Monday 30 November 2009

CISHoops.ca Top 10 1 December 2009

Parity reigns supreme in CIS men's basketball as only one team remains undefeated, UBC Thunderbirds, and they should be a unanimous choice for #1 team going into the exam break. Beyond that, every team has at least one loss and there have been numerous upsets. Here are my choices for the Top 10 and honourable mention.

#1 UBC (10-0, 7-0) (LW #2) With a pair of resounding wins on the road in Winnipeg against second-division teams, the T-Birds maintained their perfect record against CIS teams. 6'6" Kyle Watson shot a perfect 9 for 9 from the floor in the first half in the win against Winnipeg played before about 1,200 fans at the Duckworth Center. UBC's deep roster allowed the Birds to not skip a beat despite not having regulars 6'5" Brent Malish and 6'3" three-point sharpshooter Blaine Labranche for spells during the first term. UBC still have not had the chance to show they can win some big games away from home - only 4 of their games in the first half were on the road - all wins - against teams with a combined record of 3-23.

#2 Carleton (13-1, 7-1) (LW #1) The Ravens continue their struggles on the road, losing at Lakehead and coming back to beat Mac in Hamilton on Saturday. 6'8" Kevin McCleery showed on Saturday that, when right, he is the top overall pure post player in the nation with a 30 point effort despite encountering foul trouble all evening. While Carleton plays like the #1 team in the friendly confines of the Raven's Nest, Dave Smart's youngest edition in many years has some room to improve as a road team. Carleton will take their annual trip to Florida for a training camp after Christmas before starting OUA East play in January.

#3 St. FX (11-2, 5-0) (LW: #5) The X-Men ride a six-game winning streak into the exam break and came away with a pair of resounding wins at home against Acadia, handing the Axemen their first loss in AUS regular season play, and then finishing a home-and-home sweep of then-#6 Dalhousie. X's guard tandem of 5'9" Will Silver and 5'10" Christian Upshaw allow coach Steve Konchalski to use a variety of presses and to get out in transition for easy scores. Still, X has not defeated a team currently in the Top 10, losing to McMaster and Guelph and will not play a game west of Nova Scotia for the remainder of the regular season and AUS playoffs. The X-Men will participate in the Rod Shovellor Memorial tournament at Dal in the New Year prior to resuming AUS play.

#4 Calgary (11-2, 8-2) (LW #4) Playing without 6'8" Ross Bekkering, the Dinos could not complete the road sweep on the weekend, losing at #7 SFU after a solid victory at Trinity Western on Friday night. Dinos guard play, which was projected to be an issue at the beginning of the season, has been a strength as 5'11" Jarrod Jackson, a freshman from Winnipeg, has handled the lead guard spot with the maturity of a veteran and is clearly one of the top first-year players in Canada, playing the most difficult position on the floor for a nationals contender.

#5 Cape Breton (9-2, 4-1) (LW #7) Two dominating performances in which the Capers pressure "d" and quality depth created numerous turnovers and easy scores, Cape Breton may have the most talent top to bottom on their roster this side of Vancouver. Consistency remains an issue but expect the Capers to ride their formidable pair of U.S. imports 6'3" Paris Carter and 6'2" Jimmy Dorsey plus their 6'4" man-child Phil Nkrumah.

#6 Windsor (8-3, 6-2) (LW: #HM) Two more large road wins, including a come-from-behind victory at Toronto this past Friday, adds to the resume of big road wins for the Lancers. Windsor has won at #7 Simon Fraser, at #9 Toronto and at HM Ottawa. Although the Lancers welcomed probably the deepest recruiting class in the CIS this side of Brock, it is their veterans who continue to pave the way defensively and down the stretch of games. Windsor's pressure "d" was on display this past weekend, in contrast to the inconsistencies the weekend prior.

#7 Simon Fraser (8-2, 6-1) (LW: #8) It may have been a case of looking ahead as the Clan was upset at home on Friday night by Lethbridge or this ranking could have been #4 or #5. SFU recovered the following night to claim an important victory over Calgary that further legitimizes the Clan as a Pacific Division title contender. 6'4" starting wing Matt Kuzminski missed both games on the weekend.

#8 Lakehead (9-2, 7-1) (LW: #9) In what could be a season-defining win breaking Carleton's 34 game undefeated streak against CIS competition, the T-Wolves proceeded to lose convincingly to Ottawa the following night. Still, the Wolves are defending as a group better than any Lakehead team in recent memory and led by 5'10" Greg Carter are much more organized offensively. Despite the loss to Ottawa, the T-Wolves are worthy of a Top 10 ranking.

#9 Toronto (11-4, 5-3) (LW #10) The second-half dismantling of a very good Western Mustangs team, led by their first-team all-star candidate Andrew Wedemire, was enough to keep the Blues, with wins at Ottawa, Cape Breton (neutral) and at McMaster, in the Top 10. Varsity Head Coach Mike Katz claims his team executed in the second half against Western "as well as any team I've coached" in front of an audience that included Raptors Head Coach Jay Triano. 6'8" fifth-year forward Nick Snow had a career-high 30 points in dominating the inside offensively as the 'Stangs decided to generally stay home on U of T perimeter shooters.

#10 McMaster (12-3, 5-3) (LW #3) An increasing dependency of 6'6" Keenan Jeppessen as the focal point of Mac's offense and an inability to win games at home against top competition, among other things, necessitates this drop in the rankings. The absence of 6'3" freshman Victor Raso in the final minutes against Ottawa and vs. Carleton was certainly a factor, but the Marauders need to find some consistent secondary scoring from another source. Also, free throw shooting has been an issue as has an inability to clear the defensive glass - Mac's last 6 opponents have had double digit offensive rebounding totals (almost 14 "o" boards per game by opponents in that span) including an incredible 24 second-chances for Ottawa.

HONOURABLE MENTION:
Ottawa (10-5, 6-2) (LW: NR) Winners of four in a row and six of their last seven, the Gee-Gees are one of Canada's hotest teams and many already regard them as a Top 10 team given their success this weekend winning in OT at Mac and then hammering Lakehead in Thunder Bay. 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe is enjoying another All-Canadian season while 6'6" emerging sophomore Warren Ward, when in a groove, is as good a young scorer as there is in the CIS. Ottawa's switching "d" has been air-tight over the past 2 weeks. However, as has been the case in past seasons, consistency remains an issue and with 3 home losses (Toronto, Cape Breton, Windsor) and a loss at Brock, the Gee-Gees need to keep winning to move into the Top 10.

Saskatchewan (9-5, 4-4) (LW: HM) One of the top teams in Canada West has endured an extremely difficult schedule with road games at UBC, Victoria and Alberta (twice) plus a pair of home games against Calgary. Led by a dynamic backcourt that includes 5'10" Moser candidate Showron Glover and a physical, athletic front line, expect the Huskies to compete for top spot in Priarie Division when all is said and done.

NR Dalhousie (10-4, 3-3) (LW #6) Two more losses in which the Tigers were comfortably defeated, running their losing streak to three games - all double digit losses - have exposed some chinks in the armour, primarily transition "d" and some uncomfort playing at higher speeds.

Articles from the Weekend

An unbelievably exciting finish Saturday night at Queen's as 6'2" Baris Ondul hits a buzzer-beating 30 footer to give the Gaels a one-point victory, amid some controversy. Ondul's winner offset a three by Anto Raic with 2.2 seconds remaining that had given the Badgers the lead and brought them back from a huge deficit.

Slow start sinks Badgers

The Brock men's basketball team's hopes of entering the Christmas break with a .500 record ended Saturday night in Kingston with a horrible first quarter against Queen's.

