Saturday 2 February 2008

OUA East: Blues defeat Gee-Gees with late run

Toronto (23-7, 14-4) 78, Ottawa (21-7, 15-4) 69 FINAL The Blues withstood a 16-0 Gee-Gees run coming out of halftime as 6'4" Mike Degiorgio had 5 consecutive points in the decisive third quarter run and 6'2" Rob Paris (26 points) went 5 for 9 from downtown, part of an efficient 11 for 23 effort by the Blues from beyond the arc to take control of second place in the OUA East in front of a boisterous, excited crowd in one of the better CIS games this season. The second half of the game was filled with energy and exciting plays typical of a high-level game between two top 10 teams as both teams ran their stuff efficiently and the star players played like stars. It was a three-point game with 3:50 remaining when Gee-Gees star 6'4" guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe (game-high 32 points, 9 rebounds) was injured battling for a rebound with Blues 6'6" Andrew Wasik. Gibson-Bascombe did not return and the Gee-Gees, already without the services of 6'3" Sean Peter who did not dress due to a hip injury, struggled without their two leaders as the Blues scored the next 8 points and the benches emptied with subs. Down 12 at halftime, the Gee-Gees stormed out of the gate in the third quarter on a 16-0 run led by Gibson-Bascombe, 6'9" Dax Dessureault (15 points, 12 rebounds) and 6'4" Donnie Gibson (8 points) to take a 47-43 lead. But the Blues called timeout and restored order with a 10-0 run of their own capped by a three by 6'2" Nick Magalas . Gibson-Bascombe had 28 points after 3 quarters. Earlier, Paris and Magalas had led a 19-7 run midway through the second quarter with several long range 3's to give the Blues a comfortable halftime lead. Paris went 4 for 7 from downtown to lead the Blues with 17 first-half points while 6'7" Nick Snow (16 points overall) had 10 points including a late three pointer to give the Blues the lead after the first quarter. Toronto shot a sizzling 7 for 14 from downtown including 6 for their last 8 after a 1-6 start. Blues 6'6" Ahmed Nazmi had 10 points and 6 rebounds including a filthy dunk on Dessureault in transition on a coast-to-coast take but then quickly fouled out thereafter.

#1 Carleton (25-0, 19-0) 100, Ryerson (6-21, 5-13) 77 6'3" Stu Turnbull, quietly mounting a case for a conference all-star selection, dropped in 27 points and added 6 rebounds and 6 assists to lead the Ravens over the Rams in the Raven's Nest. Turnbull and 6'7" Aaron Doornekamp (20 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) led the Ravens to a 15 point halftime lead which was extended quickly to over 20 in the second half. 6'4" Ryan Bell had 8 points and 8 assists for Carleton while 6'7" Kevin McCleery, rounding into form after battling injuries, had 14 of his 16 points in the first half. 6'7" Boris Bakovic shook off a 5 point first half with 25 points in the second to lead all scorers with 30 points for Ryerson.

Queen's (18-10, 12-7) 74, York (7-22, 5-14) 67 The Gaels got 18 points and 7 boards from 6'6" Mitch Leger and dominated the glass, outrebounding the Lions 40-26 to gain the comfortable win. Queen's got a combined 7 for 11 shooting from downtown from 6'6" Travis Mitchell (14 points 3-4 3's) and 6'5" Jon Ogden (14 points 4-7 3's). 6'3" Tut Ruach was a one-man band for York with 29 points and the Lions shot a scorching 21-24 from the free throw line to stay within striking distance.

Laurentian (5-23, 4-15) 77, RMC (0-26, 0-19) 64 BIG SECOND HALF LEADS LAURENTIAN TO WIN OVER RMC KINGSTON, Ont. - The Laurentian Voyageurs came back in the second half to defeat the RMC Paladins by 77-64. The Voyageurs managed to bounce back after trailing at the half 37-34. Paul Kovacs (Barrie, Ont.) lead the scoring for Laurentian with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Also playing well in the Voyageurs victory was Michael Raskevicius (Sudbury, Ont.) with 20 points. Also reaching double-digits in points were Darrell Drake (Saginaw, Mich.) with 12 points and Matas Tirilis (Mississauga, Ont.) with 10 points. Omar Linder (Saginaw, Mich.) contributed with 12 rebounds. The Voyageurs continue their quest for the playoffs next weekend on the road in Toronto. On Friday they play a very important game against Ryerson Rams and on Sunday they match up against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Both games will start at 8 p.m.

OUA EAST STANDINGS
Carleton 19-0
Ottawa 15-4
Toronto 14-4
Queen's 12-7
Ryerson 5-13
York 5-14
Laurentian4-15
RMC 0-19

No comments: