CIS Hoops.ca

Thanks to Dale for his great game report from last night's Mac win over Saint Mary's. The Huskies finish their tour of Ontario with a match tonight in St. Catharines against the winless (vs. CIS) Brock Badgers.

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The dynamic inside duo of Keenen Jeppesen (Stoney Creek, ON) and Ryan Christie (Hamilton, ON) combined for 47 points, including 32 in the second half, leading the McMaster University Marauders to a 77-61 victory over the St. Mary's University Huskies, in CIS non-conference action on Sunday evening at the Burridge Gym.

The win extends Mac's winning streak to begin the season to 8 games (7-0 CIS), while the Huskies fall to 1-4.

So far this year, the Marauders have been used to jumping out to quick leads at the start of the game. On this day, they were able to grab the lead, but were not able to extend the margain to more than 5 points in the first quarter, with the period ending with Mac up 15-11.

The Maroon and Grey continued to run their transition game, with good results. But the visitors responded by setting multiply screens to get open looks against the very tough Mac defense.

As the second quarter began, the home side started to take control, quickly increasing the lead to 11 points, before heading into the locker room with a 34-22 advantage.

Out of the intermission, Jeppesen and Christie took over. Both standout forwards moved well without the ball, and when they got it, both knew where to go. Since the Marauders weren't hitting anything from beyond the three-point arc (0-for-16 on the night), they needed to look inside for their points. Jeppesen and Christie were only too happy to oblige. Jeppesen was 9-for-10 from the floor in the second half, and Christie was 5-for-8.

Mac extended the lead to as many as 20 points in the third quarter, before ending the frame with a 50-36 lead.

But the visitors had one last run in them, clawing back to within 7 points, 64-57, with 3:37 remaining, before Jeppesen decided enough was enough, and took over the contest once again, leading the Marauders to the victory.

Jeppesen finished with a 27 point, 16 rebound double-double, while Christie chipped in with 20 points. Guard Tyrell Vernon (Hamilton, ON) flirted with a triple-double, ending with 8 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Simon Marr (Saint John, NB) paced the Huskies with 11 points and 7 rebounds. Joey Haywood (Vancouver, BC) contributed 10 points.

The Marauders hit the road next week to play a pair of NCAA Division 1 opponents. They open their two-game trip at West Point, where they will meet Army. Following that contest, it's on to Staten Island, for a date with Wagner College.