The Badgers trailed 19-3 after the first quarter and, despite outscoring Queen's 27-16 in the final quarter, ended up on the losing end of a 60-59 decision.

...Continue Reading

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Foul costs Mac loss to Ravens

McMaster centre Ryan Christie fouled out of the Ontario University Athletics basketball game against Carleton Ravens for doing exactly what coach Joe Raso told him to do.

But the his fifth foul turned out to be a pivotal moment because it led to a pair of technical fouls - on him and Raso.

As a result, Mike Kenny sank four free throws as the No. 1-ranked Ravens went on to defeat the No. 3-ranked Marauders 83-74, at Burridge Gym on Saturday.

...Continue Reading

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Vikes women cagers sweep in Manitoba as men rebound

A trip to Manitoba is just the confidence builder the University of Victoria Vikes women’s basketball team needed heading into the Christmas break.

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Waterloo hoops squads head into break on a high

A visit from a pair of eastern rival schools was just the tonic for struggling local university basketball teams this past weekend.

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BU Men’s Basketball Get First Win

The Bishop’s men’s basketball team got off the snide Friday night at Mitchell Gymnasium, holding off the visiting Concordia Stingers 77-71. The victory is the first league win for BU this season and the first win against Concordia since January 6th, 2006.
Concordia attacked the basket early and often, highlighted by Evens Laroche’s emphatic put-back dunk that gave the Stingers an early 11-5 advantage. Bishop’s struggled to put the ball through the basket early on, especially BU’s super-rookie, Onnex Blackwood, who couldn’t buy a hoop in the first frame.

...Continue Reading

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Sunday 29 November 2009

UPEI, Acadia Perspectives from the weekend

The Panthers engineered their first victory of the season this afternoon at UNB and here is the story from UPEI Panther Men's basketball blog

Acadia entered the weekend undefeated in AUS league play but could not maintain their success on the road against the two teams that appear to be slowly seperating themselves from the rest of the pack: St. FX and Cape Breton. Here is a game report from Acadia/CBU contest

Laval 75, UQAM 59

After a sluggish start, Laval took over in the second half, using a 15-1 run to start the third quarter, primarily from a lock-down "d" that held the Citadins to just 17 second half points until garbage time late. UQAM scored only 4 points in the first 8 minutes of the fourth quarter. 6'5" Étienne Labrecque led all scorers with 27 points and 13 rebounds including 15 in the second half, highlighted by a dunk early in the third that gave Laval (4-0) the lead for good. 6'5" F.O. Hébert, Laval's scrappy post, finished with 14 points to help Laval.

UQAM (2-1) came out very aggressive off the start of the game and made it difficult for Laval to get into any offensive flow, including defending the "3" very well in the first half; UQAM led 34-32 at halftime. After the slow start to the second half, UQAM had one more run after falling behind by double digits, whittling a 12 point lead down to 1 on a three by Arthaud Plessius (12 points) with 2 minutes left in the third but Laval quickly produced a 15-0 run in about 3 minutes bridging the third and fourth quarters to pull away for good.

Labrecque was instrumental offensively, taking over with a 10 point fourth quarter and Laval got numerous stops to win going away. Les Rouge et Or held UQAM's QSSF all-star Adil El Makssoud scoreless on the afternoon. Kevin Levy led UQAM with 16 points while Plessius added 12.

6'2" Christian Trottier did not play for Laval, resting a shoulder injury. 6'3" J.F. Beaulieu played only 14 minutes after not practicing all week due to a hip injury. BOX SCORE

There is one final game in calendar 2009 in the "Q" which goes next Saturday night as Concordia (2-3) visits UQAM (2-1) for a 7:00 PM start.

UPEI 96, UNB 74

The Panthers earn a split of their two game weekend series on the road at UNB with a 22 point victory.

With thanks to Scott MacDonald from UPEI Men's Basketball blog...

UPEI (1-4) was dominant in the second half in their 96-74 victory on Sunday, outscoring UNB 51-32 after leading 45-42 at the half. UPEI closed out the game with an impressive stretch in the fourth quarter holding UNB to 13 points closing out the game strong to head into the break on a positive note. Nick Toews led all scorers with 30, Manock Lual and Matt Fennell each had 17, and Terrence Brown scored 12 for UPEI. Michael Anderson was the top UNB scorer with 24, Alex Desroches added 20. It was a successful homecoming for Panther rookie Calvin LeBlanc as the Fredericton native shot 70% over the two games averaging 10 points and 6.5 rebounds in the series, giving the team a spark off the bench. With better execution on defense in the second half UPEI should be a threat to win any night out, as they have as much offensive firepower as any team in Canada.

Howard Tsumura's Pacific Division Recap from last night

Clan men get back in a groove as No. 10 SFU topples No. 4 Calgary
By Howard Tsumura

The Simon Fraser Clan got back to acting like a nationally-ranked men's basketball team on Saturday.
On the heels of an 87-73 overtime loss to the Lethbridge Proghorns on Friday, a setback that saddled the CIS No. 10-ranked Clan with its first loss of the season, SFU roared back with authority Saturday, upsetting the No.4-ranked Clagary Dinos 86-82 atop Burnaby Mountain.
“The difference tonight was that we closed out the game in the fourth quarter,” said SFU head coach Scott Clark whose team improved to 6-1 and dropped the Dinos to 8-2. “We played much better defensively, we gave a more concerted effort to fight for rebounds and made more out of our opportunities.”
Closing out the game meant having the stamina to absorb a 10-1 fourth quarter-opening run by the Dinos, and answering back with a 13-3 run of its own which put SFU on top 79-78 with just over two minutes remaining.
Kevin Shaw led the Clan with 20 points while Kevin Pribilsky added 15. Eric Burrell and Chas Kok each scored 14. Robbie Sihota led Calgary with a game-high 25.
Both teams went without key starters, Calgary without Ross Bekkering and SFU for the second straight night without senior Matt Kuzminski.
*The No. 2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds rode the hot hand of senior Kyle Watson to a 93-75 win over the host Manitoba Bisons on Saturday, finishing the first half of the Canada West season is first place with a 7-0 record. Watson shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field in the first half, scoring 18 points in 20 minutes. He finished with 20 for the game. Josh Whyte added 18 points for the winners while Kamar Burke had 11 points and 12 rebounds.
*Jeff Cullen scored a game-high 17 points as Victoria (4-3) closed out the first half of its season with a resounding 72-47 win over the host Winnipeg Wesmen.

Articles

Gee, that stung

Coming off the program‘s biggest win in recent memory on Friday, the Lakehead Thunderwolves men‘s basketball team were perched atop the OUA West with a perfect record and poised for another upset with the Ottawa Gee-Gees in town.
Sounds like a dream game doesn‘t it?

...Continue Reading

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X-Men perfect heading into break

By MONTY MOSHER Sports Reporter
Sun. Nov 29 - 4:45 AM
The St. Francis Xavier X-Men basketball team will spend the holidays looking at a perfect record.

Steve Konchalski’s team entered the mid-season break at 5-0, capped by an 85-72 win over the Dalhousie Tigers on Saturday afternoon at Oland Centre.

