CIS Hoops.ca

With thanks to Curtis Dauber at Waterloo...

For the second straight game Waterloo scored 80 points, and held the opposition under 60 in beating the Acadia Axemen 80-54. The Warriors came out flying in the first quarter hitting on all cylinders and jumping out to a 24-12 lead. The Warriors seemed to feed off of the energy from the crowd all night - their defense forced Acadia into 12 first half turn overs, while committing only 4 themselves. Mat Hayes led the first half charge with 12 points going 5-5 from the field and 2-2 from the line, to go along with 7 first half rebounds. 5th year Jesse Tipping bounced back with a strong first half performance hitting for 10 points on 6 shots. The score at the half was 48-26 for the Warriors - the most telling stat of the first half was UW fighting for 10 offensive boards, with Acadia only able to mange 10 rebounds total.

In the second half the Warriors smelled blood and they went for the kill early, building a lead of more then 30 points early in the half and not relinquishing it for the rest of the game. No one on the roster played more then 22 minutes, so a lot of the younger players got some valuable minutes and a chance to show what they can do. An impressive showing by second year player Brendan Smith with 11 points on 7 shots led the bench as 12 players hit the score sheet. This truly was a team effort as guard Cam McIntyre led 4 players in double figures with 13. UW finished with an impressive 19 offensive boards, and had a 45-33 rebounding advantage.

Acadia had a tough night, but they definitely have a lot of talent on the roster. Rookie Owen Klassen, while being held to 3 points, showed flashes of how good he can be. Point guard Anthony Sears looks to have a very promising career ahead of him - with this team being almost completely full of first and second year players, watch out for them in a few years. However, tonight was all about the home side, showing that experience still does count for something in this league. The 4 5th year seniors, dave Burnett, Jesse Tipping, Ben Frisby and Matt Hayes, along with 3rd year guard Cam McIntyre, form the most experienced starting 5 in the OUA, and maybe the CIS.

Next up for the Warriors is the naismith Championship game with the University of Toronto |Varsity Blues tomorrow afternoon