Brock (13-10, 8-4) 72, Waterloo (7-15, 4-9) 63 5'10" Brad Rootes awoke a lethargic Badger squad with six consecutive points early in the fourth quarter including a long transition 3 and a strong take to the rim for an "and 1" to give Brock a victory over the cold-shooting Warriors. After 6'4" Dan White opened the fourth quarter with a post up bucket over 6'0" Scott Murray to bring Waterloo to within one at 56-55, Rootes took over, igniting a 14-2 Brock run including 8 straight points. The Warriors scored only 4 points in the first 7 minutes of the fourth quarter despite several good looks at 3's (5-29 3's for the game 17.2%) and multiple (21 for the game) offensive rebounds. Rootes, who finished with a game-high 25 points with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and no turnovers and collected his 300th career steal during the game, also banked in a 75 foot heave at the halftime buzzer to provide Brock with a one point lead going into the break. Just seconds earlier, White (16 points on 7-19 shooting including 2-8 3's) hit a three that appeared to give the Warriors the lead into the break but the incomparable Rootes added another note to his legendary career. Rootes had 16 first-half points while Murray (14 points overall) has 3 3's for 9 points. Waterloo led by as many as 5 points in the second quarter on solid work by 6'2" Jordan Hannah (12 points, 5-15 shooting including 0-6 3's) and second chance points. 6'2" Mike Kemp, held scoreless until late in the second quarter, came alive for 10 third quarter points and finished the game with 19 for Brock overall while playing with a leg cramp that forced him to the bench on several occasions. Waterloo was without 6'3" Cam McIntyre while 6'2" Rohan Steen was also in street clothes for the Badgers.
Guelph (13-6, 8-4) 82, Laurier (8-13, 5-7) 72 The Gryphons overcame a 15 point late third quarter deficit with 36 points in the final frame, led by awakened shooting efforts from 6'4" Jay Mott and 6'4" Borko Popic, to claim another important road win, this time over the Hawks in Waterloo. With Laurier leading 55-40, Gryphs coach Chris O'Rourke uncharacteristically switched to a zone, primarily to stop the penetration of 6'5" freshman Kale Harrison (game-high 24 points including 16 in the second half) and the zone worked, allowing the Gryphs to score the final 6 points of the third quarter. Guelph's long-range tandem of Mott (15 points - all in the second half) and Popic (18 points, 14 in the second half) then got going after combining to go 2 for 17 in the first half and Guelph finally took the lead for good with about 5 minutes remaining. The Gryphs had 5 players in double figures including 6'9" Duncan Milne with 18, 6'3" Nick Pankerichan with 17 points/6 assists and 5'11" freshman Mike Patrella with 12 in 30 minutes. 6'8" Trevor Csima helped give Laurier the early lead with 10 first-half points but finished with only 12 while 6'5" Matt Walker added 13 points. Harrison was most impressive according to O'Rourke as he was able to get into the lane and rise over defenders with a sweet stroke to finish. The Gryphs host Western on Saturday while Laurier hosts Waterloo.
Windsor (12-5, 8-4) 68, Western (12-9, 5-7) 64 6'8" Greg Surmacz had 23 points to lead all scorers and added 5 rebounds and scored the go-ahead bucket with about 6 minutes remaining in the game to allow the Lancers to come all the way back from a 13 point deficit and defeat the Mustangs in London. Despite getting outrebounded 43-32, the Lancers were able to ride their big center despite getting an off-game from 6'1" Ryan Steer who had only 7 points and not having 6'5" Kevin Kloostra, still out with an injury. 6'1" freshman Ryan Barbeau did a fine job on Steer as the fifth-year guard picked up his 4th foul early in the fourth quarter and was ineffective finishing for the most part but still had 7 assists. 6'6" Brad Smith, saddled with 2 early fouls in the first quarter, played only 18 minutes but still ended with a team-high 15 points for Western, which travels to Guelph to meet the Gryphs on Saturday. The Lancers have a first place showdown with the Brock Badgers in St. Catharines on Saturday.
OUA WEST STANDINGS
Brock 8-4
Guelph 8-4
Windsor 8-4
Lakehead 6-6
McMaster 5-6
Western 5-7
Laurier 5-7
Waterloo 4-9
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