...Continue Reading

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Top 10 Considerations

It was another weekend of upsets and somewhat-surprising results that again will insert some churn into the CISHoops.ca and Coaches Top 10 to be released in the next 48 or so hours. Here are some considerations for the voters (league and overall records vs. CIS teams in brackets):

UBC (7-0, 10-0) T-Birds have significant wins over Windsor, TWU, Saskatchewan - all at home and are undefeated against CIS competition
Carleton (7-1, 13-1) Ravens have good wins at home vs. Saskatchewan (tournament) and Windsor (league) plus last night's league win at Mac. Friday noteable loss at Lakehead is the only blemish on their record vs. CIS teams.
StFX (5-0, 11-2) X has won 6 in a row with their only solid wins in the past 2 weekends vs. Dal twice. Prior to that X had losses: at Mac, at Guelph.
Calgary (8-2, 11-2) The Dinos have wins at Trinity Western and at Saskatchewan (after losing badly the night before) and over Dal in the pre-season at the Laval tournament. Calgary's losses were at Saskatchewan and last night at Simon Fraser.
Cape Breton (4-1, 9-2) Capers have wins at Ottawa and this past Friday at home vs. Dal with their losses coming to Toronto (neutral floor at uOttawa) and at home against SMU.
Simon Fraser (6-1, 8-2) The Clan has one strong win, at home against Calgary with losses to Windsor and Lethbridge - both at home.
Lakehead (7-1, 9-2) Good wins at home vs. Carleton and Toronto with losses to Brandon and Ottawa, both at home.
Windsor (6-2, 8-3) Three solid road wins at Ottawa, at Toronto and at Simon Fraser in the pre-season. Lancer losses were at UBC, at Carleton, Queen's at home.
McMaster (5-3, 12-3) The Marauders have nice wins vs. Ottawa (pre-season at McGill tournament) and X at home again in the pre-season. Mac has lost three home games in the OUA regular season at Toronto, Ottawa and Carleton.
Toronto (5-3, 11-4) The Blues have good wins vs. Cape Breton and at Mac with losses to Waterloo twice including once at home, at Lakehead and Windsor at home.
Saskatchewan (4-4, 9-5) The Huskies have had probably the toughest schedule of any team in the first half and garnered a big win at home against Calgary. Saskatchewan's four losses are at Carleton, Calgary at home, at UBC, at UVic.
Ottawa (6-2, 10-5) The Gee-Gees have two big wins: at Mac and at Lakehead with losses to Cape Breton, Toronto and Windsor at home, Mac on neutral floor and at Brock)
Dalhousie (3-3, 10-4) Tigers have nice wins at Laval and Western on a neutral floor with losses to Calgary and somewhat-decisive losses to X twice and Cape Breton in league play.

AUS Action

In a game that was over very early, Cape Breton hammered Acadia 113-75 in Sydney. CBU led 58-31 at halftime as Tremaine Fraser and Chris Noddle each had 21 in a balance effort for the Capers, who shot 53% from the floor on the night. The Capers forced an astonishing 36 Axemen turnovers on the evening, including 8 by freshman Anthony Sears and 7 by sophomore Casey Fox.

UNB 101, UPEI 86 The Varsity Reds pulled away in the fourth quarter to secure their first AUS regular season victory of the season and kept the Panthers winless. Michael Anderson had 32 points including a 15 for 16 effort from the free throw line as UNB shot 42 free throws. The Panthers were whistled for 32 fouls on the night against 17 for the hosts. UPEI, which turned the ball over 24 times, got 24 points and 11 rebounds from Manock Lual and 21 points from point guard Terrence Brown. The teams meet again tomorrow afternoon in the lone AUS matchup.

UQAM 75, Bishop's 63

The Citadins took the lead for good early in the second quarter on back-to-back threes by Eric Cote-Kougnima and Thierry Justin, went into halftime up 4 at 30-26 and then finished the third quarter on a 24-10 run to win going away over the Gaiters at home. UQAM had leads as large as 26 points with 4 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to pull away from a tired Bishop's group that wore down late after last night's first "Q" league win at home. Arthaud Plesius led the way for UQAM with 18 points as the Citadins grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and created 20 turnovers. UQAM has a quick turnaround of their own as they travel to play Laval tomorrow afternoon. BOX SCORE

Saturday 28 November 2009

Regina 92, Thompson Rivers 85 + rest of CW scores

Regina 92, Thompson Rivers 85 (Overtime) Jeff Lukomski and Jamal Williams hit back-to-back treys early in the extra frame as the Cougars edged the WolfPack in Regina. Earlier Williams tied the score at 77 on a layup with 27 seconds remaining, pushing the game into overtime after Jeff Friesen almost singlehandidly pulled out an improbable late comeback for TRU, scoring 7 consecutive points, part of a 9-0 'Pack run that gave TRU a two point lead in the final minute. The Cougars had led by 10 with 8 1/2 minutes remaining before the resiliant WolfPack mounted a charge. 6'2" Paul Schubach had 22 points to lead Regina while Williams added 18 and Lukomski 20 as the veterans led the way for the Cougars. Freisen led TRU with 21 points and 16 rebounds while Connor Agnew shot 6 for 7 from beyond the arc to finish with 20. Sean Garvey had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 9 turnovers for Thompson Rivers.

In other games, UBC solidified their hold on the likely #1 ranking in the country by downing Manitoba in Winnipeg 93-75, Victoria kept Winnipeg Wesmen winless in Canada West play with an easy 72-47 win while Brandon hammered Fraser Valley 88-59.

In one final score just in, Alberta Golden Bears avenged last night's pounding at the hands of the Huskies by edging Saskatchewan 71-70 tonight in Edmonton in what was described as a great comeback win by the Bears.

Trinity Western 80, Lethbridge 68

Trinity Western 80, Lethbridge 68 Breaking open a two point game at halftime, the Spartans did a much better job guarding the ball after falling behind by 10 late in the first quarter and went on to defeat the Horns. TWU had leads as large as 16 points in the fourth quarter as 6'8" Jacob Doerksen led all scorers with 30 points/8 rebounds and Lance Verhoff had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jeff Price and Danhue Lawrence each had 17 points to lead the Horns with Lawrence grabbing 10 rebounds for a double/double. Randy Davis picked up two quick fouls for Lethbridge and finished with only 4 points.

Game Notes and quotes from Lakehead Coach Scott Morrison

Game Notes:
- Ottawa was on fire shooting above 50% for both halves, including several tough mid-range buckets from Warren Ward
- Ottawa shot 53% from the field and 60% from 3pt land
- Ottawa's switching man defense disrupted LU's offense more than it should have, but was effective in limiting post touches in the first half
- Lakehead's bench was unable to find an answer for the first time this season as it collectively went cold shooting 6-27 and 3-23 before the game was out of hand
- While lakehead had 1 more offensive board than Ottawa, Ottawa really capitalized on their second chances

Lakehead
Jamie Searle 20 points 4 assists on 6-17 shooting
Joseph Jones 10 points on 1-11 shooting

Ottawa
Warren Ward 27 points 4 rebounds
Josh Gibson-Bascombe 13 points 9 assists
Donnie Gibson./Louis Gauthier 11 points

Quote:
"If any of our players did not heed the post game talk on Friday regarding the Bob Knight 'big game hangover' they now know what we were talking about. Not only did we come out softer and less focused tonight than we have the past three weeks, Ottawa came out blazing and made us pay for every lack luster offensive possession and sloppy team D by shooting a very high percentage from the floor and beating us on the glass."

"The theme of our season has been to treat adversity and success with the same determination and that plan will now be tested over the break as we look to learn from our mistakes of the first semester, gain confidence from our strong play, and stay focused on executing and working one game at a time as the OUA West race heats up in January. We need no better indication of the balance in the OUA than our own experience this weekend."

Windsor 76, Ryerson 68

Despite poor free throw shooting (19-32) and a struggle from the 3 pt line (9-31) the Lancers won with a solid effort after a slow start. Windsor grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and forced 22 Ryerson turnovers. The Lancers again had balanced scoring with 6'3" Isaac Kuon, 6'7" Andre Smyth and 6'3" freshman Enrico Diloreto all scoring 11 points while another freshman 5'11" Josh Collins added 9. 6'7" Boris Bakovic led all scorers with 22 points and added 9 boards while 6'1" point guard Josh Budd was a perfect 3-3 from downtown and finished with 16 points. Ryerson led by 8 after the first quarter but the Lancers dug in defensively in the second quarter to take a 7 point lead into halftime and never trailed thereafter.

