CIS Hoops.ca

Thanks to one of my best friends in the world, Mike "Stick" Voelkner for his celebrity blog post from friendly St. Catharines this morning. Hoping to get a Brock/Findlay update from him and others later today. Here is a recap of Friday's CIS action...

At the Eric Garland Tournament at UNB, St. FX overcame injuries and an imposing Lee Academy front line to hammer the Prep School from Maine, USA 95-62. Lee Academy lines up 6'10", 6'9" and 6'5" across the front line and apparently all are touted as D1 guys which shows you how sometimes marketing machines can overhype because our humble Canadian guys got after it in a hurry last night, pushing up on the guards, pressing and running but also generally got what they wanted inside to lead by 29 at the half 49-20. 6'8" Alberto Rodriquez (17 points/12 rebounds) led the way inside for X while 5'10" Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw added 16 points while sitting out the final 15 minutes of play. 7'3" Rinny Ngot made his X debut and as expected was impactful on the defensive end, blocking 5 shots and adding a 10-point/11-rebound double/double. Also impactful was emerging 6'5" sophomore Jeremy Dunn, who had 15 points and 8 rebounds. The news was not all positive for X as three players sustained injuries including 5'9" glue guy Will Silver (plantar fascitis - probably spelt wrong), 6'0" Charlie Spurr (charley horse) and 6'2" Will Donkoh (elbow contusion) all sustained injuries. All three are questionable for tonight's encounter with a very much improved UNB Varsity Reds squad. Incidentally, Neil Foshay, who does strong work maintain the X Booster club web site has a series of new entries for your reading pleasure (including last night's game recap) at X-Men Basketball booster site. The Reds also won last night, knocking off UQAM 81-67 in impressive fashion, leading by 15 at the half and playing with much more conviction and purpose as their group gains experience. Coach Brent Baker, who had a large, stellar recruiting class, started his five most experienced players led by 6'4" Michael Anderson, V-Reds best overall player and 6'6" Colton Wilson, their best overall post player. Brooklyn, NY native and Reds point guard 6'0" Antwann Parks has improved his game toward becoming an upper echelon AUS guard and underrated 6'4" forward Alex DesRoches continues to impress especially on the glass. UQAM and Lee Academy are playing currently and X and UNB meet tonight in Day Two of the three-day affair being played at the Aitken Center, an excellent venue that holds about 5,000 and uses the same floor for basketball that was used in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.

In Montreal at the Concordia NIKE Invitational, in Friday's first round, Concordia defeated Laurentian 82-73 and Laurier hammered RMC 103-50. The consolation and championship games are going on this afternoon and we will have complete tournament coverage later tonight or tomorrow.

Findlay (NCAA Division 2) 94, York 66 The Oilers took a 50-26 halftime lead before cruising to an easy win over the Lions in North York on Friday night. Earlier this afternoon, the Oilers went to 2-0 on their trip through Canada with a 4 point win at Brock
Oilers Claim 86-82 Win Over Brock The University of Findlay Oilers held on to defeat Brock University by a score 86-82 on Saturday, October 10 in an exhibition game in St. Catharines, Ontario to run their record to 2-0 on their trip North. 6'4" freshman forward Clinton Springer-Williams had 30 points for Brock to lead all scorers while fellow freshman forward Jack Smith had 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting, also adding six rebounds, a steal and a block for Findlay. Brock led by 2 at the half but Findlay took a 7 point lead into the fourth quarter. Findlay meets U of T on Sunday in Toronto.

In downtown Toronto, Toronto Varsity Blues defeated Alberta 69-61 in a very well-played, physical affair in which both teams defended with purpose. With the Bears leading by 3 late in the third quarter, 6'0" Justin Holmes nailed back-to-back three for the Blues to give them a lead they would not relinquish. Later, 6'8" Andrew Wasic used his brawn to back down 6'11" Rob Dewar and others, scoring 4 consecutive low post baskets in the fourth quarter to salt the game away. 5'11" Scott Leigh was very impressive for Alberta, finishing with 17 points (unofficially) including 4 3's while 6'8" veteran post Harvey Bradford was solid all night inside for Alberta. 6'2" Rob Paris led Toronto, which shot 10-22 from 3 point land, with 13 points while 6'5" Pat Sewell added 12 with Holmes and Wasic chipping in 11 each. 6'7" Nick Snow had only 5 points but added 11 rebounds and 5 assists in a nice overall effort. The Blues allowed Alberta to stay in the game late with several missed free throws, going only 13 for 23 overall from the stripe. Both teams took care of the ball in a game which showed the new-look Bears can compete, especially with how well they defended throughout.

McMaster 80, Ryerson 72 6'7" freshman Ryan Christie was impressive in his Mac debut with 19 points and 8 boards and the Marauders, who led by as many as 24 in the third quarter, held off an energetic Rams rally that got the game back to within 3 in the late going in the CIS pre-season opener for both teams. 6'7" Boris Bakovic led all scorers with 23 points and 15 rebounds including 13 on the defensive glass, putting on a very strong performance at both ends. Ryerson hurt themselves with 25 turnovers including several in a bunch during key moments of the third quarter when Mac pushed an 8 point halftime lead to 24. 6'6" Keenan Jeppesen added 17 points, 9 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals in his Mac debut while 6'5" sophomore Scott Laws and 6'2" Tyrell Vernon added 14 and 10 points respectively. 6'5" Kris Montague, back on the Rams after two seasons, showed that he has refined his game with 15 points and 10 rebounds, knocking down mid-range shots and going 6-7 at the free throw line. The game was a bit sloppy with a combined 63 fouls called and Bakovic, Laws and 6'0" Josh Budd all fouling out - the teams combined for 84 free throws. 6'10" Joey Imbrogno tweaked his ankle and missed much of the second half for Ryerson. Mac went only 2 for 22 from downtown while the Rams made only 3 of 12 from beyond the arc... With files from Dale Stevens of CUBDL

Lakehead 77, Brandon 70... At the Thunder Dome, fourth-year guard Jamie Searle had 22 points while 6'6" Yoosrie Salhia added 8 points, 15 rebounds and Brendan King 11 points, eight rebounds as the Wolves held off the Bobcats. 5'10" Greg Carter had 7 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists while U.S. import newcomer Joe Jones had 14 points with four assists. Tarik Tokar with 17 points and four assists while Martin Laurence added 12 and Andrew Kraus had 10 points and eight assists.
Lakehead led 38-31 at the half. The two teams meet again tonight at 7 PM at the Thunder Dome.