winnipeg's Erfan Nasajpour plus Matt Witwer and Aaron Patterson from Minot State. Brock captures Wesmen Classic (including Box Score)

Carleton/Saskatchewan record wins at BCC Holiday Classic

Canada's #1 team, the Carleton Ravens played their first of two games at the Broward Community College (BCC) Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Basketball Holiday Classic in Florida last night and came up with an easy 71-49 victory over Miami-Dade College Sharks, an U.S. Junior College. The Ravens led by as many as 32 points and all 13 Carleton players who dressed saw action in the first half as the Ravens came up with their usual sterling effort defensively, holding a very athletic team to just 49 points. The Ravens close the tournament today at 3 PM when they meet the host Broward CC in Florida. Broward, which features 6'3" Tony Dennison and 6'9" Miklos Szabo both headed to NCAA Division 1 program Hofstra, narrowly defeated Saskatchewan Huskies 70-69 on Saturday as Dennison hit a pair of late free throws. The Huskies rebounded yesterday as newly-crowned Huskies career scoring leader 6'7" Andrew Spagrud went 11 for 15 from the field as part of his 29 point, 5 rebound, 7 assist effort to lead Saskatchewan past Indian River CC 83-81. 6'2" Kyle Grant added 24 points for the Huskies who led 42-34 at halftime. Saskatchewan concludes the tournament at 1-1.

Other articles of note from around the country:

From TRU Sports Info WOLFPACK MEN FINISH 2007 OFF IN STYLE. Its the best way for a team to finish a calender year: with a victory. That's exactly what the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack did on Sunday afternoon. Drew Bleth's (Ridgefield Washington) jump shot with four seconds left in overtime lifted the WolfPack to a 92-91 victory over the Whitman College Missionaries of Walla Walla Washington. The WolfPack led 49-48 at the half. Bleth was one of three TRU players to score 16 points in the ball game. " We were down by 15 points at one point"
said WolfPack coach Nevin Gleddie. The others were Freshman Geoff Matthews (Kamloops, BC) and Veteran Brian Smith (Maple Ridge, BC). Connor Agnew (Prince Rupert, BC)chipped in with 14 points. Coach Nevin Gleddies crew shot 45.3 per cent from the field (including 55.9 per cent in the first half). They were very effective from 3 point land in the second half (shooting 41.7 percent) . "Its funny, when we played in 2001, we lost by a bucket" laughed Gleddie. "It was good to get Brent Traxel (Cochrane, Alberta) back in the lineup" added the TRU Coach, referring to his veteran who has missed most of this season with injuries. "He shot the ball well but looked a little rusty". Chris Faidley had 29 points in a losing cause for Whitman College. The Washington State squad plays NCAA Division three and now have an overall record of 3 and 5. The WolfPack went 1 for 3 on their trip to the U.S. for exhibition games. They return to CIS play this coming weekend when they pay a visit to the Regina Cougars (Fri Jan 4 th) and the Brandon Bobcats (Sat Jan 5). Brandon is the top team in the Canada West Great Plains Division (9 and 1) while Regina is second (5-5). Larry Read, Sports Information, Thompson Rivers University lread@tru.ca WOLFPACK MENS BASKETBALL TEAM DROPS SECOND STRAIGHT IN IDAHO. A Little better but not good enough. The words of Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Mens Basketball Coach Nevin Gleddie after this team dropped a second straight game to the Lewis-Clark State Warriors of the N.A.I.A. in Exhibition Play Saturday. "We played a little better defensively" said Gleddie of his charges--who were missing three of their regulars (Kamar Burke, George Aramide and Simon Doty). The Warriors shot 80 per cent from the floor in the first half and 61 per cent for the game. They were also 57 per cent from the three point area. Rookie Guard Matt Pierce (Winnipeg, Manitoba) led the way with 12 points. They were all scored in the second half as he came off the bench. Fellow Rookie Geoff Matthews (Kamloops, BC) contributed with 11 points. After the WolfPack cut the Warriors lead to 13-7 early in the first half, LCSC went on a 25-9 run for a 38-16 lead and never looked back. The Warriors scored a season high 61 points in the first half and led by 32, 61-29, at halftime. TRU never got closer than 31 the rest of the way, while LCSC's biggest lead in the second half was 50. "We talked about focusing on our approach to the game and other than some blocking out issues, I thought we played well," Head Coach Tim Walker said. "We got their attention. I thought our ball movement was good." Senior forward Mike Gordy (Denver, Colorado) again had another solid outing with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and a 10-of-12 effort at the foul line. "If we learned anything from the last two games" said Gleddie "Is that we have to be more disciplined in our preparation. From the proper rest and nutrition before the game to getting mentally ready'. The WolfPack lost for the 16th time in its last 17 games to fall to 3-16 on the season. They close out their 3 game exhibition series south of the border tomorrow (Sunday) with an encounter against Whitman College Missionaries of Walla Walla Washington. PACK NOTES: Doty remains on the sidelines with a stress fracture. Aramide is attending to a family situation in his native England. Whitman and TRU last played an exhibition game on January 1, 2001 when the WolfPack were known as the U.C.C. Sun Demons. Whitman won 81-80. At that time, The Sun Demons led their league at 7 and 0 and missed a last second bucket. The WolfPack visit Regina and Brandon as they resume play in the Canada West next Friday and Saturday (Jan 4-5).


Cascades defeat Langara College in consolation final of CBC tournament ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - For the second game in a row, UCFV rookie guard Ravi Athwal (Surrey, B.C.) led the Cascades in scoring as the team downed Langara College 88-70 on Sunday in the consolation final of the annual Bearcat Holiday Classic hosted by Columbia Bible College. Athwal paced UCFV with 24 points. The Fleetwood Park grad also added seven rebounds. Fifth-year guard Anthony Lao (Vancouver, B.C) had 11 points, while second-year forward Kyle Grewal (Surrey, B.C.) chipped in with 10 points. The Cascades resume Canada West regular season play on Friday when they travel to Brandon for a showdown with the No. 5-ranked Bobcats. Kimberly Moser, Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator UCFV Cascades University College of the Fraser Valley


GOLDEN HAWKS RUN TO WIN OVER UNB Courtesy of Mike Quigley, Laurier Men's Basketball Assistant Coach The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks used an explosive 31 point 3rd quarter to win their final game over the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds at the 17th annual Rod Shoveller Memorial Tournament at Dalhousie University. Despite missing their veteran captain and competitive heart of the team, Trevor Csima, who was left in his hotel room bed with the flu, the Hawks got their running game back on track and took the game to the Varsity Reds in the 2nd half outrebounding them by 10 and outscoring them by 18 to take the win by a final score of 77-63. The Hawks opened the 9:00 am game slowly and found themselves down 4-0 early in the quarter. Four successive steals led to a 9-0 Golden Hawk run to give them the lead midway through the 1st. However, a 14-4 UNB run gave them the lead back. The Hawks rallied with a small 5-0 run and trailed by 2 as the quarter ended, 20-18. The Hawks tied the game up early in the 2nd quarter but were not able to jump ahead. A couple of missed assignments due to a lack of communication on defense left Varsity Reds shooters for open 3's and UNB retook the lead. The Hawks have had a problem scoring in the 2nd quarter of many games this year and, despite holding UNB to 13 points for the quarter, they were only able to score 11 of their own. The Hawks trailed by 4, 33-29, as the half ended. The 3rd quarter opened with little notice that it might be one of the best offensive performances of this young Golden Hawk team of this season. The 2 teams traded points early and the Hawks slowly tied the game up at 35-35. The lead changed hands several times until the Hawks exploded, scoring on 11 of their final 12 possessions, turning a 4 point deficit at the beginning of the quarter to an 8 point lead by its end. This run was keyed by the Hawks fastbreak, which accounted for 14 of these points, some good defensive pressure and a very good job on the defensive boards, limiting the Varsity Reds to 1 shot and out. The Hawks led 60-52 at the end of 3 quarters. The Hawks kept their level of play up as the 4th quarter began scoring the first 6 points to open up a 14 point gap on UNB. An 8-3 Hawk run to close out the game gave them their first victory of the tournament by a final score of 77-63. The Hawks shot 48.8% from the floor in the second half of the game despite going 1/12 from the 3-point line. They were able to outrebound the Varsity Reds 60-46 and forced 21 turnovers defensively to spark their running game. Rookie Kale Harrison (wing, Stratford, ON) stepped up big in this one racking up his second successive double-double of the tournament with game highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds. Another rookie, Nick St. John (post, Cornwall, ON), took advantage of Csima’s illness and added 13 points on 6/9 shooting and 7 rebounds. David Crowley (3rd yr, wing, Oakville, ON) and Andrew Pennycook (2nd yr, post, Toronto, ON) were also strong on the boards adding 8 rebounds each. Colton Wilson (2nd yr, F, Grand Manan, NB) led the Varsity Reds with 23 points while Adam Creaghan (1st yr, G, Quispamsis, NB) added 16. Guard Alex DesRoches (1st yr, Dieppe, NB) led the Reds with 15 rebounds. The Hawks will now return home to Waterloo to celebrate the incoming New Year but will be back on the court on Jan. 2 to begin preparations for the second half of the OUA West season. Next game will be Saturday, Jan. 5 when the Hawks will host the McMaster University Marauders. Tipoff will be at 1:00 pm (a change to the previous schedule) at the WLU AC.

Sunday 30 December 2007

Brock Leads Minot State 51-36 at the half

The Badgers have their three point shooting game going again this evening as they are handling Minot State after 20 minutes in the championship game of the 41st Wesmen Classic at University of Winnipeg. 6'7" Owen White has 11 points including a thunderous slam off a pretty feed from Brad Rootes who easily sliced his way through the Beavers full-court press late in the second quarter.

Watch the game LIVE! on Wesmen TV

Mustangs Cruise to Dearmon Memorial Tournament

Western (9-7) 80, Toronto (15-5) 66 6'1" shooting guard Jason Milliquet went 5 for 5 as part of a tremendous 19 point first-half performance as the Mustangs dominated from almost start to finish in capturing the championship of the Ed Dearmon Memorial tournament at Ryerson in Toronto. Western led by 17 at 48-31 after two quarters and while the Blues got the game back to 10 midway through the second half, the Mustangs were in control the entire way to claim the win. Tournament MVP 6'1" guard Matt Curtis had another tidy effort leading the way from his point guard spot with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists while 6'5" Andrew Wedemire added 13 and 6'10" Colin Laforme had a 10 point/8 rebound contribution. Western shot a blistering 8 for 12 from downtown as a team, 16 for 22 from the line and 50% from the floor. The game was very well played as, despite going up and down for much of the game, the team's combined for only 13 turnovers. 6'2" Nick Magalas led Toronto, which made only 4 of 15 3's, with 13.