Waterloo 85, York 72

With thanks to Martin Timmerman...

The Waterloo Warriors made it two in a row by defeating the York Lions on Saturday by a score of 85-72. With the win the Warriors have a 5-3 record in OUA play, good enough for a tie for third place in the West Division. See the CIS Results Page for league standings across Canada.

The Warriors started the second game in a row with a hot shooting streak. After six minutes of play the Warriors had hit 5 of 7 from the three point line and held an 18-7 edge. After the opening period the Warriors were up 25-9 and hitting 44% from the field. In the second period, the Warriors went inside more often, increasing the shooting percentage to 47% for the half and bringing the big guys into the game. At the half, Waterloo led 45-29. York did play the Warriors even in the period with contributions from David Tyndale and Stefan Haynes.

Waterloo's shooting cooled down in the second half as they hit just 33% and only 2 for 12 from three. Foul shots helped as York sent Waterloo to the line 17 times in the second half. Waterloo was able to push the margin over 20 points early in the fourth period, and led by 20 with four minutes remaining. Waterloo got all their players in to close the game.

Cam McIntyre hit for a season best 27 points, including tying his personal best for seven hits from the three point line. Matt Hayes hit for 14 points and 9 rebounds. For York, Stefan Hayes led the team with 22 points. David Tyndale hit for 16 points, while Dejan Kravic hit for a double-double, with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Queen's 60, Brock 59

The Gaels jumped out to a 19-3 lead after one quarter against the turnover-plagued Badgers but behind 6'4" Clinton Springer-Williams 22 point effort Brock almost came back before losing by 1. 6'6" Mitch Leger had 19 points and 11 boards in 38 minutes while 6'2" Baris Ondul added 17 in the win. Brock trailed by 12 entering the fourth quarter but could not overcome 26 turnovers and 15 Gael offensive rebounds.

Carleton 83, McMaster 74

The Ravens broke away late to defeat the Marauders in Hamilton after the game was tied after 3 quarters. Carleton's pair of veterans, 6'8" Kevin McCleery and 6'0" Mike Kenny both were very instrumental in the win despite playing fewer minutes than normal due to foul trouble (teams combined for 49 fouls as both benches were dismayed at numerous calls). McCleery had 30 points on 14-22 shooting from the floor in only 23 minutes while Kenny added 14 points. 6'5" freshman Tyson Hinz also had a productive 16 points in only 13 minutes before fouling out. As per usual, 6'6" Keenan Jeppessen had 22 points and 8 rebounds but 7 turnovers for Mac, which was without 6'3" impact freshman Victor Raso, out with a hand injury. 6'6" Cam Michaud, playing on a bad ankle sprained in last night's loss to Ottawa, had 17 points and 8 rebounds for Mac in only 20 minutes. 6'7" freshman Ryan Christie had 5 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes before fouling out. Both Christie and Marauders Head Coach Joe Raso took fourth quarters technicals while it was still a game in an affair that had was foul-filled and tough.

Ottawa 93, Lakehead 56

The Gee-Gees dominated the glass at both ends, getting several second chances and cleaning the defensive glass to start numerous, easy transition to hammer the T-Wolves before a large, disappointed crowd in Thunder Bay. Lakehead suffered their first loss of the OUA regular season but are still very likely to garner a Top 10 ranking in the coaches poll on Tuesday. The Gee-Gees took a 15 point lead into the third quarter and after a slow start got their transition game going again, primarily off their defense which forced numerous tough shots late in the shot clock and Ottawa led by as many as 28 in the third quarter.

Ottawa's 6'3" wing Donnie Gibson, who went scoreless at McMaster last night, missing a couple of late open looks that could have iced the game in regulation, came out on fire tonight and his back-to-back threes late in the second quarter pushed Ottawa's lead to double digits. Gibson was also solid on the glass at both ends. Both 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe and 6'6" Warren Ward have scored in double digits for Ottawa, with Ward leading all scorers with points in the mid-20's. The Gee-Gees somewhat-underrated stable of bigs again were steady on the defensive glass and were solid converting put backs and slick feeds from Gibson-Bascombe when help came to stop his dribble penetration.

The T-Wolves appeared a step slow defensively as the officials called numerous blocks on the Wolves that were close either way in the first half when it was still a game. 6'3" Joe Jones had a couple of nice takes to the rim for Lakehead while 6'2" Jamie Searle provided some savvy in the midst of some general questionable shot selection for Lakehead that helped fuel Ottawa's transition.

Simon Fraser 86, Calgary 82

6'4" Kevin Shaw converted an "and 1" lay-in with 22 seconds remaining in the game and a subsequent attempt at a game-winning 3 by Robbie Sihota (25 points) came off to allow the Clan to defeat the Dinos in Burnaby, offsetting last night's loss to Lethbridge. The game saw four lead changes in the final minutes and a big Clan run that got SFU all the way back from an 8 point deficit with just over 5 minutes remaining, using a 9-0 run to take a 1 point lead highlighted by an "and 1" by 6'7" Eric Burrell followed by two free throws by Shaw (20 points). Sihota gave the Dinos their last lead of the night with 42 seconds remaining on a pair of free throws but Shaw's big play on the next possession was the game-decider. It appears as if the Dinos played without star 6'7" forward Ross Bekkering. The Clan went an incredible 28 for 30 (93%) from the free throw line while the Dinos were 10-14.

LIVE! Stats game report

Toronto 84, Western 68

The Blues garnered a split on the weekend and finished the first half at 5-3 by setting a blistering pace from downtown in the second half, led by 6'2" Nick Magalas, who hit back-to-back 3's late in the third quarter to start a game-deciding run, and 6'8" Nick Snow who had 25+ points in the game and was dominant inside as the Mustangs generally decided not to double down. The Mustangs stayed close until late in the third on the fine inside play of 6'5" Andrew Wedemire. Varsity played a zone "d" for much of the third quarter, primarily because of their difficulties dealing with Wedemire, the smooth fifth-year forward who has had his way inside when guarded one-on-one. More to come...

OUA This Afternoon

Laurier 83, Laurentian 55 The Golden Hawks put on a tremendous defensive display in the first half holding the Vees to just 18 points and 27% shooting overall to grab 24 point lead and cruised to an easy win at home in Waterloo. 6'2" Jesse MacDonald had 19 points while 6'6" freshman Max Allin added 13 for Laurier (3-5) which played their entire bench.


Guelph 95, RMC 64 The Gryphs broke out to a 25 point halftime lead at 56-31 and cruised to an easy win against winless Paladins. 6'4" Jonathan Moscatelli sat out today's game with an ankle injury while 6'4" Jay Mott had all of his 10 points in the first half before not playing in the second as the Gryphs finished the first half at 3-5. 6'6" Matt Howlett had 19 points and fellow freshman 6'2" Drew Morris added 18 for Guelph while 6'2" Gavin Viray-Cox had a nice offensive game for the Paladins.

