CIS Hoops.ca

Western (4-5) 81, Brock (5-4) 75 6'1" point guard Matt Curtis, coming off an MVP performance at the Ryerson tournament, had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, going 4-6 from downtown to lead the Mustangs to an important win that gets them back into the thick of things in the OUA West. The Mustangs shot 11 for 17 from 3 as a team, erasing a three-point halftime deficit with a 23-14 third quarter run. 6'5" Brad Smith added 21 for Western while 6'10" Colin Laforme flashed a solid stroke from the perimeter, making both his threes to finish with 10 points and 13 boards. Conversely, the Badgers struggled from downtown going only 10 for 30 including a 2-9 effort from 5'10" Brad Rootes, who finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds and only 3 assists. The Mustangs did a fine job denying Brock's deadly three-point shooter Scott Murray, who was only able to launch four shots all night but did go 2-3 from three. 6'2" Rohan Steen came back from injury to lead the Badgers with 19. Even during games when Brock isn't shooting it well, the Badgers have a chance to win when their bigs, led by 6'7" Owen White, produce. Unfortunately, Brock's bigs went a collective 7 for 32 this afternoon, leading to the six point loss. Both teams have road games coming up this Wednesday night at Brock travels to Waterloo, who was soundly defeated in Thunder Bay tonight, while Western travels to Windsor, two-point losers to Guelph this evening.

Guelph (7-2) 86, Windsor (5-4) 84 The Gryphs won in Windsor for the first time since 2001, holding off a late Lancers charge to grab a two game lead in the OUA West. Guelph went a sizzling 18 for 36 from three point land and built a 7 point halftime lead that quickly grew to 9 after Windsor coach Chris Oliver was assessed a pair of technicals at the end of the first half and the Gryphs made the ensuing two free throws to start the second half. The Gryphs then held a double digit lead until 6'3" guard Nick Pankerichan fouled out with about 5 minutes remaining in the game. 6'1" fifth-year guard Ryan Steer then engineered a valiant Lancer comeback that got the game back to within a point with about 15 second remaining. After the Lancers forced a tough shot by Borko Popic, 6'5" Kevin Kloostra grabbed the rebound and attacked the basket in transition but his shot with about 3 seconds remaining came off and the Gryphs survived at the St. Denis Center. Both teams were generally bewildered at the numerous questionable fouls at both ends in a game in which the officials did not have their best evening. Popic led Guelph with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists while 6'4" Jay Mott, back from injury, shot a blistering 5 for 6 from downtown and finished with 17 points. 6'1" freshman guard Mike Patrella and 6'5" Seb Kasiuk both added 15 points while 6'9" Duncan Milne had only 6 points but grabbed 12 rebounds. Windsor's big 3 of Steer (24 points, 12 assists), 6'8" Greg Surmacz (19 points, 15 rebounds) and Kloostra (22 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists) were the main offensive contributors for Windsor while 6'3" newcomer Isaac Kuon had 8 points, all after the intermission.

McGill (4-2) 77, Concordia (4-2) 76 The Redmen pulled back into a tie for first in the "Q" with a tight, one point win over the Stingers, their first over Concordia since Nov. 22, 2002, a span of more than 5 years. 6'3" Moustafa El-Zanaty led all scorers with 20 points and added 7 rebounds before fouling out. 6'4" Sean Anthony broke out of mini-slump with 17 points and 8 assists while Nicolas Pronovost went 3 for 4 from downtown and had 13. As usual, 6'1" Damian Buckley led the Stingers with 15 points but took only 9 shots, a low total considering the Stingers were without both 6'3" Dwayne Buckley and 6'7" Jamal Gallier. Buckley added 8 rebounds and 7 assists while 5'9" Levi Vann added 12. Freshman James Clark continued his fine contribution with 10 points. The teams were whistled for a collective 53 fouls and combined for 50 free throws.

Brandon (11-1) 94, Thompson Rivers (1-13) 67 From Jeremy Sawatzky... BRANDON, MB – A perfect start to the 2008 for the Brandon Bobcats. Led by 15 points from Dany Charlery, the 5th ranked 'Cats trounced the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack 94-67 Saturday night at the BU Gym. It was Brandon's sixth straight conference victory, and improved their record to 11-1. "We knew if went on a run it would give us a chance to work on things, get the bench going," said Charlery. "We were able to work on a lot of things that we want to focus on for the second half of the year." Yul Michel added 13 points for the 'Cats, while Yuri Whyms notched 11 points and 13 rebounds. Adam Hartman and Erik Holm added 11 and 10 points respectively. Brian Smith and Kamar Burke scored 14 points apiece to lead Thompson Rivers. Things get much tougher for the 'Cats next weekend, when they head west for games with UBC and Victoria.