Other Dearmon scores:

Waterloo 74, York 65 as Cam McIntyre led Warriors with 15 while Tut Ruach had 30 for the Lions on 9 for 26 shooting.
Laval 74, Ryerson 57 with J.P. Morin going for another 26 points and 8 rebounds while Jerome Turcotte had his strongest effort of the tournament with 17 points/6 rebounds. Boris Bakovic had 15 points and 5 boards to lead the Rams, who went 0-3 on the weekend.
Queen's 78, McGill 75 as Mitch Leger led the way for the Gaels with 19 points and 9 rebounds while sophomore Matt Thornhill had 31 points and Yannick Chouinard 20 on 4-7 from 3 for the Redmen.

X Captures Shoveller; Toledo named MVP

St. FX (13-6) 84, Ottawa (13-4) 72 6'8" tournament MVP Islam Luiz de Toledo, a freshman, had a game-high 23 points and added 6 rebounds to lead St. FX to the Shoveller tournament championship. X led 38-37 late in the first half and proceeded to score the final 6 points of the second quarter to take a 7 point lead into halftime. The X-Men then got their transition game going in the second half, as 5'10" Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw was able to get out an run en route to 20 points despite playing on a tender ankle. Upshaw thrived all weekend after X Coach Steve Konchalski moved 6'2" Tyler Richards to the point and Upshaw to the off guard spot to take advantage of his quickness and great open floor talents. 6'3" Sean Peter had another solid effort for Ottawa, scoring 21 points while 6'9" Dax Dessureault got off to a great start, going 8 for 10 from the floor overall including a pair of emphatic dunks, to finish with 18 points and 7 rebounds but did not participate in the offense as much in the second half, as Toledo took over guarding him. Energizing 6'3" forward Dwayne Johnson again provide a lift to X with 11 points and 7 boards while Richards ended with 15. 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe had 15 points for Ottawa but also had 7 turnovers in the loss. Ottawa went 3 for 16 from downtown overall and only 7 for 12 from the foul line as compared to 22 for 29 for X. Tournament all-stars included Richards, Gibson-Bascombe, SMU's Mark McLaughlin, Simon Farine from Dalhousie and Concordia's Damian Buckley. NOTES: X played the entire tournament without 6'5" Terrence Taylor and 6'7" Alberto Rodriquez who were both suspended for breaking unspecified rules; no word on when they will return to the lineup. 6'3" wing Donnie Gibson, a starter for the Gee-Gees, also missed the entire tournament due to a shoulder injury.

Manitoba knocks off Acadia in OT; Concordia defeats Dal

Manitoba (4-13) 88, Acadia (11-4) 84 OVERTIME Acadia stormed back from a big halftime deficit of 49-34 to take the lead late but couldn't hold it and the Bisons record the overtime upset over previously-#2 Axemen. Manitoba takes 5th place in the 41st Wesmen Classic, while the Axemen go 1-2 at the tournament. Here is a live account of the game from the Scrum From the Wesmen web site Manitoba fifth year forward Darcy Coss poured in a game high 34 points, including nine-three pointers to lead the Bisons to an 88-84 overtime victory over the Acadia Axemen in the University Consolation Final. Manitoba had a commanding 49-34 lead at halftime but the Axemen outscored Manitoba 16-6 in the third quarter to close the gap to 55-50 after three quarters. The game was tied at 72-72 after regulation time. The Bisons outscored Acadia 16-12 in the extra frame. Isaac Ansah had a strong game for Manitoba as well finishing with 28 points and seven rebounds. Peter Leighton led Acadia with 25 points. Leonel Saintil had a double-double for the Axemen scoring 21 points and grabbing 19 rebounds.

Concordia (9-3) 79, Dalhousie (9-9) 74 The Stingers rebounded after last night's tough loss in the semi-finals to outlast the hosts as 6'1" tournament all-star Damian Buckley had 23 points while another all-star, 6'1" Simon Farine had 26 in the loss. Concordia played without 6'3" Dwayne Buckley who reinjured his knee in last night's game.

Calgary (13-3) 99, Winnipeg (7-9) 79 Courtesy of Wayne Thomas: The Calgary Dinos claimed third place in the MTS Wesmen Classic at the University of Winnipeg with a convincing 99-79 shellacking of the home team on Sunday afternoon at the Duckworth Centre. Ross Bekkering broke out for 25 pts. and led a strong 4th quarter charge to stifle Winnipeg, who got a game high 36 pts. from the incomparable Erfan Najaspour, their 5th year super guard. Robbie Sihota and Hennry Bekkering both had 20, and Jeff Price added 16 for the Dinos , who led 46-38 at the half. Winnipeg had no answer for the inside game of Calgary, who shot 50% from the field against 40% for the Wesmen, and cashed in 14/18 free throws (77%) compared to only 5/10 from Winnipeg. The Dinos won the battle on the boards 48-38 led by 12 from Ross Bekkering, and 11 each from Sihota and Henry B., as all three starting forwards record double-doubles. Next Dinos action will be at Alberta on January 4th and 5th to open up the second half of Canada West league play.

Early Consolation Round Results; Calgary Report from last night

Queen's (11-6) 76, McGill (9-7) 75 6'3" Simon Mitchell scored the winning basket with about 20 seconds remaining as the Gaels defeated McGill for the third time this season. 6'4" sophomore Matt Thornhill had 32 points in defeat for McGill.

Laval (9-8) defeated Ryerson (4-13) details to follow...

Brandon (14-5) 85, RMC (0-15) 34 From the Wesmen web site:
Yuri Whyms (Brandon) 17, Player of the Game;Nicolas Cooke (RMC) 9 The Brandon Bobcats defeated the RMC Palladins 85-34 in the seventh place game at the MTS Wesmen Classic. The Bobcats led 24-11 after the opening quarter and poured it on in the second outscoring RMC 24-4 to open up a commanding 48-15 lead at halftime. Fifth year post Yuri Whyms led Brandon with 17 points, 10 rebounds. Dany Charlery added 16 for Brandon including four-three pointers. Nicolas Cooke led RMC with nine points and eight rebounds. Brandon/RMC recap from the Scrum

St. Mary's (15-5) 76, Laurentian (2-15) 69 The Huskies had leads as large as 16 in the first half only to watch the Vees cut it to 5 by the end of the third quarter but then SMU took off on a 9-2 run to start the fourth quarter, allowing the Huskies to defeat the Voyageurs on the final day of the Rod Shoveller Memorial tournament in Halifax. 6'2" Mark McLaughlin had 20 points and 6 rebounds while 6'0" point guard Mark Ross had his usual quiet yet very effective game with 8 assists against only 2 turnovers. Ross was at his best during the game-clinching run early in the fourth as he converted a lay-up and had 2 of his game-high 8 assists. Laurentian got no closer than 6 points the rest of the way. 6'5" Aaron Duncan added 13 points and 6 rebounds while 6'5" Ike Uchegbu appears to be rounding into second half form with 13 points and 10 rebounds but he did foul out of the game. 6'6" Matas Tirilis had 15 points on 7 of 12 shooting for the Voyageurs, who were hampered by 2-13 shooting from downtown and 23 turnovers. 6'3" Paul Kovacs added 13 points and 8 rebounds for Laurentian, which gets set to travel to Ottawa next weekend to resume their OUA East schedule with games at Carleton and Ottawa.

Laurier (6-11) 77, UNB (3-16) 63 6'6" freshman Kale Harrison had 15 of his game-high 26 points after the intermission allowing the Golden Hawks to reverse a four half time deficit and soundly defeat the Varsity Reds on the final day of the Shoveller tournament at Dalhousie. Harrison had 7 offensive rebounds, part of the 20 "o" boards grabbed during the game by Laurier, which offset a 2-25 effort by the Hawks from downtown. Laurier outscored UNB 48-30 in the second half to win going away. 6'5" Colton Wilson had 23 points/7 rebounds for the Reds while freshman Adam Creaghan had 16 for UNB. 6'5" freshman Nick St. John added 13 for Laurier, which played 12 players in the game.

Thanks to Wayne Thomas from the Dinos for the following report from last night's Brock win over Calgary: Dinos Downed After Slow Start "Up-Up-Up the ladder ... D-o-o-w-w-n-n the snake!" As high as the Dinos were after beating #2 Acadia on Friday night at the MTS Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg, they are reeling after a 75-72 loss to the previously unranked Brock Badgers on Saturday. After an excruciatingly slow start, allowing Brock to seize a 22-10 1st quarter lead, the Dinos made a 4th quarter run to get as close as 71-70, but the Badgers' Scott Murray hit a trey with 30 seconds left, and a Robbie Sihota 3 pt. attempt to tie rattled out at the buzzer. Neither team shot the ball particularly well with Brock at 38% from the floor and Calgary a tepid 37% as the Dinos relied on 22 pts. from Jeff Price, 17 from Henry Bekkering, and a double-double from Robbie Sihota, who notched 13 pts. and grabbed 12 boards. Murray led both teams with 24 points including 5 treys, as the Badgers put up 12/40 from beyond the arc, while the Dinos managed only 4/19. Calgary out-rebounded Brock 52-31, but were missing offensive contributions from Cody Darrah and Tyler Fidler, who were a combined 1 of 11 from the shooting guard spot, and Ross Bekkering, who played only 18 minutes and drew a technical foul in frustration after having rung up only 8 pts. So as much as the Acadia win was a big plus for the Dinos for CIS rankings, the Brock loss will prevent them from gaining ground on Eastern schools. Calgary meets Winnipeg in Sunday's 3rd place game, and return home Monday to prepare for the resumption of league play next weekend at Alberta.

Three Championship Games Today and Tonight

2 PM ET/1 PM Atlantic: St. FX (12-6) vs. Ottawa (13-3) Rod Shoveller Memorial tournament championship game at Dalhousie University in Halifax. These teams have met once already this season in October at the Jack Donohue Memorial Tip-off tournament at the University of Ottawa and after X jumped out to an early 18 point lead but the Gee-Gees took the lead before halftime and rode to an easy 26 point win, going 12 for 26 from beyond the arc and forcing 26 X turnovers. X Head Coach Steve Konchalski was not with the X-Men for that game as he was being inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame. The young X-Men are maturing rapidly and have an emerging CIS star in 6'8" freshman Islam Luiz de Toledo, who scorched Dal for 30 points last night including at least 5 dunks. The Gee-Gees are coming off a hard-fought, emotional overtime victory over #5 Concordia and will need to bounce back quickly against a solid, rapidly-improving X team.