St. FX 85, Dalhousie 72

The X-Men used their transition game, sizzling three-point shooting, primarily from 6'0" Algonquin transfer Charlie Spurr, who had 8 3's (one shy of the school record) and effective penetration by 5'9" Will Silver and 5'10" Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw in the quarter-court to break open a tight game midway through the third quarter and defeat the Tigers, handing Dal their third consecutive loss in AUS play. With the Tigers leading 52-49 after some solid work inside from 6'9" Joe Schow and on the perimeter from 6'2" Simon Farine, X's 6'3" freshman Jordan Clarke hit a nice mid-range jumper, starting a 9-0 X run highlighted by a pair of threes from Upshaw. The Tigers closed the gap to 2 on a Farine runner however the X-Men then clinch the contest using a 21-7 run to build their largest lead at 79-63 with about 2 minutes remaining. Highlighting the run was a highlight-reel putback slam by 6'5" Chad Warren, who also knocked down a big three on the prior possession that had given X their largest lead to that point at 71-62. Upshaw was also instrumental in the run as he was a blur in transition off Dal misses, either getting to the rim or dishing out to Spurr, who finally is fulfilling the promise of making big 3's. Silver, who X supporters have tagged with the handle "The Chemist" likely for his intelligent, clever creativity and tough, hard-nosed play, had 5 consecutive points including a three at the end of the run as the X-Men made at least 15 3's in the game. 6'7" Alberto Rodriquez was steady inside for X, the recipient of several nice looks for lay-ups before going to the bench with his 4th foul with 5 1/2 minutes remaining and X up only 6. But an 11-1 run that included Warren's dunk and Silver's five consecutive points put the final nails in any Dal comeback attempt.

The X-Men put on a three-point shooting display in the first half as Spurr and T-Bear Upshaw were on fire and Rodriquez, after a slow start, began converting around the rim to give X leads as large as 8. However, the Tigers were generally able to deal with X's pressure and got the ball inside consistently to Schow, both in the high and low posts, while Farine was his steady self to bring Dal back as close as 1 late in the second before Upshaw's three with about 20 seconds remaining gave X the 4 point lead into halftime.

Stay tuned for stats shortly.

OUA Tonight

As it turns out, the feature game of the evening is in Thunder Bay once again as the Ottawa Gee-Gees, fresh off an overtime victory over #3 McMaster, visit the undefeated Lakehead Thunderwolves, ranked #8 in the latest CISHoops.ca Top 10 but destined to move higher after last night's thrilling, come-from-behind victory over #1 Carleton. Expect Ottawa's 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe to continue to make the majority of the offensive decisions for the Gee-Gees and to likely be guarded at least on the perimeter by Lakehead's 5'9" Greg Carter, who applies tremendous ball pressure. Inside, Ottawa's stable of forwards including 6'8" Louis Gauthier, 6'10" Matt Michaud and 6'9" Mathieu Riendeau to have their hands full with athletic 6'6" sophomore Yoosrie Salhia, who had a big game against the Ravens last night. Emerging 6'6" freshman Ryan Thomson from Oakville is likely to battle with 6'5" Nemanja Baletic, who hit a huge three for Ottawa last night in the overtime. This game is scheduled to be webcast tonight.

In what would have been a battle of #1 vs. #3 except that both teams lost last night, Carleton visits McMaster Marauders for the Ravens fourth road game of the OUA regular season. Thus far, the Ravens, fielding their least experienced roster in several seasons, have been inconsistent on the road, edging Guelph in a game in which they required a near-miracle to win and then defeating Brock in a tight game in St. Catharines before losing at Lakehead last night. 6'0" Mike Kenny, expected to be one of Carleton's leaders this season, has for the most part struggled offensively as the main decision maker while 6'8" Kevin McCleery, usually the facilitator offensively from the low post, appeared to struggle last night. Young teams tend to lean on any available veteran leadership especially on the road in hostile environments, especially when things are not going their way with calls and/or mental mistakes, and thus far the Ravens barely passed the test in Guelph and were defeated last night. Expect another raucious crowd in Hamilton tonight where Mac has leaned on 6'6" fifth-year senior Keenan Jeppessen in most instances this season. 6'3" freshman guard Victor Raso, who helped ignite Mac in the third quarter last night with a pair of long threes and some scrappy loose ball gets, was unavailable toward the end of last night's game with a suspected finger injury while 6'6" Cam Michaud, who contributed offensively for the Marauders, inadvertently stepped on the foot of a Gee-Gee and turned his ankle, not returning to the game as well. Mac got a defensive lift in the second half from 6'7" freshman Ryan Christie who had several blocks and altered other shots inside. However his apathy in the first half, especially on the defensive glass, contributed to the large deficit Mac faced and ultimately could not overcome. No word on whether or not this game will be webcast tonight but here is the link to the webcast area on Mac's website.

In other games, Western Mustangs, who came from behind to defeat Ryerson last night, are in Toronto to face the Varsity Blues, who gave up a 9 point second half lead to lose to Windsor. Varsity Blues/Western Mustangs webcast at 8 PM. Windsor moves across town to face Ryerson in what should be an athletic contest at Kerr Hall. Here is the link to last night's Ryerson/Western link which hopefully will also have the Lancers/Rams game tonight.

Brock Badgers are in Kingston to face Queen's which was soundly defeated by Guelph last night. In other games, Waterloo hosts York Lions and Laurentian visits Laurier as Vees coach Shawn Swords goes against his mentor at Laurentian Peter Campbell with Coach Campbell likely working overtime to scheme against his son Jamie Campbell, a reserve wing for the Vees.

All games except Laurentian at Laurier and Guelph at RMC (both afternoon games) begin at 8 PM tonight.

Lakehead / Carleton Report

Thunderwolves edge top-ranked Carleton to remain undefeated in OUA

Thunder Bay, Ont. – After narrowly missing out on a CIS Top Ten ranking this week, the Lakehead Thunderwolves men’s basketball team made an enormous statement, Friday night, as the handed the defending CIS Champion Carleton Ravens their first loss of the season in a thrilling 76-73 comeback victory before a raucous crowd at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse in Thunder Bay.

The Wolves have been a fourth-quarter buzzsaw this year and continued that trend against the Ravens, outscoring them 20-9 to overcome a ten-point halftime deficit. Lakehead has now outscored their opponents 167-94 in the final ten minutes and have amassed six second half comebacks in conference play.

Yoosrie Salhia had 19 points and eight rebound to lead the Wolves while sophomore guard Joe Jones added 16 points while playing stifling defence on the Carleton guards. Posts Brendan King and Ryan Thomson had 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Thomson adding seven assists.

Carleton was led by a sizzling three-point barrage from Elliot Thompson who had 25 points while going 5-8 from beyond the arc. Cole Hobin and Tyler Hinz added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Ravens appeared to have taken control early in the game as they capitalized on some sloppy turnovers and defensive rotations by Lakehead to lead 45-35 at halftime. Improved offensive penetration and key defensive stops allowed the Pack to storm back into the contest in the second half, whipping a standing-room only crowd into frenzy.

Lakehead took a 71-69 lead - their first lead of the second half - at 4:40 when senior guard Jamie Searle found room in the lane and dumped off a bounce pass for Salhia for the open layout. Point guard Greg Carter’s free throws over two minutes later extended the lead to four while Lakehead took complete control immediately after when Jones drew a charge on Ravens’ point guard Michael Kenny, sending him to the bench with his fifth personal.

After Carter hit a big fade-away to beat the shot clock at 1:40, Carleton showed signs of life and pulled within two points, but forward Kyle McCleery turned it over with 15 seconds left and later missed a three-pointer that would have sent the game to overtime.

"There is no question that was a huge win for us,” says Thunderwolves head coach Scott Morrison. “While it only counts for two points in the standings, our team now believes we are capable of beating any team with the right type of focus, intensity and execution. We were not perfect tonight, but luckily neither was Carleton and we were able squeeze out a tough one. The trick now is to get re-focused on a hot Ottawa team tomorrow night and do everything we can to finish the semester on a winning note."

Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Gee-Gees tips off a 8:00 p.m. at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse.

