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Western (16-10, 9-8) 94, Lakehead (10-14, 8-10) 66 6'6" Brad Smith had 26 points and the Mustangs outscored the T-Wolves 31-16 in the decisive third quarter to allow Western to escape the Thunderdome with a weekend split.

Guelph (15-9, 10-7) 79, Waterloo (7-20, 4-14) 71 6'3" Nick Pankerichan had 17 of his career-high 32 points in the fourth quarter on an afternoon in which his Gryphs needed him most, leading Guelph to a win over the visiting Warriors. The game was tight for much of the way before Guelph started to pull away at 54-46 late in the third quarter and it appeared the game was close to being done. But the Warriors took advantage of several Guelph turnovers, scoring the last 9 points of the quarter to lead going into the fourth. Then Pankerichan took over with his three with just under 3 minutes to play giving Guelph the lead for good at 71-68. Dan White kept the Warriors in the game finishing with 22 points including 5-6 3's while 6'3" freshman Cam McIntyre added 19 in the loss.

Laurier (11-15, 8-9) 69, McMaster (12-12, 7-10) 57 The Hawks scored the final 10 points of the game, holding the Marauders scoreless for the final 6 minutes of play to take control of the final playoff spot in the OUA West. Laurier owns a one-game lead over Mac as well as the tiebreaker. 6'2" Jesse MacDonald (19 points) had 5 straight points including a big three that gave Laurier a 7 point and the Hawks were never threatened from there. 6'6" Andrew Losier had 21 points for Mac, making up for the absence of 6'9" Terry Licorish, who continues to battle the flu. Hawks scoring was balanced as 6'5" freshman Kale Harrison had 13, 6'5" Matt Walker 11 and 5'11" freshman Austin Walsh, returning to his native Hamilton where he went to school adjacent to the Mac campus at Hamilton St. Mary's, shot 4-8 and had 9.

#9 Windsor (17-5, 13-4) 79, Brock (16-12, 11-6) 64 The Lancers led by 18 after 3 quarters and then by as many as 24 in the fourth quarter to win over the cold shooting Badgers. With their 8th consecutive win, Windsor takes a stranglehold on first place in the OUA West as once again 6'1" Ryan Steer had a dominant 15 point, 10 rebound, 8 assist performance. 6'8" Greg Surmacz was strong inside with 22 points and 10 rebounds while 6'0" Monty Hardware, seeing much more time in the absence of injured wing Kevin Kloostra, added 13 points for Windsor. The Badgers have had a sub-par shooting day from the perimeter, shooting just 29.7% allowing the Lancers to slowly pull away although Mike Kemp hit back-to-back-to-back 3's in the final 4 minutes of the game to get the Badgers back to within 10 with 2 1/2 minutes remaining, before Windsor reextended the margin. Kemp finished with a game-high 26 points including 11 in the final 4 minutes while 5'10" Brad Rootes had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists but shot only 4-18 overall. The Badgers cold shooting was typified by the 1-11 performance including 0-9 from the usually very reliable 6'0" Scott Murray. Brock still has a one-game lead in the loss column on Guelph for second spot pending the outcome of the Gryphon/Waterloo Warriors contest currently being played in Guelph.

Guelph 37, Waterloo 33 HALFTIME Big Man on Campus live blog

OUA WEST STANDINGS
Windsor 13-4
Brock 11-6
Guelph 10-7
Western 9-8
Laurier 8-9
Lakehead 8-10
McMaster 7-10
Waterloo 4-14


GOLDEN HAWKS SWEEP MCMASTER MARAUDERS Mike Quigley's Golden Hawk Report

The Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks won their second consecutive road game on Saturday afternoon at the Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, defeating the McMaster University Marauders 69-57. The win inched the Golden Hawks OUA record a little closer to .500 at 8-9 (12-15 overall) good for a tie for the final 3 OUA West playoff spots with Western and Lakehead. McMaster drops to 7-10 and 7th place in the league. The win featured gritty defense which forced the Marauders to commit turnovers at crucial points in the game and some timely scoring from the perimeter and the foul line (16/19 - 84%).

The Marauders jumped into a quick 2-0 lead to open the game but the Hawks responded with 7 straight points of their own. A 9-2 Marauder run gave McMaster the lead back but the Hawks battled back to tie in again. In all the lead changed hands 7 times throughout the 1st quarter alone and the score was tied on 3 other occasions. A 3-pointer on the buzzer gave the Hawks a narrow 20-17 lead at the end of the first.

The Hawks continued to lead through most of the second quarter with the exception of one possession when McMaster tied the score at 24-24. Otherwise the teams had some difficulties scoring and, although the Marauders outscored the Hawks 12-10 in the 2nd, Laurier took a 30-29 lead into the dressing room at the half.