5 PM ET: Toronto (15-4) vs. Western (9-7) Ed Dearmon Memorial tournament championship game at Ryerson University in Toronto; These teams have already met once this season as the Mustangs came back from a second-half, double digit deficit on the last weekend of OUA interlocking play to steal a win from the Blues in Toronto. Western has emphasized playing all 12 players on their roster and the recent results have been solid. 6'9" newcomer Colin Laforme (transfer - Youngstown State) has given the Mustangs an added element of presence inside both offensively and defensively and Coach Brad Campbell has a fine array of experienced veterans to turn to. The Blues continue to play fine defense and run their stuff offensively to get open looks. When Toronto makes shots as they did yesterday against Waterloo and they defend, they are as tough as group as any to play in the country. Toronto will be without 6'2" starting wing Rob Paris who injured his ankle against McGill in the opening round of this tournament.

9 PM ET/8 PM Central: Brock vs. Minot State 41st Wesmen Classic championship game at University of Winnipeg; The Badgers last 4 games have been against ranked opponents: close loss to #1 Carleton at home, solid win at home against #9 Ottawa, wins over #3 Brandon and #4 Calgary in the first two rounds of the Wesmen Classic. The addition of 6'8" Mike Muir has added depth up front and with veterans Brad Rootes, Scott Murray and Mike Kemp, the Badgers are never out of any game, as each can turn on the three point shooting at any time. But one of the underlying keys to the Badgers has been the play of 6'7" Owen White, who has been a presence defensively as he showed last night against Calgary and inside offensively to complement Brock's perimeter game. The Badgers continue to play without injured 6'2" wing Rohan Steen, who should be ready to go when Brock continues their OUA West regular season this coming Saturday at Western.

In other games today, both Saskatchewan and #1 Carleton are in action at the BCC Holiday Classic for Jimmy V Cancer fund in Florida, UCFV plays at the Columbia Bible College tournament, Lethbridge plays in the U.S. and a number of CIS tournament consolation round games are scheduled. Taking a cue from the organizers of the Shoveller tournament, the Ed Dearmon tournament in Toronto did the logical thing and changed their consolation schedule to have more inter-conference games so McGill will meet Queen's and Laval will take on Ryerson in a pair of consolation games today.

Late Results from last night: Brock, X & U of T Advance

The three championship games at seperate CIS Holiday tournaments are set for today after St. FX knocked off host Dal, Toronto Varsity Blues defeated Waterloo and Brock continued its fine play with a win over Calgary at the Wesmen Classic.

Brock (10-9) 75, Calgary (12-3) 72 The Badgers jumped out to an early 18-4 lead and held the lead throughout the game before having to hold off a surging late Dino run to advance to Sunday's championship game at the 41st Wesmen Classic against Minot State. 6'1" Scott Murray (24 points including five 3's) was instrumental in the Badger win with a big late three and a free throw to provide the final three point margin. Murray moved into 16th all-time in Brock career scoring (1,424 career points) surpassing both Brian Bleich (1,413) and two-sport Brock Hall of Famer Terry Rigg (1,403). Brock won despite losing both 6'7" Dusty Bianchin and 6'8" newcomer Mike Muir to fouls against a big, strong and potent Calgary front line and getting only 2 points on 1-11 shooting (0-7 from 3) from the usually-proficient Mike Kemp. 5'10" fifth-year point guard Brad Rootes recorded his second double-double of the tournament with 14 points and 10 assists. Muir added 15 points and three rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. 6'7" Owen White (Port Hope, Ont.) chipped in with nine points and six rebounds in the victory. Leading the Dinos was Jeff Price who recorded 22 points. Henry Bekkering added 17 points and six rebounds while Robbie Sihota registered a double-double fnishing with 13 points and 12 boards.
Here is a report from Shawn Whiteley - Brock Sports Information including Box Score Murray leads Badgers over #7 ranked Calgary, advances to Championship Final Follow last night's game via the in-game reporting of the Scrum also an article by Ken Wiebe in the Winnipeg Sun on Winnipeg's semi-final loss to Minot State which featured a strong effort from Wesmen Mike James in the loss Not a Classic for Wesmen

A nice article on Erfan Nasajpour in today's Winnipeg Free Press by Chris Cariou that hints on the All-Canadian guard's career plans once his fifth and final season as a Wesmen is complete Mr. Everything eyes future

#10 Toronto (15-4) 73, Waterloo (5-11) 51 The Blues blew out to a 44-19 halftime lead in a game that was basically over midway through the second quarter. 6'2" Nick Magalas, starting in place of injured 6'2" Rob Paris, hit five first-half threes for 18 of his game-high 20 points and the Blues held Waterloo to only 27% shooting in the first half and 30.6% for the game in advancing to Sunday's championship game at the Dearmon tournament where they will meet Western. 6'4" Paul Sergautis also was key from beyond the arc, finishing with 18 points while steady 6'3" guard Mike Degiorgio again orchestrated things offensively with 13 assists against only 1 turnover adding 7 points and 5 rebounds. 6'3" Cam McIntyre had 14 points on 5-14 shooting including only 1-6 3's to lead the Warriors.

St. FX (12-6) 83, Dalhousie (9-8) 74 6'8" freshman Islam Luiz de Toledo led a game-deciding 19-9 run off the start of the third quarter with 10 points during the run including a pair of thunderous slams to lead the X-Men into the championship game of the Rod Shoveller Memorial tournament at Dalhousie in Halifax. Toledo, a native of Brazil who has begun to dominate games with his athleticism and skill, finished with a tournament-high 30 points and added 12 rebounds as X built leads as large as 18 in the second half and coasted to the win. X jumped out to a 16-4 run off the start of the game and then watched as the Tigers brought the game back to 35-30 by halftime, primarily on the exploits of 6'1" Andrew Sullivan, who finished with 26 points on 5-6 from downtown. But the X-Men quickly took charge early in the second half behind Toledo and 6'2" Tyler Richards, also instrumental in the run, who finished with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. 5'10" Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw added 16 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists for X while stalward 6'3" forward Dwayne Johnson added 13 points/5 rebounds but was marked with 10 turnovers, part of a 26 turnover game for St. FX. X again played without regular rotation player 6'5" Terrence Taylor. X meets Ottawa in the championship game today. Halifax Daily News article on last night's X win

Spagrud Breaks Huskie Career Scoring Mark

Congratulations to Andrew Spagrud, who has become the career leading scorer at the University of Saskatchewan. Spagrud accomplished the feat during last night's Broward Community College (BCC) Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Basketball Holiday Classic in Florida. The Huskies were edged 70-69 by the hosts in the game as Hofstra signee Tony Dennison hit a pair of free throws with only seconds remaining in the game to give the Seahawks (13-1) the victory. Dennison had a game-high 22 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Devon Peterson had 15 points for BCC. We hope to have more on the game and this great accomplishment in a future post.

Other Action involving CIS teams from last night

Here is a smattering of articles concerning other CIS teams that saw action yesterday and last night.

TOUGH NIGHT FOR WOLFPACK MENS HOOPSTERS IN IDAHO. "We played some lackluster ball" that's how Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Mens Basketball Coach Nevin Gleddie described his teams effort in a 97-66 exhibition loss to the NAIA Lewis and Clark State Warriors Friday night in Lewiston Idaho. Missing two starters (Kamar Burke and George Aramide), the Wolfpack committed 30 turnovers which helped the American side lead by 38 at one point in the second half. Senior Forward Mike Gordy (Denver Colorado), a second team NAIA Allstar from last season, led the way for the Warriors. he hit 10 of 16 from the field and wound up with 28 points. I thought he would be this effective," LCSC coach Tim Walker said of Gordy's play thus far, even though he's faced several double teams and sagging zone defenses this season. "We made it a point that he would touch the ball a lot." The Victory raised Lewis and Clark State's record to 8 and 15 for the season. The loss puts TRU's overall record at 3 and 15. "We didnt scrap at all tonite" lamented Gleddie "Its something that we have done all season'. He added that a bright spot for his crew was the fact that a number of players who saw little floor time during the first half of the CIS campaign came up with a good effort. Matt Pierce (1st year Winnipeg Manitoba), Lucie Saucuic (2nd year Coquitlam, BC) and Chris Vanderweide (2nd year Ladysmith B.C) each had 11 points for the WolfPack. The same two teams go at it Saturday afternoon (2 pm) at the LCSC Activity Center.
Larry Read
Sports Information Officer
Thompson Rivers University-Wolfpack
lread@tru.ca


GOLDEN HAWKS DROP GAME TO ST. MARY’S Courtesy of Mike Quigley, Laurier Golden Hawks Assistant Coach; The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks played their second game against an AUS opponent in as many days, unfortunately with the same results. Their opponent sin the consolation round of the 17th Annual Rod Shoveller Memorial Tournament at Dalhousie University were the St. Mary’s University Huskies who came away with an 82-66 victory. As in the previous night’s contest, the Hawks stayed with SMU through most of the 1st quarter. St. Mary’s guards were able to penetrate the Hawks defense and either get to the rim to score or dump off for easy baskets. With the score tied at 17-17 with just over a minute to play in the quarter, a pair of Hawk turnovers led to easy Huskie baskets and St. Mary’s led 21-17 after one period. The second quarter was one of short runs by each team. Unfortunately for the Hawks, their lone 7-0 run was sandwiched in between two 7-0 Huskie runs of their own. 6 Golden Hawk turnovers in this quarter alone did not help Laurier’s momentum and, after being held to a mere 12 points in the period, they found themselves trailing 40-29 at halftime. The Hawks opened the second half cutting St. Mary’s lead to single digits 41-32 but quickly found themselves back down in a bigger hole following a 10-1 Huskie run. The Golden Hawks stopped moving their feet on defence and, as a result, committed 12 fouls in that quarter alone, sending the Huskies to the foul line where they converted on 12/15 attempts. St. Mary’s led 61-47 at the end of the third period. The 4th quarter saw the Hawks go on a couple of short runs but again, it was a case of too little, too late. During this quarter the Hawks played St. Mary’s as close as possible but still lost the quarter 21-19. St. Mary’s made use of their inside power by scoring 13 of those points in the paint to take the game by a final score of 82-66. Justin Golob (2nd yr, post, St. Catherine’s, ON) broke out of a shooting slump to lead the Hawks with 15 points, 11 in the 1st half. Rookie Kale Harrison (1st yr, wing, Stratford, ON) continued to impress with another double-double - 14 points and 11 rebounds. Unfortunately, too many missed chances (at least 12 missed layups) left the Hawks shooting a mere 31.5% from the floor and only 6/24 (25%) from behind the 3-point arc. Mark McLaughlin (3rd yr, G, Dartmouth, NS) led the Huskies with 27 points. Ikeobi Uchegbu (3rd yr, F, Ideani, Nigeria) finished with a double-double - 15 points and 10 rebounds. The Hawks will now take on their third AUS team tomorrow morning - the UNB Varsity Reds - in tournament consolation play.