Tim Switzer's article on Regina's Jeff Lumonski - two sport athlete

A return to form
By Tim Switzer, The Leader-Post

University of Regina Cougars' Jeff Lukomski also plays for the Rams football team.
Photograph by: Troy Fleece, Leader-Post, The Leader-Post


Jeff Lukomski is back in the basketball groove.

The 6-foot-0, 195-pound University of Regina Cougars guard, spent most of the fall as a cornerback for the Rams football team.

"My nicks and bruises are finally healed up -- my back, my thumb -- and I'm starting to get that long-distance cardio back," said Lukomski after the Cougars finished their final preparations for tonight's game (8 o'clock) against the Fraser Valley Cascades at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport. "Those first couple games, I was dragging a little bit. After 20 minutes I was starting to get pretty tired, but the last couple games I played 30-plus minutes and I was feeling pretty good."

...Continue Reading

Laurier over York report

From Laurier SID...

The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks defeated the York Lions, 66-55, increasing their overall record to 2-5.

“At times we played really well,” said Laurier’s head coach, Peter Campbell. “I think our biggest weakness was that we got them to the foul line early in several quarters, and you can’t defend against foul shots. But when crunch time came, Jesse [MacDonald (Brantford, Ont)] took over the game for us and that’s what he’s got to do.”

The Hawks started the game strong, taking the lead from the get-go after a lay-up from Matthew Buckley (Waterloo, Ont) closely followed by a three-pointer from Jesse MacDonald. Midway through the first quarter, Laurier increased their lead to 10 points, but by the end of this quarter, York had whittled this lead down to five points at 20-15.

Come the second quarter, Laurier further increased their lead over the visiting team. The half came to a dramatic end as, with only milliseconds left on the clock, Laurier’s Matthew Buckley slam-dunked the ball, making the score 34-26 for the purple and gold.

With the third quarter came a rainfall of threes courtesy of Jesse MacDonald and Kale Harrison (Stratford, Ont). Laurier ended this quarter up 20 points over the Lions, 55-35.

In the forth quarter, foul trouble ensued. The Hawks peaked at a 22-point lead over York before a seven-minute basket-free drought. During this time, York got 15 points in a row, narrowing Laurier’s lead to a mere seven points.

Thanks to Jesse MacDonald’s cool head and leadership, the Hawks got back on track, winning the game 66-55.

Jesse MacDonald was the high-scorer of the game with 18. For Laurier, Kale Harrison followed with 13 points and Matthew Buckley had 10. Maxwell Allin (Chatham, Ont) contributed with eight points and 12 rebounds. For the Lions, Stefan Haynes (North York, Ont) had 16 points.

Tomorrow Laurier takes on Laurentian with the hopes of increasing their record to 3-5.

Post-game interviews Carleton/Lakehead game

Both Dave Smart and Scott Morrison offer some candid comments on last night's big Lakehead win over Carleton in Thunder Bay... with thanks to Mike Alyward from Thunder Bay.

Post-game interviews video

Also, here are Mike's thoughts on last night's game...

Great Group of Dudes Come Back Against Ravens

The biggest men’s basketball home game in Lakehead University history did not disappoint as the undefeated Thunderwolves scored a thrilling 76-73 comeback win over the No. 1 Carleton Ravens at the Thunderdome Friday night in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The win puts Lakehead’s record at 7-0 and keeps them in first place in the OUA West; two games ahead of No. 3 McMaster, Western, and Windsor; all with 5-2 records. The loss puts Carleton’s record at 6-1; atop the OUA East one game ahead of Ottawa who scored a big win of their own Friday night in Hamilton over McMaster.

Before I give my thoughts on tonight's Lakehead v. Carleton game; I am going to tell you where I'm coming from. I was the Sports Information Director at Lakehead for eight years and I consider Lakehead Head Coach Scott Morrison a good friend. The men’s hoops squad is the only Wolves team that remains near and dear to my heart as I watched Coach Morrison and the programme through some very lean years. So, I am very happy that the team is heading in a positive direction.

However, I am a proud alumnus of Carleton University and a great fan of the team and a great admirer of Head Coach Dave Smart. So, at tonight’s game I had my Lakehead Thunderwolves Fall jacket on (one of the very few benefits I ever received as SID); but I also had my very old Carleton Panda game t-shirt on; closest to my heart. (Now there’s a reference to the wildest event in Canadian sports history; think Grey Cup meets Mardi Gras meets Woodstock meets Gladiator; and that kind of sums up the Panda game; there was nothing like it in the whole world of sports and still isn’t).

During Friday's game; I applauded great plays by both teams; which drew strange looks from some Lakehead fans around me; me with my Wolves jacket on; they weren’t quite sure why I was clapping for a beautiful 3-point shot by a Ravens player.

So, for me, tonight’s game was win-win; whatever the result. I guess you could say I am biased for both teams. I was hoping for a close exciting game; and that’s what I and the many many fans jammed into the Thunderdome got.

I am not going to write a game story; as that can be obtained by Thunder Bay Media online, the Lakehead or Carleton websites, or by the great game stories written by Joe Scanlan (and my old Journalism prof); who covers the Ravens and travels with the team.

My Thoughts on The Game:
- The men’s game was set up by the earlier and exciting women’s game which saw Carleton win in OT; the Lakehead women’s third loss in OT; they have a 3-3 record.
- More fans poured in for the men’s game until all seats were full and the large upper level mezzanine around the Thunderdome was also completely packed; two or three deep in some places.
- The old fan traditions are back at Lakehead with Hecklers row in full force, “boring” being chanted by the crowd when the other team’s players are introduced, and the traditional tearing of the Lakehead student newspaper and throwing the resulting confetti in the air when the Wolves get their first basket. The fans were great all night long; even when the Wolves were struggling in the first half. The Thunderwolves again came from behind; which they have done in six of their seven wins. So far this season; their pattern is to start slow and fall behind; and then they slowly seem to adjust to the other team in the second and third quarter and then make a charge.
- Along those lines; Carleton was up by 10 at the half and seemed in control but the game began to change in the third before the exciting final quarter.
- Lakehead does seem to have quite a bit of depth and there really doesn’t seem to be much drop-off between their top 10 players. Lakehead again got scoring from lots of players.
- Carleton played some pretty ferocious defense; fouls hurt them in the second half and especially late in the game. Lakehead’s defense really picked up in the second half.
- Both teams were sloppy at times; with the Wolves committing 21 turnovers and Carleton 18. Carleton had 14 steals to Lakehead’s 5. The Ravens capitalized with 33 points off turnovers to Lakehead’s 18.
- The Raven’s Willy Manigat was very quick Friday night; picking the Wolves pockets 6 times. Lakehead’s Greg Carter may be faster (6 points, 7 assists, a block, and a steal) and is developing into a great all-around guard.
- Lakehead freshman Ryan Thomson was cool as a cucumber and his play, along with Joe Jones from Baltimore led the Lakehead comeback. If Thomson continues playing like this; OUA Rookie of the Year is a possibility. Jones is a real find; a fierce two-way competitor who is rapidly becoming a team leader for the Wolves.