The Marauders retook the lead on the opening possession of the 3rd quarter with 1 of the 2 3's that the Hawks allowed in the game. McMaster continued to lead through the early part of the quarter but, with Mac leading 38-33, the Hawks went on a 13-4 run keyed by 3-point baskets by 3 different Hawks and led 46-42. For the next few minutes the teams exchanged the lead on each basket but a 6-2 Hawk run toward the end of the quarter gave them a 52-48 lead after 3 quarters. Key to maintaining this lead was a defense that forced 9 turnovers in the quarter including 3 offensive fouls and steals on Mac’s final 2 possessions.

The Hawks maintained this defensive pressure as the 4th quarter opened but were unable to pull away as they turned the ball over on consecutive possessions themselves. When the Marauders staged their offensive push the Hawks never faltered and refused to give up the lead calmly matching McMaster’s output. The Marauders scored to cut Laurier’s lead to 2 points 57-55 with just under 6 minutes remaining in the game but that was as close as it would get. The Hawks’ defense shut the Marauders down for the remainder of the game while the offense went on a 10-0 run to finish with a 69-57 victory.

Point guard Jesse MacDonald (3rd yr, Brantford, ON), playing 39 minutes under constant pressure from McMaster’s guards, played his 3rd strong game in a row and led the Hawks with 19 points, 4 steals and 4 assist. Kale Harrison (1st yr, wing, Stratford, ON) continued his strong play finishing with 13 points and leading the Hawks with 9 rebounds. Veteran Matthew Walker (4th yr, wing, Waterloo, ON) added 11 points, 6 boards and 3 steals and played a strong defensive game. Rookies Austin Walsh (guard, Hamilton, ON - 9 points), Matthew Buckley (post, Waterloo, ON) and Conor Meschino (wing, Oakville, ON) all had great shifts throughout the game and contributed to the win. Justin Golob (2nd yr, post, St. Catherine’s, ON) battled Mac’s bigger posts and hit some key shots on offense. In all it was a great team win and the first time, in recent memory, that the Hawks swept the Marauders in league play.

The Marauders were led by veteran Andrew Losier (4th yr, F, Waterdown, ON) who finished with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Geoff McLaughlin (2nd yr, C, Oakville, ON) and Jermaine De Costa (2nd yr, G, Ancaster, ON) each added 9 points.

The Hawks will now prepare for Wednesday night when they will host the University of Western Ontario Mustangs at the WLU AC. Tipoff for this contest will be 8:00 pm. The Mustangs beat the Hawks 73-60 in London in their previous meeting last Saturday.

Mac Report from Dale Stevens LOSIER'S CAREER HIGH NOT ENOUGH AS MARAUDERS FALL TO GOLDEN HAWKS

(Hamilton, ON) Senior forward Andrew Losier (Waterdown, ON) continued his fine
play of late, but his career high of 21 points weren't enough, as the McMaster
University Marauders fell 69-57 to the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden
Hawks, in a key OUA West battle, on Saturday afternoon in the Burridge Gym.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 8-9 in conference play, while the Marauders
fall to 7-10, and sit outside the playoffs.

The visitors jumped out to an early 7-2 advantage, but Losier caught fire to
bring the Maroon and Grey back into it. Losier has been a major factor for
Mac in the past few weeks, and his 7 early points gave the home side an 11-9
lead. The balanced Laurier attack resulted in a 20-17 lead at the end of the
first quarter.

At the half, the Hawks went to the locker room up 30-29. Losier's 15 points
were the only bright spot for the Marauders in the opening 20 minutes, in a
half where neither team was able to open a lead larger than 5 points.

Laurier continued to play consistent team basketball in the third quarter, as
guard Jesse MacDonald (Brantford, ON) ran the offense very well, which
included a number of bombs from long range. At the end of the third quarter,
the Hawks led 52-48.

Mac cut the margin several times in the early part of the 4th quarter, but
could not tie the game or take the lead. Up 59-57 with six minutes left,
Laurier scored the last 10 points of the game to claim the win. The Hawks' 9
3-point baskets were a big difference as time ticked down, as was their 84%
clip from the free throw line.

MacDonald, who was held to only 4 points in the earlier meeting between the
teams, led Laurier with 19 points. Freshman standout Kale Harrison
(Stratford, ON) had 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Matt Walker (Waterloo,
ON) added 11 points.

Losier added 9 rebounds to go along with his 21 points, to pace the Marauders.
No one else was able to get into double figures. Jermaine De Costa (Hamilton,
ON) and Geoff McLaughlin (Oakville, ON) contributed 9 points apiece. The
Maroon and Grey were without the services of centre Terry Licorish (Toronto,
ON), who missed the game due to illness.

The loss is a severe blow to Mac's playoff hopes. They currently sit a game
out of the sixth and final spot, but don't hold tiebreakers against either of
the teams directly above them, meaning they will need to win the position
outright to advance to the post season. It sets up a definite must-win game on Wednesday evening. The Marauders travel to Waterloo to face the University of Waterloo Warriors. The Warriors, 4-14 on the season and looking toward next year, will try to play spoiler in the 8:00 start, live on 93.3 CFMU-FM and http://cfmu.mcmaster.ca