UCFV Men's Basketball: Cascades advance to consolation final of CBC tournament ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - UCFV rookie Ravi Athwal (Surrey, B.C.) had a team-high 16 points as the Cascades defeated Kwantlen University College, 97-74, on Saturday afternoon at the annual Bearcat Holiday Classic hosted by Columbia Bible College. With the win, UCFV advances to the consolation final on Sunday at 3 p.m. where the Cascades will face the School, a local club team from Abbotsford. Athwal, a 6'5" guard from Fleetwood Park, was named player of the game. Athwal collected 16 points and 10 rebounds in just 25 minutes of action. Fourth-year forward Mike McKay (North Delta, B.C.) also posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Seniors Anthony Lao (Vancouver, B.C.) and Lee Jackson (Olympia, Wash.) added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Kwantlen led 43-37 at the break, but UCFV stormed back in the second half to advance to the consolation final. In their opening match-up of the tournament on Friday night, the Cascades fell 93-81 to Big Bend Community College. Jackson paced the squad with 25 points and was named player of the game. Lao had an impressive return to the UCFV line-up after breaking his jaw earlier this season. The 6'4" guard fell one point and one rebound shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes off the bench.
Athwal and fourth-year guard Darren Johnson (Prince George, B.C.) also reached double-digits with 11 points each for the Cascades. UCFV faces the School at 3 p.m. tomorrow in the consolation final at CBC. The Cascades open the second half of Canada West regular season play on Friday, January 4th when the team travels to Brandon for a showdown with the No. 5-ranked Bobcats.
Kimberly Moser
Sports Information and Marketing Coordinator UCFV Cascades University College of the Fraser Valley www.ucfv.ca/athletics


Carroll College defeated Lethbridge 91-55.

Saturday 29 December 2007

Championship Semi-Finals in CIS Tonight

Minot State 77, Winnipeg 53 From the Wesmen web site:
Matt Witwer (Minot State) 20 Player of the Game; Mike James (Winnipeg) 16. The Minot State Beavers advanced to the Championship Final of the MTS Wesmen Classic with a 77-53 victory over the host Winnipeg Wesmen. Senior forward Matt Witwer led the Beavers with a game high 20 points, including a apir of three pointers. Second year post Mike James led the Wesmen with 16 points. Minot State put the Wesmen in a hole early building a 19-10 opening quarter lead, which included 11 straight points and extended their lead to 40-25 at halftime. Winnipeg ran into foul trouble and costly turnovers in the second half as the Beavers extended their lead to 59-37 after three quarters of play. Minot State will meet the winner of the Calgary – Brock semi final in the championship final Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. The host Wesmen will take on the semi final loser in the third place game Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

Western (9-7) 97, York (3-14) 70 The Mustangs had a game-deciding 26-12 run in the second quarter to lead by 22 at the half and then coasted to an easy win against the Lions to reach the championship game of the Ed Dearmon Memorial tournament at Ryerson in Toronto. Western shot 53% as a team from the floor, scoring in transition, off turnovers and inside as five players reached double figures for the winners. 6'5" Andrew Wedemire led the way with 17 points while 6'9" NCAA D1 transfer Colin Laforme added 16 points for Western. The Mustangs outrebounded York 35-22 including grabbing 17 "o" boards. York's 6'3" Tut Ruach again was at it again creating for himself and knocking in several tough perimeter shots to lead all scorers with 21 points while freshman Dalton Olinoski added 18 points including 5 3's, however this game was over early as the Mustangs await the winner of the U of T vs. Waterloo semi-final currently being played at Ryerson. The Blues, on the strength of five 3's from 6'2" Nick Magalas, starting for the injured Rob Paris, hold a commanding 37-17 lead late in the second quarter.

#9 Ottawa (13-3) 85, #5 Concordia (8-3) 81 OVERTIME In what was described by more than one observer as "war" marked with plenty of physical play and playoff-like intensity, the Gee-Gees blew an early third quarter 12 point lead but got out in transition in the extra frame to edge the Stingers in a great game in which both teams played extremely hard on virtually every possession. Ottawa finished the first half on a 9-2 run to lead by 5 after two quarters and then 6'5" David Labentowicz, who scored all 17 of his points after halftime, knocked down a pair of 3's and scored the first 8 points of the second half and the Gee-Gees looked to be on their way. But the Stingers had several runs left in them and 6'1" Damian Buckley led Concordia all the way back, scoring 17 in the second half and overtime to finish with a game-high 28 points and added 9 rebounds. In fact, the Stingers had a late two point lead but Labentowicz grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and knocked down 2 free throws with about 20 seconds left in the game to knot the score and send the game into overtime. 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe led Ottawa with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists but had 6 turnovers and did not shoot the ball particularly well from the perimeter. 6'3" Sean Peter, who took a shot to the head in the second half that drew blood during the very physical game, finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds but only 4 after halftime including a key basket in transition in the overtime. Unfortunately for the Stingers, 6'3" Dwayne Buckley reinjured his knee (MCL) in regulation and did not finish the game. Stingers also lost 6'8" center Jamal Gallier , who had 13 points and 9 rebounds, to a twisted ankle and 6'5" Sebastien Martin, who suffered a broken nose in the game. For maybe the first time in his career, Ottawa's 6'9" center Dax Dessureault had to play through constant double teaming in the post and he responded well, finishing with 12 points and 9 rebounds and had several nice looks. The Stingers jumped out to a quick 11-2 lead and the teams traded baskets until the end of the first quarter which Concordia led 23-16. The Gee-Gees then finished the half on 9-2 run sparked by Peter and Josh Gibson-Bascombe. Both teams struggled from the foul line with Ottawa going 10 for 22 from the stripe including 2 for 6 during the 9-2 run to close the half as both Peter and Gibson-Bascombe could not convert "and 1's". The Gee-Gees went only 20 for 36 from the line for the game. 6'2" freshman Jacob Gibson-Bascombe added 12 for Ottawa while 5'9" sharpshooter Levi Vann had 11 for Concordia, going 3 for 10 from downtown. The Gee-Gees again played without starting 6'3" wing Donnie Gibson, out with a shoulder injury. Ottawa awaits the winner of St. FX and Dal in tomorrow's championship game; X grabbed an early 16-5 lead over the homeside and now leads Dal 35-30 at halftime of the second semi-final with the winner meeting Ottawa in the championship game tomorrow.

A pair of consolation round updates:
McGill (9-6) 87, Ryerson (4-12) 79 Consolation side at the Ryerson tournament; McGill erased a one-point deficit after three quarters, outscoring the Rams 27-18 down the stretch to advance to the consolation final against Laval. The Redmen went to their bench in the second half and Yannick Chouinard went 7 for 11 from downtown for 24 points to lead the comeback. 6'7" Boris Bakovic had 29 points and 7 rebounds for Ryerson, going 11 for 22 from the floor in the loss.

Manitoba (3-13) 83, RMC (0-14) 54 The Paladins were in the game, down only 5 at halftime but the Bisons took off on a 20-4 run in the third quarter to lead by 21 about midway through the second half and then cruised to the win. Brian Crowe led Manitoba with 14 while Matthew Wookey had 16 for RMC. Eric Garcia (Manitoba) was named Player of the Game. From the Wesmen web site: The Manitoba Bisons earned a berth into the consolation final of the MTS Wesmen Classic with a 83-54 victory over the RMC Palladins. The Palladins were in this game in the first half only trailing by five points, 38-33. The Bisons played a strong second half outscoring RMC 45-21 and shooting 47% from the field in the half. Brian Crowe led the way for Manitoba with 14 points and five assists. Matthew Wookey led RMC with a game high 16 points, nine rebounds. Manitoba will face Acadia in the consolation final Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. RMC will battle the Brandon Bobcats in the seventh place game at 12:00 p.m.

Vikes Spoil Trevecca Nazarene's Perfect Season

Courtesy of Mike Tucker, UVic Sports Info
MBB: Vikes spoil no. 7 Trojans' undefeated season SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The University of Victoria Vikes wrapped up their two-game set south of the border with a 74-72 victory over the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans. It was the first loss of the season for the NAIA's no. 7-ranked Trojans. Using a career high 18 points from third year forward Mike Hull, the Vikes overcame a nine-point, 44-35 halftime deficit to complete the sweep in Scottsdale. Friday the Vikes defeated Vanguard Lions, giving them three wins over U.S. schools on the season. Trevecca Nazarene entered the game undefeated at 7-0, and were ranked no. 7 in the NAIA D-1 polls. The Trojans are four-time NAIA National champions, with their last title coming in 2006. Fourth-year forward Mitch Gudgeon matched Hull's high of 18, while Tyler Hass contributed 12 points and five assists. Second year guard Brandon Dunlop added eight points and eight assists. The Vikes resume conference play January 4-5 when they travel to Langley, B.C. to face the Trinity Western Spartans.

Wesmen Classic Games Available LIVE! via Internet

Thanks to Doug Johnson, a high school principle in Winnipeg and University basketball fan who just wrote to inform our readers that all games at the 41st Wesmen Classic are available via the Internet at http://www.uwinnipeg.tv Tonight's Brock vs. Calgary matchup promises to be a great one !

Right now, Minot State leads Winnipeg 54-35 in one of two semi-finals with the Dinos and Badgers meeting at 9 PM Eastern time/8 PM Central/10 PM Atlantic time and 7 PM Pacific time.