Carleton’s Elliot Thompson was fantastic with 8 boards and a game-high 25 points and he has a beautiful three point stroke (3-5 from beyond the arc).
- Lakehead’s Yoosrie Salhia was also fantastic; helping lead the Wolves comeback charge with 18 points and 8 boards. I think he is one of the best players in the CIS; let alone the OUA; a 6’ 5” post/forward who can dominate a game when he gets his back to the basket and vacuuming up the rebounds. Salhia; not a great free throw shooter (5-8 on the night), also coolly hit his first of two foul shots to give Lakehead the final three-point lead at the end of the game; forcing Carleton to try and hit a trey in the final seconds to put the game into OT.
- The Ravens Tyson Hinz can also really shoot the ball; (11 points on 4-5 shooting) I think he should shoot more.
- Lakehead sophomore post Brendan King is adjusting to the CIS and he is going to be a very good player; 11 points and a block on the night. Wolves Freshman Matt Nagy (Bentonville, Arkansas) also showed some flashes.
- Carleton’s Kevin McLeery is a very good player. I enjoyed watching his hard-nosed style of play.
- I had the pleasure of standing in the mezzanine and watching the game with former OUA referee Wally Peterson. It was fascinating getting his insight into how the game was called as the game was in progress.
It was also fascinating watching Coach Smart coach a game live. Also interesting to see how Lakehead Coach Morrison has progressed in his coaching style; still fiery; but maybe only 11 on the amp scale (Spinal Tap reference) compared to his prevous 20. At age 32, he is already in his seventh season as a head coach.
- Carleton continues their tough road trip with a vist to Hamilton Saturday night as they take on the McMaster Marauders. That should be a great game as both teams will be in bad moods.
- Saturday night at the Thunderdome presents another marquee matchup as Lakehead will put their undefeated record on the line against a very strong Ottawa Gee Gees squad; fresh off their road win over Mac.
- Basketball is back in Thunder Bay!

Articles

Nice story on Matt Handsor of Windsor Lancers and his brother who is also a CIS athlete

Brothers eye championships

Brotherly love has its limits, even for siblings as close as Matt and Aaron Handsor.

Matt is a fifth-year shooting guard on the Windsor Lancers basketball team.

Aaron is a second-year defensive back on the Western Mustangs football team.

The McGregor graduates call or text every day. They sit in the stands rooting for each other.

But they refuse to cheer wearing the colours of the other's school.

"Maybe," Matt said, "when I graduate."

...Continue Reading

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Wolves upset Ravens

Give the Lakehead Thunderwolves some props.

Sure, the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team isn’t as powerful as last year’s championship team, but they’re still No. 1 in the nation.

But on Friday night it was the Wolves turn to shine in the battle of the OUA’s undefeated.

...Continue Reading

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Badgers too much for RMC

Joel Whitty and Anto Raic scored 15 points each to lead the Brock University Badgers to a 91-54 win over the Royal Military College Paladins in OUA basketball action in Kingston Friday.

Didi Mukenki and Brian Nahimana added 10 points each for the Badgers as all 12 players scored. The Brock bench accounted four 46 points.

"It was a good solid team effort," Brock coach Ken Murray said. "It's two wins in a row and, if we can win (tonight) against Queen's, it puts us in a good position heading into the second half of the season."

Brock led 48-24 at the half and improved to 3-4 in league play with the win.

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Capers basketball teams post big wins over Dalhousie

SYDNEY — It was a big performance for both Cape Breton University Capers basketball teams as they posted lopsided victories over the Dalhousie Tigers in Atlantic University Sport action Friday at Sullivan Field House.
On the women’s side, they won a convincing 86-62 triumph over the Tigers. The men followed that up with an equally impressive 84-62 victory.

...Continue Reading

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Bisons stun Vikes in OT

The University of Victoria Vikes men’s basketball team had a late fourth-quarter meltdown last night in Winnipeg and the scrappy Manitoba Bisons took advantage with an 84-83 Canada West overtime victory.

The Vikes led for most of the night, including 70-63 with 1:15 remaining in the game. The Bisons clawed their way back with some standout defence and Nathan Dixon tied it at 70-70 in the dying seconds with a three-pointer.

...Continue Reading

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Hoops phenom has no trouble getting noticed

St. Mike's Duane Notice moves the ball up court during high school basketball at Assumption high school.

Duane Notice barely scratched the surface of a deep talent pool Friday afternoon at the Assumption gym.

A 15-year-old phenom who cracked the roster of Canada's national junior basketball team this past summer, Notice didn't need to take control of a game his Toronto St. Michael's Blue Raiders, coached by former McMaster Marauder Jeff Zownir, won going away.

...Continue Reading

Konchalski Honoured in pre-game ceremony

Long-time X Coach Steve Konchalski was able to "say thanks a number of people who were influential throughout my career including my family, Coach Jack Dononhue and many others" during last night's pre-game ceremony in Antigonish that honoured Coach K's historic milestone of the most career wins in CIS/CIAU play, surpassing Brandon's Jerry Hemmings. "This is a team honour that is shared by the many players, assistant coaches and others who have helped make my career so special", added Konchalski, who was also very humbled and honoured that last night's opponents, Acadia Axemen, sat through the entire ceremony and later presented a gift to Konchalski to mark the occasion. Konchalski was a star at Acadia in the late 60's, early 70's and his teammate in Wolfville was current Acadia Athletic Director Brian Heaney. "It was a very classy gesture by Acadia to participate in the ceremony to the extent that they did", offered Konchalski. The current group of X-Men helped make the evening even more memorable for Coach K by handling the young yet emerging Axemen with a solid defensive effort in front of a packed-to-the-rafters house at X. Christian "T-Bear" Upshaw was again the catalyst defensively and offensively for the X-Men while 6'7" Alberto Rodriquez, who had been relatively inconsistent in the early season, broke loose for probably his most dominant game with 17 points which included 4 dunks. Konchalski was especially proud of 5'9" Will Silver who missed a quadruple double by 2 rebounds and 2 steals. "Will is an old school-type player who is mentally tough and just gets it done at both ends." For Acadia, 6'3" sophomore Casey Fox had some issues dealing with X's ball pressure defensively but 6'6" Alex Traikov, who Konchalski unsuccessfully recruited out of high school, was close to dominant inside with his toughness and skills and 6'6" freshman Owen Klassen was outstanding for the Axemen also. X gets a rematch with Dalhousie Tigers this afternoon at 4 PM Atlantic time (3 PM ET) SSN Canada webcast available. The shorthanded Tigers, missing 6'2" Andrew Sullivan, who apparently was interviewing for his Rhodes Scholarship yesterday, and 6'2" Marcus Wong (back injury), were defeated by Cape Breton Capers last night in Sydney as 6'3" Paris Carter stole the show with 18 points in 20 minutes and CBU's undersized post tandem 6'4" Phil Nkrumah and 6'6" Scott Jaspers-Fayer did a nice job on Dal's front line featuring 6'9" Joe Schow and 6'7" Sandy Viet. Sullivan should be ready to go today for Dal against X however Wong is probably unavailable, not making the trip to Sydney this weekend. Acadia looks to return to the win column tonight in Sydney as they face the Capers. Game available on CapersVision via webcast beginning at 8 PM Atlantic time (7 PM Eastern time; 4 PM Pacific time).

Calgary/SFU Preview from Wayne Thomas

The Clan dropped their first game of the regular season last night so this game loses a bit of the pre-game lustre however these are two veteran-laden teams so expect a good one in Burnaby. Note that 6'4" Matt Kuzminski was not in the Clan's lineup last night in the loss to Lethbridge.

Season in Clan Farewell

The Simon Fraser Clan are going out with a roar in their final year of play in Canada West. The 5-1 Clan have had their best start ever as they hit the floor Saturday against the visiting Calgary Dinos in the last game before the long exam/holiday break, and they hope to move into the NCAA Division II ranks next year with a championship on the shelf. There is, of course, a long road before that can happen, and the Dinos are one of the teams standing directly in their path come playoff time in March.

