CIS Hoops.ca

With thanks to Curtis Dauber...

For the third straight game the Warriors held their opponent under 60 points. This one was particularly sweet for coach Tom Kieswetter as it was the first time since 1985 that the Warriors won back to back Naismith Championships. It came on a night where their top player, guard Cam McIntyre, went down with an ankle injury 2 minutes into the game and was not able to return. The shots that were going in earlier in the tournament weren't going in this game, however the defence that has been so steady all weekend did not disappoint. After the first quarter, Toronto could only manage 7 points to Waterloo's 17. U of T played a zone for the entire first half which gave the Warriors problems without the sweet shooting McIntyre. Neither team could find much offense in the second frame, so Waterloo took the lead 27-20 into half time. Toronto found their stroke in the 3rd, and continued to pack in their zone trying to limit Warriors big front line of 6'9" Matt Hayes, and the 6'7" Ben Frisby. With Toronto packed inside, and McIntyre, as well as the Warriors pure shooting guard Jordan Hannah both out with ankle injuries, Waterloo found points from an unexpected source. Tim Rossy came off the bench to drop 5 three's enroute to his game high 18 points (on 8 shots), along with 7 rebounds. For most of the second half, the score was within 3 or 4 points; it just seemed that whenever one of Toronto's experienced guards would hit a big shot, Waterloo would hit one right back. Statistically, Waterloo dominated the game, out rebounding U of T 41-26, hitting 7 more 3's - however Toronto took great care of the ball committing only 7 turnovers - one in the second half - to Waterloo's 20. With a minute and a half to go and the score tied, Waterloo went inside to their man in the middle Matt Hayes and he delivered with a bucket to put them up 2. After 3 successive Toronto shots clanged off the rim, Waterloo finally pulled down the rebound and Toronto was forced to foul. However, as that was their first foul of the quarter, they were forced to use up a lot of time fouling just to get into the bonus. Waterloo hit their free throws down the stretch and pulled out a hard fought 61-56 victory over a very tough U of T squad. Tournament all stars from Toronto were #22 Nick Magalas and #11 Rob Paris. Waterloo's Ben Frisby was also named a tournament all star, and Matt Hayes was the tournament MVP. Rounding out the all star team were Sean Maxwell from Manitoba, and Alex Traikov from Acadia.
 
Waterloo and Toronto will meet again in a few weeks in the opening weekend of the OUA. Last season Waterlo came out on top in their regular season battle 64-61. Ben Frisby was a force in the second half, finishing with a doube double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. However,