Lancers come back with strong effort

After last night's loss to a solid Northwood University team in which they were in the game against a very good team until the second half, Windsor Lancers needed a strong all-round effort if just simply to get their confidence back. If the brief accounts from today's solid 83-64 win over Wilberforce (Ohio) at the Battle by the Beach in West Palm Beach, FLA, are correct, in which the Lancers played with more certainty, consider the Lancers playing well again. In today's game, 6'1" fifth-year guard Ryan Steer led the way with 32 points, which could be a career-high for the hard-working leader of the Lancers. 6'8" post Greg Surmacz was also instrumental in the victory, going for 26 points while veteran Kevin Kloostra added 12. Windsor now looks forward to hosting the Guelph Gryphons at 7 PM next Saturday night as the second half of the OUA season opens at the St. Denis Center.

Saturday Afternoon Results: Morin goes for 40

Laval (8-8) 93, Queen's (10-6) 86 6'7" J.P. Morin helped his Rouge et Or shake off yesterday's poor shooting effort with an All-Canadian peformance, scoring 40 points, including 7-10 3's, to lead Laval over the Gaels. Morin did it inside and outside in a great performance. 6'3" J.F. Beaulieu-Mahieux added 27 points for Laval, going 7 for 8 from downtown, as les Rouge et Or shot 16 for 25 from beyond the arc and 61.4% for the game from the floor. Freshman Jonathan Ogden led Queen's with 22 points including 6 for 9 from three point land as the Gaels also stayed in the game with great perimeter shooting in an action packed game that was very entertaining for a consolation game. Laval led by 14, held off one final Queen's run and then closed the game on the foul line as Morin made his final 2 points from the stripe. Queen's went 12 for 31 from downtown including 6'3" Simon Mitchell's uncharacteristic 0 for 9 performance but still had a chance to win the game.

St. Mary's (14-5) 82, Laurier (5-11) 66 In the first consolation game at the Shoveller tournament at Dal in Halifax, the Huskies broke open a tight game with a second quarter surge to lead by 11 at halftime and then cruised to a win over the Golden Hawks. 6'2" Mark McLaughlin was again instrumental in the SMU victory, leading all scorers with 27 points in 33 minutes. 6'5" Ike Uchegbu had a tidy double double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in only 22 minutes. 6'5" Kale Harrison led the Hawks with 14 points and 11 rebounds. SMU will play Laurentian tomorrow while Laurier will meet UNB.

UNB 69, Laurentian 48 after 3 quarters The Varsity Reds, playing with only 9 players in the lineup, jumped on the Vees often and early. Laurentian, trying to bounce back from a strong effort in pushing host Dal last night before faltering late, had only 18 points midway through the second quarter and the Reds had their perimeter game going.

Acadia (11-3) 85 Brandon (13-5) 72 Acadia had leads as large as 11 in the third quarter but the Bobcats battled back to tie. Acadia took the lead for good at 63-61 with 8 minutes left in the game and took off as Sean Berry hit a big three to give them a 6 point lead and Acadia coasted from there.
From the Wesmen web site : Shawn Berry (Acadia) 29 Player of the Game; Adam Hartman (Brandon) 22 The Acadia Axemen advanced to the consolation final of the MTS Wesmen Classic with a 85-72 victory over the Brandon Bobcats Saturday afternoon. Fifth year guard Shawn Berry led Acadia with a game high 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field. Leonel Saintil also had a strong game for Acadia collecting a double double 20 points and 12 rebounds. Fifth year forward Adam Hartman led Brandon with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Acadia led at halftime 40-34 and connected on 50% shooting from the field in the second half to extend their lead. Acadia will move on to the consolation final against the winner of the RMC – Manitoba matchup on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Get more details from this game from the Scrum

Follow Brandon vs. Acadia LIVE!

Through the fine efforts of David Larkins of the Brandon Sun, readers can follow the Acadia vs. Brandon game, which the Axemen lead by two at 25-23 after one quarter. Click here for a link to the Scrum

Other early consolation games include:

St. Mary's vs. Laurier
Laurentian vs. UNB
Queen's vs. Laval
McGill vs. Ryerson
Manitoba vs. RMC

An article on the Victoria Vikes and their trip to Arizona Vikes take the holiday rust off with win in Desert

Ben Gutowski, a member of the Simon Fraser Clan, is keeping a diary during his team's tour of Arizona in The Vancouver Province SFU Clan men's basketball diary
Arizona Tour 2007

SFU Wilts in Desert Sun (from Scott McLean SFU Sports Info)

Vanguard University (NAIA) 82, Simon Fraser 67 Courtesy of Simon Fraser Sports Information Scottsdale, AZ – A second half collapse by the Simon Fraser University Clan men’s basketball team allowed the Vanguard University Lions to take the Clan’s second exhibition game in Arizona early Saturday morning by a final score of 82-67. SFU will now spend two days practicing in the desert before returning home on January 1, 2008, to begin the second half of the season. “We turned the ball over too many times and it just got away from us today,” said third year point guard Sean Burke (North Vancouver, B.C.) “We can take away more things as a team from these two games then we can individually, we need to play our defensive game and then positives will carry over to the offensive end. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t come away with any victories [on the trip], but we are right back where we were at the start of the year. We can either learn nothing from these games, or through hard work apply what we learned towards the second half of the season.” The lead changed eight times in the first half, however the Lions closed out the half strong to lead by five at the break 38-33. The Clan’s last lead in the first half came on a three-pointer from Jordan Nostedt (Brandon, MB), off a set screen from Nolan Holmes, with just over five minutes remaining (27-24). Vanguard then went on a 10-0 run to lead 34-27, before SFU closed the gap to five at the half. After Dennis Heenan opened the second half with a three-pointer for the Lions, the Clan twice closed the gap to two points (41-39, 43-41), before Vanguard went off on a 24-5 run to take their largest lead of the game 67-46. During that run the Clan managed only one field goal from the floor, a three-pointer from Burke, over a period of seven minutes. Greg Wallis (Victoria, B.C.) led the Clan with a game high 24 points, adding six rebounds, while Burke finished with 14 points before fouling out for the second day in a row. Andrew Ellis led Vanguard with 20 points, shooting 8-for-14 from the field. The Clan shot for the game 50 per cent (21-for-42) from the field, while the Lions shot 31-for-57 (54.4 per cent). Vanguard out rebounded SFU 27-to-23, while SFU committed 20 turnovers. SFU’s next game is on January 8, against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

Courtesy:
Scott McLean, Media Relations Coordinator, Simon Fraser University

Windsor Lancers and legendary coach Rollie Massimino

As was reported here yesterday, the Windsor Lancers lost in the first round of the Battle at the Beach in Florida against Northwood University. What was not highlighted in the report was that Head Coach of Northwood is former Villanova Wildcat and Cleveland State mentor Rollie Massimino. Massimino, now 72 years old (pictured), entered NCAA coaching immortality in 1985 by leading the Wildcats to an improbable NCAA tournament championship, defeating Georgetown Hoyas and Patrick Ewing in the championship game, playing what many felt was the "perfect game" that night to edge one of college basketball's best-ever teams in the Hoyas. In last night's game in which the Lancers played without starters 6'6" Greg Allin and 6'3" Issac Kuon, Windsor took a 7 point lead at 26-19 with just under 8 minutes to play in the first half. However, Northwood took off on a 21-0 run, virtually all at the line (leading scorer DeSean White went 11 for 12 from the line during the run), to lead comfortably at the half and then both teams emptied their benches. Also on the Northwood staff is former Ohio State star and Chicago Bulls forward Dennis Hopson. Northwood is in only their second year of play in NAIA and brought on Massimino to kick-start their program and the Seahawks are now 7-2 after yesterday's win. The Seahawks played their first two games of this season on the road against a pair of NCAA Division 1 teams, losing by 10 at Hofstra and then dropping an 11 point decision to Rutgers. Windsor faces Wilberforce College in the consolation game tonight. Note: Special thanks to Bumboesquire (an anonymous contributor to CISHOOPS.CA) for keying us in on this topic).

Saturday, December 29th CIS Action

All three CIS tournaments are in the championship semi-final round and there are several strong matchups in Halifax, Toronto and Winnipeg. We have the entire championship schedule below including key games between #9 Ottawa and #5 Concordia plus #3 Calgary facing off against Brock. The consolation round at the Wesmen Classic has Acadia meeting Brandon in a pair of teams ranked in the Top 10 for most of the season. The organizers of the Rod Shoveller Memorial tournament have implemented a very reasonable consolation schedule, changing the brackets to have as many inter-conference games as possible (see schedule below). The Laval/Queen's game at the Dearmon tournament is another interesting consolation round game.

CIS TOURNAMENTS: CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND SCHEDULES FOR SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29TH

5 PM ET/6 PM AT #9 Ottawa (12-3) vs. #5 Concordia (8-2) (Rod Schoveller Memorial Championship Semi-Final in Halifax at Dalplex) A pair of athletic teams meet for the first time in about 3 seasons. 6'8" Jamal Gallier, still battling a leg contusion injury, is a questionable starter for the Stingers while Gee-Gees starting 6'3" wing Donnie Gibson is out for the tournament with a back injury. Yesterday, 6'1" Vlad Pislaru started in his placed and knocked down a pair of threes.

6 PM ET York (3-13) vs. Western (8-7) (Ed Dearmon Memorial Championship semi-final at Ryerson) The Lions try to make it two in a row featuring a skew toward playing some of their younger talent (both freshman Dalton Olinoski and sophomore Jason Hoult played 30+ minutes in yesterday's win over Laval) and dropping back into a zone as a defensive adjustment. The Mustangs are playing all 12 guys in the rotation and look to push the tempo offensively and defensively.

7 PM ET/ 8 PM AT St. FX (11-6) at Dalhousie (9-7) (Rod Schoveller Memorial Championship semi-final in Halifax at Dalplex) These teams met in early November in an AUS league game worth 4 points and X wore the Tigers down inside, led by 6'3" Dwayne Johnson and 6'8" Islam Luiz de Toledo, pulling away to win by 10. The Tigers welcome 6'1" shooting guard Andrew Sullivan back for this game after his broken wrist sidelined him for the entire first half of the AUS regular season. Look for X to push the tempo and for Dal to run most things through 6'1" Simon Farine.

7 PM ET/6 PM CT Minot State (5-8) at Winnipeg (7-8) (Championship semi-final 41st Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg) The hometown Wesmen came alive in the third quarter yesterday against RMC, allowing only 2 points after a somewhat-listless first half. The Beavers took a ten point win from Manitoba. Expect a large crowd at the Duckworth Center, one of the top venues in the CIS, for this one.