Acadia (7-1) 81, Dalhousie (4-4) 68 6'4" Sean Berry had 29 points and 6'5" Leonel Saintil added 26 points and 14 rebounds including 8 on the offensive glass as the Axemen moved into first place in the AUS with a win at home. The Tigers, down 10 at the half and 15 after three quarters fought valiantly without injured 6'1" Simon Farine, getting a career-high 16 points from 6'3" freshman Yannick Walcott and 15 from veteran 6'1" guard Andrew Sullivan.

Queen's (6-4) 79, Ryerson (4-6) 74 6'5" sophomore Mitch Leger broke out for 30 points including 5-10 3's and added 12 rebounds and 4 blocks as the Gaels outlasted the Rams in Kingston. 6'3" veteran Simon Mitchell flirted with a triple double, finishing with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists as Queen's won the battle on the glass, including grabbing 15 offensive rebounds. 6'7" Boris Bakovic led the Rams, who played without 6'11" Igor Bakovic, with 24 points and 9 rebounds.

IN other CIS games this evening...#1 Carleton was sluggish, leading 1-9 York by only 6 points midway through the third quarter but then 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp (18 points, 12 rebounds) took over and Ravens posted an 80-61 victory to remain undefeated and one game ahead of cross-town rivals Ottawa Gee-Gees, who got 27 points apiece from 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe and 6'3" Sean Peter plus a 34 point third quarter to defeat a scrappy, resilient Laurentian Voyageur club 87-64... St. FX X-Men got 23 from Tyler Richards and another solid 19 point/11 rebound effort from 6'3" Dwayne Johnson in a 91-72 home win over UPEI. 6'8" freshman Islam Luiz de Toledo had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks and helped keep fellow star freshman 6'6" Manock Lual to 3 for 13 shooting and 13 points... The Varsity Blues stayed within 2 games of first place Carleton in the OUA East in advance of next Friday's showdown between the two teams in Toronto by pasting RMC in Kingston 80-41 as reserve Mike Thomas led the way with 17 points and Nick Magalas added 15... Lakehead took the second game of the two game set from Waterloo by a decisive score, winning 87-68 at home tonight as 6'4" Kiraan Posey had 28 points and 7 rebounds while freshman Kyle McConnell maintained his great perimeter shooting, going a perfect 4 for 4 from behind the arc to finish with 14 points. 6'6" Warren Thomas added a 22 point/13 rebound double double while Waterloo's Dan White led all scorers with 29 points. From Lakehead Sports Info Wolves Down Warriors (By Matt Prokopchuk: Sports Info Assistant) After letting two points slip through their fingers in the fourth quarter of Friday’s tilt against the Waterloo Warriors, the Lakehead Thunderwolves earned the split Saturday, downing Waterloo 87-68 at the Thunderdome in Thunder Bay. The win brings Lakehead back to .500 at 5-5 in the OUA West, while Waterloo falls to 4-6. While the final score may suggest buzzer-to-buzzer domination, the Warriors once again played Lakehead tough. Waterloo got off to a roaring start going on a quick 10-0 run, before Kiraan Posey and Warren Thomas took over, knocking down three pointers at will to give Lakehead a 20-15 lead after the first quarter. The dynamic duo were responsible for Lakehead’s first 28 points scored – each had 14. The Thunderwovles closed out the half with a comfortable 38-25 lead. But once again, Waterloo stormed out of the gate, cutting the Lakehead lead to two points by the midway point of the third quarter. The Thunderwolves would tighten up, outscoring Waterloo 27-20 in the final frame. Thunderwolves’ head coach Scott Morrison says he’s pleased with his team’s effort, but was concerned about Waterloo’s third quarter comeback. “We were lucky that we had a pretty decent lead, because there were a couple times we lost our head in the second half,” he says. “Some poor fouls and a couple of bad decisions with the ball, but luckily we had a cushion, and we could regroup.” Kiraan Posey once again led the way offensively for the Thunderwolves dropping 28 points while collecting 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Warren Thomas had another monster game, chipping in with 22 and asserting himself on the boards, leading all rebounders with 13. Despite not playing at all in the first half, Kyle McConnell had a huge game off the bench adding 14 points, including going 4-4 from beyond the arc. His other two points came on free throws. Highly touted new recruit Matthew Powell had 12 points, including a thunderous dunk in the game’s closing minute. The balanced attack that led Waterloo to victory on Friday wasn’t as effective on Saturday. Once again, the Warriors were without leading scorer Cam McIntyre, and once again fourth-year forward Dan White stepped up to lead the Waterloo attack. He led all scorers with 29 points and collected 5 rebounds. Second year forward Alan Goodhoofd dropped 10 points, and third year guard David Burnett collected 9 points and 7 assists. Lakehead outshot Waterloo 41.4 per cent to 32.5 per cent, and out-rebounded them 45-36. Morrison says the split against Waterloo was crucial in maintaining position in the tight OUA West, and that the season’s second half will be a tight race. “Basically, these games over the next two weeks are double for us,” he explains. It would have been nice to get two wins this weekend, but we got the minimum we needed to get. We’ve just got to keep playing one game at a time, and hopefully the numbers work in our favour.”