8 PM ET #10 Toronto (14-4) vs. Waterloo (5-10) (Ed Dearmon Memorial Championship semi-final at Ryerson) The Blues handled the Warriors relatively easily in their OUA league meeting in November in Toronto however Waterloo is on a nice streak, winning their last 4 in a row. The Blues will be without 6'2" Rob Paris, their starting wing and top 3 point shooter, who left yesterday's win against McGill with a severely sprained ankle and will miss the remainder of the tournament.

9 PM ET/8 PM CT Brock (9-9) vs. #4 Calgary (12-2) (Championship semi-final 41st Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg) This could be an explosive matchup, especially if the Badgers shoot the ball like they did in the fourth quarter last night. Brock likely has the edge in the back court with Brad Rootes and Mike Kemp however the Dinos are loaded up front. This game will feature an interesting contrast in styles between two of the better teams in the CIS.

Other Games of Note:
6:30 PM ET Broward Community College vs. UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN; Coconut Creek, FLA (BCC Holiday Classic) Saskatchewan's Andrew Spagrud looks to become his school's all-time leading scorer. #1 Carleton is also at this tournament however the Ravens do not play until Sunday.

There are also several exhibition and consolation games in tournaments involving CIS teams on both sides of the border including the aforementioned changes to the Shoveller tournament as follows:
NOON ET/1 PM AT Laurier vs St. Mary's
2 PM ET/3 PM AT UNB vs Laurentian

More Notes from the Dearmon Tournament; Neate Sager commentary

Neate Sager has a piece on Out of Left Field on Ottawa's win over St. Mary's and another post recapping yesterday's action on the CIS Blog

In York's win over Laval, les Rouge et Or struggled from the perimeter all day long against the Lions zone "d", shooting 9 for 30 as a team (30%), highlighted by a 1-13 effort from downtown by defending CIS Freshman-of-the-Year 6'3" J.F. Beaulieu-Mahieux, who finished with only 7 points on 3 for 21 shooting overall. Laval's touted 6'4" freshman Jerome Turcotte also struggled with only 7 points and had 9 turnovers in the game. Bright spots for Laval included 6'7" All-Canadian candidate J.P. Morin, who had a 24-point/11-rebound double double including 6 offensive boards while emerging 5'9" freshman point guard Xavier Baribeau was the lone Laval perimeter shooter who had any success, going 5 for 9 from beyond the arc for 15 points. Taking away Baribeau's performance, Laval as a team was only 4 for 21 from downtown. All 4 of Laval's top players played over 30 minutes in the game. For York, freshman Vadim Rezenberg had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Rezenberg had some solid games earlier in the season but was quiet toward the end of the first half of league play. Rezenberg could provide the Lions with a shot in the arm in the second half. Fellow freshman Dalton Olinoski continues to get time, logging 32 minutes last night as York appears to be starting to lean on their rookies for more contributions. Fourth-year star Tut Ruach had another solid 22-point/4 rebound/6 assist effort... In Waterloo's win over Ryerson, 14 different Warriors saw action and Waterloo went a solid 10 for 26 from downtown led by Cam McIntyre's 19 points. With 6'7" Boris Bakovic in foul trouble all afternoon long, 6'10" Joey Imbrogno stepped in and had a game-high 15 rebounds but was only 3 for 8 at the free throw line. The Rams played without usual starting point guard Ryan McNeilly last night... The Varsity Blues jumped on McGill early and often, going 6 for 9 from 3 point land in the first half and holding the Redmen to only 29% shooting in the first 20 minutes to grab a 16 point lead at the break. 6'7" Nick Snow had one of his better offensive performances of the season with 23 points and added 9 boards while fifth-year point guard Mike Degiorgio again was in the middle of Toronto's success as, despite scoring only 5 points, he added 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Emerging 6'6" redshirt freshman Andrew "I've got way more game than Mark ever had" Wasik had another solid effort with 11 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes. McGill's Moustafa El-Zanaty continues to show observers he is one of the better pure scorers in the CIS with 19 points but the Redmen will need to get more from 6'4" Sean Anthony, who had only 1 point in 9 minutes. McGill went only 8 for 26 from three point land and 7 for 13 from the foul line... Queen's got off to a very slow first-half start against Western, scoring only 22 points, including 1 for 7 from downtown, in the first two quarters to go into the locker room down 12 at the half. The Gaels woke up to shoot 57% after halftime to actually come back and take the lead but the Mustangs were able to get a late shot for veteran Brad Smith with 5 seconds left to grab the win. In the end, Queen's was undone by 21 turnovers, only 7 trips to the foul line and only 2 offensive rebounds all afternoon. Western welcomed back previously injured 6'5" Andrew Wedemire to the lineup, who played 20 minutes, going 2 for 9 from the field.

Spagrud Looks to make history tonight

6'8" fifth-year senior Andrew Spagrud is poised to become the University of Saskatchewan Huskies all-time career leading scorer when the Huskies tangle with Broward Community College (12-1) tonight at the BCC Holiday Classic in Coconut Creek, FLA. Spagrud needs only nine points to surpass four-time All-Canadian center Byron Tokarchuk for top spot on the Huskies career scoring list. According to records, UBC's J.D. Jackson (late 80's, early 90's) is the only player with more points than Tokarchuk nationally.

Saskatchewan Huskies SCORING (CAREER)
Points
1. 3445 - Byron Tokarchuk (171 games) - 1983-88
2. 3437 - Andrew Spagrud (169 games) - 2003-present
3. 2280 - Dean Wiebe (151 games) - 1989-94
4. 2244 - Roger Ganes (125 games) - 1973-78
5. 1918 - Kyle Grant (166 games) - 2003-present
6. 1865 - Kirk Jones (167 games) - 1983-88
7. 1748 - Whitney Harris (154 games) - 1992-97
8. 1713 - Sheldon Ryma (159 games) - 1984-89
9. 1705 - Bob Thompson (122 games) - 1970-74,76-77
10. 1681 - Matt McCullough (133 games) - 1987-92

CIS All-Time Career Scoring
(All games - intercollegiate competition only)
1. J.D. Jackson, UBC; 1986-88,89-92: 3,581
2. Byron Tokarchuk, Saskatchewan; 1983-88: 3,445
3. Andrew Spagrud, Saskatchewan; 2003-07: 3,437
4. Casey Archibald, UBC; 2002-07: 3,024
5. Peter Savich, Waterloo; 1981-86: 3,001

More Recaps from Friday

41st WESMEN CLASSIC AT WINNIPEG

Minot State 80 Manitoba 70 The final game of the day at Winnipeg went to Minot State; From Wesmen web site
Matt Witwer (Minot State) 28 Player of the Game
Darcy Coss (Manitoba) 23

The Minot Sate Beavers moved onto the semi finals of the MTS Wesmen Classic with a 80-70 victory over the Manitoba Bisons. Minot State held a slim 40-35 lead at halftime. Minot State had no trouble finding their shooting touch connecting on 52% of their shots from the field in the first half. Manitoba made a late charge and closed the gap to 64-61 but the Beavers held their ground to earn the victory. Matt Witwer led the Beavers with a game high 28 points and 11 rebounds. Darcy Coss led Manitoba with 23 points, including four three pointers. Minot State will play the host Winnipeg Wesmen in one semi final Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.


The Scrum provides a Day One Summary of the 41st Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg; Ken Wiebe from the Winnipeg Sun reports on the first day of the tournament One Man's garbage... St. Catharines Standard reports on Brock's win over Brandon yesterday afternoon Big win for Badgers Chris Cariou from the Winnipeg Free Press has an article highlighting two of the small schools, student-wise, in the Wesmen Classic Little Powerhouse on the Prairie

Rod Shoveller Memorial Classic at Dalhousie in Halifax

Chad Lucas of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald summarizes the first day of play at the Shoveller highlighting the SMU near-comeback against Ottawa that fell short Huskies rally falls short Chad has a much more detailed look at things on his Posting Up site Shoveller Notes The Halifax Daily News has a small piece on the tournament highlighted by Dal's win over Laurentian in the night cap, which was close until the end when the Tigers pulled away led by Drew Stratton's 20 point effort.

Ed Dearmon Memorial tournament at Ryerson University in Toronto

Thanks to Jim McLarty from Ryerson Sports Info for the following Day One summary:

Friday December 28, 2007
Game 1: 2:00 pm York 70 vs. Laval 68

YRK: T. Ruach (22 pts, 6 asts); V. Rezenberg (15 pts, 8 rbs)
LAV: JP Morin (24 pts, 11 rbs); X. Baribeau (15 pts)

Game 2: 4:00 pm Queen's 63 vs. Western Ontario 65
QUE: M. Leger (14 pts, 8 rbs); T. Mitchell (14 pts); D. Banister (10
pts)
WES: M. Curtis (16 pts); B. Smith (14 pts)

Game 3: 6:00 pm Ryerson 75 vs. Waterloo 87
RYE: B. Krupa (15 pts); I. Bakovic (14 pts, 10 rbs); B. Bakovic (12 pts)
WAT: C. McIntyre (19 pts); D. White (17 pts)

Game 4: 8:00 pm Toronto 82 vs. McGill 69
TOR: N. Snow (23 pts, 9 rbs); R. Paris (13 pts); N. Magalas (13 pts)
MCG: M. El Zanaty (19 pts); Y. Chouinard (13 pts)

Saturday December 29, 2007
Game 5: 2:00 pm Laval vs. Queen's
Game 6: 4:00 pm Ryerson vs. McGill
Game 7: 6:00 pm York vs. Western Ontario
Game 8: 8:00 pm Waterloo vs. Toronto

Sunday December 30, 2007
Game 9: 11:00 am Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
Game 10: 1:00 pm Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Game 11: 3:00 pm Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
Game 12: 5:00 pm Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 CHAMPIONSHIP

From Mike Tucker at UVic Sports Information
MBB: Vikes take another win from U.S. school SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - For the second time this season the University of Victoria Vikes defeated an American opponent. Friday morning the Vikes took a 75-64 win from the NAIA's Vanguard Lions. Fourth-year forward Mitch Gudgeon paced the offense with 20 points, and also added four rebounds, as the Vikes took their second win of the season against international competition. In addition to defeating Vanguard, the Vikes were victorious over UC-Santa Barbara in pre-season action at McKinnon Gym. Second year guard Jeff Cullen added 11 points, freshman guard Julian Spear Chief-Morris contributed nine, and sophomore forward Mike Hull provided eight. As part of their Phoenix road trip, the Vikes also took in the Steve Nash-led Suns' match against the L.A. Clippers. The Vikes attended the morning shoot around before watching the Suns take a 94-88 victory. Vikes assistant coach Ian Hyde-Lay was Nash's high school coach at St. Michaels University School in Victoria. The Vikes' Scottsdale series concludes Saturday morning when they play the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans. Tip-off is slated for 10 a.m.


Northwood U. (NAIA) 91, Windsor 61 Here is a game report from the Northwood web site plus the Box Score The Lancers played without Greg Allin and Isaac Quon and substituted freely. Windsor was in front until the 10 minute mark of the first half but Windsor's fouls started to mount (16 fouls in the first half alone) so Northwood was able to get back in the game at the line. Northwood then took over in the second half. Note that Windsor got a contribution from returning forward Rich Allin, who scored 11 points in 22 minutes but went only 3 for 14 from the foul line according to the box score. Allin sat out the entire first half of the season while adjusting to Teacher's College but will suit up for the Lancers in the second half and if fit should provide another big piece off the bench.

(Annual Bearcat Holiday Classic - Exhibition Tournament at Columbia Bible College) Big Bend Community College 93 UCFV 81

Rocky Mountain 79, Lethbridge 69 Lethbridge received 18 points from Danhue Lawrence before he fouled out while Richard Steed added 14 and Ryan Anderson 13. Article from Billings Gazette which includes a box score

Lewis-Clark State College(NAIA - Lewiston, Idaho) 97, Thompson Rivers 66 Click here for a game report from the Lewis-Clark web site

Friday 28 December 2007

Results from Friday Night's CIS Action

Dalhousie 84, Laurentian 68 In a game that was tight toward the end of the first half, the host Tigers pulled away and will meet conference-rival St. FX in one of two semi-final games tomorrow night at Dalplex.

Toronto 80, McGill 68 The Blues jumped out to a 16 point halftime lead and then coasted to a 12 point win against the Redmen. Toronto shot a scorching 63% for the game including 9 for 19 from downtown and made 13 of 16 free throws. The Blues will meet Waterloo in one of two semi-finals tomorrow night. The Warriors took over in the third quarter when 6'7" Boris Bakovic picked up his 4th foul including a technical and started making open shots to pull away from the host Rams.

Winnipeg 80, RMC 56 From the Wesmen web site:
Erfan Nasajpour (Winnipeg) 18
David Duizer, Nicolas Cooke (RMC) 19
Matt Opalko (Winnipeg) Player of the Game

The host Winnipeg Wesmen defeated the RMC Palladins 80-56 in their opening game of the MTS Wesmen Classic. A large gathering of over 1500 spectators saw the Wesmen take a commanding lead of 21-9 after the opening quarter. RMC played a better second quarter but the Wesmen still went into halftime with a 39-29 lead. The third quarter was the story of this game as Winnipeg outscored RMC 24-2 to take a commanding 63-31 lead after three quarters. The Wesmen were able to rest their starters in the fourth quarter as Coach Crook was able to give every player decent playing time. Fifth year guard Erfan Nasajpour led the Wesmen with 18 points, three assists and six steals. David Duizer had 19 points for RMC as well as Nicolas Cooke who also added 16 rebounds. Winnipeg will face the winner of the Manitoba-Minot State in the semi finals Saturday night at 6:00 p.m.


St. Francis Xavier 94, Laurier 63 The X-Men jumped on the Hawks almost immediately, getting their transition game in gear to grab a 20 point halftime lead and went on to a comfortable win in another first round game at the Shoveller tournament in Halifax. Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw led the first half charge, going 7 for 7 from the floor to score 16 points prior to the intermission, many in transition, before tweaking his ankle and sitting out the second half as a precaution. 5'9" Will Silver gladly took the minutes in the second half and scored 13 of his own in the second half alone, going 5 for 5 from the floor; in all, X had 6 players in double figures including 6'3" Dwayne Johnson (14 points, 7 rebounds) who continues to step up his game with another formidable effort inside, while 6'8" freshman Islam Luiz de Toledo had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. X now faces the winner of the Laurentian/Dalhousie matchup which at last glance was tight, with the Tigers leading by 2 late in the first half.

Notes from this afternoon's games

NOTES FROM AFTERNOON GAMES: In Ottawa's win over St. Mary's, the Huskies stayed in the game by continually breaking down Gee-Gee defenders off the dribble and creating. 6'5" Aaron Duncan and 6'2" Mark McLaughlin were especially effective for St. Mary's. While the Gee-Gees got solid efforts off their bench in spurts, including 6'0" Vlad Pislaru knocking down a pair of threes and 6'2" Jacob Gibson-Bascombe also hitting a pair of late 3's and finishing with 15 points, Ottawa's inexperienced bench almost turned the game over late, again showing that the Gee-Gees need to develop a deeper bench for a push into March. Starting 6'5" forward David Labentowicz had fouled out and 6'3" wing Donnie Gibson did not play due to a back injury. The Huskies hope to have 6'1" Shane Morrison back in the lineup soon after he could not get back to Halifax from his Toronto home after Christmas. CALGARY HAMMERS ACADIA: In what was billed as the biggest game of the day: #2 vs. #4 (in some rankings), the Dinos made short work of the Axemen, jumping out to a 20 point lead early in the second quarter, watched Acadia make a run or two to get it back to low double digits before pushing it back up to 20 with about 6 minutes left. The Dinos have tremendous athletes up front and on the wings and today got a great effort from guard Jeff Price. If Calgary gets consistently good guard play, they will be very tough to beat. Tomorrow the Dinos face the very dangerous Brock Badgers and their arsenal of three-point shooters. All-Canadian Brad Rootes leads the way but underrated Mike Kemp, a solid defender and rebounder, also can hit big shots from downtown and is taking much more of a leadership role for the Badgers. Brock also has welcomed 6'8" Michael Muir to their lineup, eligible immediately. Muir previously played for Guelph and was an Ontario Provincial team member a few years ago. In YORK'S upset over LAVAL, the Lions played zone virtually the entire game and appear to be making adjustments defensively after a first half of the season where they were one of the worst defending teams in Ontario. Historically an quick hitting, up tempo offensive team, today York calmly ran their offense usually very deep into the shot clock and again can rely on the superior exploits of 6'3" Tut Ruach to bail them out when needed. WESTERN edged Queen's on a late bucket as the Mustangs appear to be tightening up defensively, playing all 12 guys in their lineup and spending more time pressuring the ball in the front court. The Mustangs appeared to pay special attention to defending the three today against the Gaels and were able to defeat Queen's for the first time this season after a pair of earlier losses to the Gaels. Head Coach Brad Campbell also mentioned that Keenan Jeppesen will indeed be sidelined for the season as had been widely speculated/reported. Jeppesen still has not recovered from a foot injury that has plagued him since he hurt it last June. He continues to get treatment on the foot and as of now there is no need for any type of surgery. He should be ready for next season when he will have two full seasons on CIS eligibility remaining.

Friday's Afternoon Results from CIS tournaments

Western 65, Queen's 63 6'6" Brad Smith knocked in an 8 footer with 5 seconds remaining to lift the Mustangs over the Gaels, who came all the way back from a 12 point third quarter deficit to actually take the lead late but could not hold on for the win in the first round of the Dearmon tournament in Toronto at Ryerson University. Queen's had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer but 6'6" Travis Mitchell had the ball knocked out of bounds after a coast-to-coast drive into the paint and the game ended. Earlier, the freshman Mitchell (14 points including 12 in the second half) dropped in a pair of late 3's with about 3 minutes remaining to help bring the Gaels back. 6'1" Matt Curtis led all scorers with 16 points for Western in a solid defensive battle while Smith added 14 and 6'6" freshman Garrett Olixuik finished with 6 points and 6 boards. Queen's, which took only 17 3's on the afternoon, well below their season average, got 14 points from 6'5" sophomore Mitch Leger, who battled 6'9" Colin Laforme all afternoon. Western meets York, which upset Laval after playing a zone the entire game, in one semi-final tomorrow at the Dearmon tournament.

#4 Calgary 79, #2 Acadia 69 The Dinos jumped out to a 33-13 lead early in the second quarter, led by 20 at 70-50 with about 6 minutes left in the game and coasted to an easy win against the Axemen. Courtesy of Wayne Thomas... The 7th ranked Calgary Dinos out-rebounded, out-shot, and out-played the #2 Acadia Axemen in chalking up a 79-69 win in the first game of the MTS Classic at the University of Winnipeg Friday. The Dinos dominated the game and were up by 22 at one point in the second half, led by a sparkling effort from point guard Jeff Price, who dealt out 11 assists against only 1 turnover, and notched 14 pts. of his own. Henry Bekkering was the high scorer with 20, and he also grabbed 8 boards, while Robbie Sihota had 16 pts. and 9 rebounds, and Ross Bekkering contributed 15 pts. and 9 boards in only 21 minutes. Calgary had 38 rebounds to 34 for the Axemen, from Wolfeville, Nova Scotia, who were last year's Atlantic Champions. Acadia was led by Leonel Saintil, who netted 19 points and had 7 rebounds. Josh Lovestone and Tyler Fidler were impressive off the bench for the Dinos, with Fidler snaring 5 rebounds and Lovestone playing strong defense. In one semi-final Saturday Calgary now faces the Brock Badgers (St. Catherines, ON) , who turned aside the powerful Brandon Bobcats 74-66 Friday in a come from behind win against the #5 'Cats. Late games tonight have Winnipeg against Royal Military College, and manitoba facing Minot State, ND.

From Simon Fraser Sports Information Scottsdale, AZ – Despite a double-double from fourth year forward Greg Wallis, the Simon Fraser University Clan men’s basketball team dropped their first of two exhibition games in Arizona, falling 67-59 against the Trevecca Nazarene University (TN) Trojans on Friday morning. The Clan play Vanguard on Saturday morning at 8:30am (7:30 Pacific). “I thought I struggled from the free throw line and we had a lot of easy shots that should have put us ahead but didn’t fall,” said Wallis following the game. “A lot of times where we should have gotten the and-one shot we didn’t take it up strong enough or hard enough and didn’t get the shot to fall.” Wallis scored a team high 17 points for the Clan, while adding ten rebounds, including three on the offensive glass. Wallis’ 17 tied Trevecca’s Marcos Salvi for the game high, as the pair both hit on 8-of-15 of their field goal attempts. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc, SFU shot 3-for-17 from three-point range, while the Trojans weren’t much better, hitting 5-of-23 three-point attempts. In the first half, the Clan spotted the Trojans one point after JP Philistin (Montreal, QC) took a technical foul for dunking during the warm-up. Josh Helton hit 1-of-2 free throws to give Travecca a 1-0 lead before the opening tip. The Clan took the lead 6-3 in the opening minute after a Nolan Holmes (Victoria, B.C.) jumper; however an 8-0 by the Trojans put them up 11-6. Trevecca’s opened up their largest lead in the first half with just under three minutes remaining before the break (31-24), however the Clan were able to close it back to five points at the half (36-31). The Trojans began the second half where they left off, opening up a 12-point lead (49-37), before the Clan were able to rally, generating a 12-2 run to close the gap to three (52-49) with just over seven minutes remaining. Down the stretch Trevecca made the most of multiple trips to the free throw line, while the Clan struggled to find their shot while third year point guard Sean Burke (North Vancouver, B.C.) fouled out, handing the game to the Trojans 67-59. “We were able to put it together and play better than [Trevecca] later in the second half, however we weren’t the aggressor for long enough and allowed them to close out the game,” added Wallis. “Every single game it seems we play up or down to our competition, and it’s frustrating.” The Clan shot a collective 40 per cent from the floor (22-for-55), while the Trojans shot 39.7 per cent (23-for-58). SFU out rebounded TNU 40-to-34, however committed 18 turnovers to Trevecca’s ten. “We need to hit those close range jumpers and layups when we get opportunities down low, and that just didn’t happen,” said SFU head coach Scott Clark following the game. “We need to compete harder for those shots and make our free throw when we get to the line.”
Courtesy:
Scott McLean
Media Relations Coordinator
Simon Fraser University
Recreation & Athletics
"Thinking of the World"
Phone: 778-782-4057
Fax: 778-782-4922
Cell: (604) 505-5519
email: srmclean@sfu.ca
SFU Recreation & Athletics - Pride - Passion - Tradition


#9 Ottawa 82, St. Mary's 81 The Gee-Gees nearly blew an 11 point lead with 2:40 remaining, turning the ball over 5 times in 6 possessions and then taking a shot clock violation with 5.5 seconds left that gave the Huskies a chance to win. However, Mark McLaughlin's shot at the buzzer came off and Ottawa escaped to meet Concordia tomorrow in one semi-final of the Shoveller at Dalhousie. The game was very close the entire way until Gee-Gees 6'2" freshman guard Jacob Gibson-Bascombe hit back-to-back threes with about 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to extend Ottawa's lead to 8. 6'9" Dax Dessureault was instrumental in the win for Ottawa, scoring their last 6 points including made 2 free throws that gave the Gee-Gees a 5 point lead with just over a minute to play and then an emphatic dunk inside after SMU had crept back to trail by just one with 30 seconds left. St. Mary's played without starting 6'1" guard Shane Morrison, who was unable to make it back in time from Toronto where he went for Christmas, while the Gee-Gees played without starting 6'3" wing Donnie Gibson, who injured his back in practice yesterday and is likely to miss the remainder of the tournament.

York 70, Laval 68 Tut Ruach led the Lions to what must be considered an upset in the first round at Ryerson's Ed Dearmon Memorial tournament. The Lions held on after leading by 6 with about 3 1/2 minutes left as Ruach made 4 consecutive free throws. However, he missed 2 free throws late which allowed Laval a good look at a game-tying shot that came off, allowing the Lions to escape with only their third win of the season. York was methodical offensively and played some zone defense that played well as les Rouge et Or were uncharacteristically cold from the perimeter. York awaits the winner of Queen's/Western in one semi-final tomorrow.

Brock 74, #3 Brandon 66 The Badgers heated up from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Bobcats 31-17 including an 8-0 off the start of the fourth to erase a 6 point deficit and record their second straight victory over a Top 10 team. Trailing 49-43 entering the fourth, the Badgers got back-to-back 3's to lead by 2 and then later got another pair of 3's consecutively, part of an 18-4 run that gave them a 61-53 win with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. Brock will now face the winner of Calgary/Acadia in the championship semi-final tomorrow. More from Winnipeg web site: A strong fourth quarter helped the Brock Badgers defeat the Brandon Bobcats 74-66 in the opening game of the University draw of the 41st MTS Wesmen Classic. The Badgers outscored Brandon 31-17 in the final quarter to earn their opening round victory. Brandon held a slim 29-27 lead at halftime, but were outscored 47-37 in the second half. Owen White led the Badgers with 20 points, including 10-of-12 from the free throw line. Fifth year guard Brad Rootes had a solid game finishing with a double-double 16 points, 10 assists. The Bobcats were led by fifth year guard Adam Hartman’s 17 points. Brock will face the winner of the Acadia-Calgary matchup in one semi final Saturday night at 8:00 p.m.

#5 Concordia 109, UNB 78 The Stingers built leads as large as 30 by midway through the second quarter and played their entire contingent of 14 players in burying the Varsity Reds in the first game of the Rod Schoveller Memorial tournament at Dalhousie. Concordia's athleticism was too much for the Reds to handle as the Stingers scored off turnovers and got out in transition after misses to decide the game early. UNB scored 29 of their 78 points from the foul line, going 29 for 35. 6'1" Damian Buckley led Concordia with 14 points while brother Dwayne, back after a knee injury, saw limited minutes after participating in just 1 1/2 practices leading up to the tournament and scored 12 points. Starting 6'8" center Jamal Gallier continues to struggle with a leg contusion and played only 5 minutes today. Concordia will face the winner of this afternoon's Ottawa vs. St. Mary's affair that just got started.

Winnipeg/RMC updates beginning at 7 PM Eastern time LIVE UPDATES courtesy of David Larkins from the Scrum

Friday, December 28th CIS Action

LAST NIGHT'S RESULT: McMaster Marauders stumbled out of the gate and could not recover as University of Tampa Spartans defeated Mac 91-61 in Tampa's home opener in Florida on Thursday night. The Marauders had 6 turnovers in the first 4 minutes of play to fall behind 18-8 as 6'8" Mouchtar Diaby picked up 2 fouls in the first minute and a half of the game. A 19-5 Spartans run gave the home side a 40-17 and later a 17-3 run propelled Tampa to a 33 point lead late in the first half. In all, Tampa forced 27 turnovers in the game including 9 by Mac's Jermaine DeCosta and the Spartans made 13 of 24 threes to win going away. Freshman Brett Day had 11 points to lead Mac while veteran shooting guard Jason Scully went 3 for 7 from downtown to finish with 9. McMaster played without 6'9" newcomer Terry Licorish. Game Report from U of Tampa site plus Mac/Tampa Box Score *** FURTHER UPDATE *** The Marauders were without Licorish who could not get to Tampa in time for the game after spending Christmas with his family in Montreal. Licorish is now with the team, arriving a little too late to play in last night's game. According to reports, the Marauders "loooked like they have been off for 4 weeks" and ran into a buzz saw of Tampa seniors who played very well. Mac was also without regular 6'6" Joe Pollizzi was injured. The Marauders will scrimmage on the 31st agains Eckard College, another tough D2 team which plays in the same conference as Tampa.

The holiday schedule continues today with a large slate of games across in the country and in the U.S. Chad Lucas from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald presents his preview of the Rod Shoveller Memroial tournament including news that injured Tigers starting guard Andrew Sullivan, out with a broken wrist since early November, will return to Dal's lineup today. Tigers hope return of key players will boost lineup. Also the Winnipeg Free Press has a preview of the Wesmen Classic by Chris Cariou A Basketball Junkie's Dream Ken Wiebe from the Winnipeg Sun has a feature on Wesmen's Nick Lother No Sophomore Slump

Please note that the folks at The Scrum plan to provide detailed coverage of this weekend's Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg, including lots of live updates from the tournament, through each game, starting with Friday's noon CT tipoff with Brock-Brandon. As well, they've updated their third podcast as of today so please take a listen and enjoy David Larkins' updates throughout the weekend.

Here is a schedule of today's games in the CIS:

NOON ET/ 1 PM AT Concordia vs. UNB (Rod Schoveller Memorial Classic in Halifax at Dalplex)
12:30 PM/9:30 AM PT Victoria vs. Vanguard College (NAIA - Los Angeles, CA) (at Scottsdale CC, Arizona)
1 PM ET/NOON CT Brock vs. #3 Brandon (First Round 41st Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg)
2 PM ET York vs. Laval (Ed Dearmon Memorial Tournament at Ryerson)
2 PM ET/3 PM AT Ottawa vs St. Mary's (Rod Schoveller Memorial Classic in Halifax at Dalplex)
2:30 PM ET/11:30 AM PT Simon Fraser vs. Trevecca Nazarene (NAIA - Nashville, TN) (at Scottsdale CC, Arizona)
3 PM ET/2 PM CT #2 Acadia vs. #4 Calgary (First Round 41st Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg)
4 PM ET Queen's vs. Western Ontario (Ed Dearmon Memorial Tournament at Ryerson)
5 PM ET/6 PM AT Laurier vs. St.FX (Rod Schoveller Memorial Classic in Halifax at Dalplex)
5 PM ET Windsor vs. Northwood University (NAIA - Florida) (Battle of the Beach, West Palm Beach, FLA.)
6 PM ET Ryerson vs. Waterloo (Ed Dearmon Memorial Tournament at Ryerson)
7 PM ET/ 8 PM AT Laurentian vs. Dalhousie (Rod Schoveller Memorial Classic in Halifax at Dalplex)
7 PM ET/6 PM CT RMC at Winnipeg (First Round 41st Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg)
8 PM ET Toronto vs. McGill (Ed Dearmon Memorial Tournament at Ryerson)
8 PM ET Fraser Valley vs. Big Bend CC (JUCO) (Columbia Bible College Bearcats Holiday Classic in Abbotsford, BC)
9 PM ET/8 PM CT Minot State vs. Manitoba (First Round 41st Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg)
10 PM ET/ 8 PM MT Lethbridge at Rocky Mountain College (NAIA) (Rocky Mountain College tournament - Billings, Montana) LISTEN LIVE!
10 PM ET/ 7 PM PT Thompson Rivers at Lewis-Clark State College(NAIA - Lewiston, Idaho)