Saturday’s game matches the forward power of Bekkering, Sihota, and Fidler for Calgary against the perimeter strength of Simon Fraser’s 5th year scorers Sean Burke, Kevin Shaw, and Matt Kuzminski, all of whom measure 6’4”. Burke is the floor general for Coach Scott Clark, and he leads the Clan with 4 assists per game along with 13 ppg and 4.4 rebounds ... he is the consummate all-around player, who shows great composure and purpose. Shaw, an outstanding 3 pt. shooter (50% on 19/38) is the leading scorer at 14 ppg, while Kuzminski, a physical wing man scores 13 ppg and grabs 5 rebs. pg. The Clan shoot 45% as a team from the floor, while scoring at a 76.4 ppg clip and giving up a league best (tied with the Dinos) 66.8 ppg at the other end.

Inside, the Red and Blue are getting yeoman-like contributions from three big men, Eric Burrell, Chas Kok, and Greg Gillies. Burrell, a 6’7”, 235 lb., 3rd year, is the top rebounder at 8 per game, and he chips in about ppg as well. Kok, a more mobile 6’5”, 3rd yr. is a better scorer (11 ppg), and grabs 4,5 rebs., while Gillies, a 6’5”, 3rd, has impressed with rebounding (4.4 rpg) and some clutch scoring (8.6 ppg) as well.

Calgary’s challenge will be to keep the defensive intensity against SFU’s perimeter game, and limit the Clan to only one shot. Calgary should have the edge on the glass, and SFU can be turnover prone, so defensive pressure will be a major weapon for the Dinos. Calgary’s Canada West leading offense ( 86 ppg) will count on the ‘Big 3” of Bekkering, Fidler, and Sihota to break down a stubborn SFU defense, and the starting guards, Jarred Ogunbemi-Jackson and Jamie McLeod will be challenged to match the Clan 5th year stand-outs.

The game will be early Saturday ... 7:00 pm MST and will be webcast ... Live Video

Saskatchewan dominates Bears; other CW games recaped

Saskatchewan 98, Alberta 59 In Edmonton, the Huskies started the game on an 11-0 run and never looked back, holding the Bears without a field goal until only 40 seconds remained in the first quarter to lead by 22 after one and went on to crush Alberta, handing the Bears their fifth loss in a row. The 39-point win is the largest margin of victory all-time for Saskatchewan (10-5, 4-3 CW) over Alberta (6-10, 4-5 CW) for a game in Edmonton. 6'9" fifth-year post Clint Unsworth had a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds, scoring 14 points on 6-6 shooting in 1st quarter alone. Saskatchewan dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bears 50-33 including an incredible 25 on the offensive glass. The Huskies forced 21 Bear turnovers and took care of the ball themselves with only 10. Saskatchewan's strong, veteran guard tandem of 5'10" Showron Glover (22 pts, 4 asts, 2 stls.) and 5'11" Mike Linklater (18 pts, 3 stls) were also instrumental in the easy win. Alberta was led by Sahr Saffa and Khas Tokar who each finished with 12 points. Duncan Jones came off the Huskies bench to chip in with 11 points including 2 big dunks. The Huskies led by 27 at halftime and by 33 after three quarters. The teams meet again tonight in Edmonton. BOX SCORE

Manitoba 84, Victoria 83 (OT) ... In Winnipeg, Nathan Dixon's three-pointer at the end of regulation capped off a wild Manitoba comeback that brought the Bisons back from a seven point deficit with 1:07 remaining and then Dixon and Sean Maxwell took over in OT as the Bisons stole a win at home. Manitoba's regulation time comeback was aided by three Vike turnovers in the final minute. In the overtime, Dixon hit another crucial three-pointer and Sean Maxwell added two more baskets to finish with a game high 28 points. Maxwell and Dixon each hit four three-pointers and Manitoba made 12 overall. Jeff Cullen had four made three-pointers for the Vikes, and the fourth year guard matched his career high with 24 points. Cullen shot 9-17 and the Vikes shot 45.1 percent overall. Zac Andrus added 15 points and Wendell Thomas netted 10. Ryan MacKinnon had nine points and nine rebounds.... With thanks from Mike Tucker at UVic Sports Info. BOX SCORE

#2 UBC 89, Winnipeg 54 ... Josh Whyte had 16 points and 5 assists, and Blaine Labranche added 14 to lead the T-Birds to an easy romp on the road over the winless Wesmen. UBC led 45-28 at halftime and then outscored Winnipeg by 20 in the third quarter to lead by 37 after 3. Peter Lomuro had 19 for the Wesmen (0-8) in a game played in front of 907 fans. BOX SCORE

Brandon 93, Thompson Rivers 87

Fraser Valley 89, Regina 73 In Regina, the Cougars, coming off a pair of encouraging wins at Alberta last weekend, fell behind by 21 by halftime in losing to the Cascades. Fraser Valley went 9 for 18 from beyond the arc in the first half and were led by Zeon Gray with 23 points including 5/7 from 3. Four other Cascades hit double figures. Regina shot only 27% including 1 for 8 from 3 in the first half. BOX SCORE

#3 Calgary 87, Trinity Western 77

From Dinos Hoops News by Wayne Thomas... BOX SCORE

In a foul-filled game Friday in Langley, the Calgary Dinos (8-1) fought off the home-standing Spartans of Trinity Western, as Robbie Sihota, 5th year post, filled it up in the second half to finish with 23 points, and ice a big road win over a highly - rated Pacific opponent. Sihota hit one big shot after another to allow Calgary to pull away in the 4th quarter. After having taken a 26-12 first quarter lead, Calgary watched Trinity storm back to tie at 39 by half-time.

Calgary was in foul trouble for much of the second half, and eventually lost Jamie McLeod, Terrence Blake, and Dustin Reding with 5 each. Turnovers cost the Spartans dearly as their guards didn’t look comfortable against an aggressive Dinos defense. The Dinos had 18 pts. from Jarred Ogunbemi-Jackson, who also was everywhere at the defensive end. TWU had 17 from Jacob Doerksen, who had help from guard Daniel Horner, who was the only Spartan to hit from the outside.

...Continue Reading

Lethbridge 87, #8 Simon Fraser 73 OVERTIME

In what could turn out to be a season-defining win for the Horns, 6'2" Jeff Price had 25 points including 12 of his team's 22 points in overtime as Lethbridge handed SFU their first loss of the Canada West regular season in front of an announced crowd of 150 fans. The Pronghorns scored the first 10 points of the extra session which included a clutch 3 from 6'4" Randy Davis (16 points, 3-4 3's) and cruised to the win from there. Price went 15-16 from the free throw for the game and Lethbridge outrebounded the host Clan 50-38, winning despite shooting only 27% from downtown. SFU played without starting 6'4" guard Matt Kuzminski.

After a strong second quarter put the Clan up by 5 at the break, the Pronghorns had a big third quarter and extended their lead to as much as eight points early in the fourth. But back-to-back three-pointers from 6'6" Chas Kok (team-high 16 points coming off an ankle injury) and 5'11" reserve guard Kevin Pribilsky (11 points) followed by a lay-in from 6'7" Eric Burrell quickly tied the game. Later, Kok and Pribilsky again dropped consecutive threes and SFU took a 61-57 lead with 3:48 to go, completing an 18-8 quarter-long run. The Horns then finished regulation on an 8-4 run to tie it and took off in the OT.

Clan's pair of fifth-year guards 6'4" Kevin Shaw and 6'4" Sean Burke, who had been on a tear shooting the three ball for much of the early season, combined to go just 4 for 18 from downtown and the Clan turned the ball over 26 times while allowing Lethbridge to grab 15 offensive rebounds. 6'2" Danhue Lawrence added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Lethbridge as Lawrence and 6'6" Robin Cooper combined for 7 "o" boards.

BOX SCORE

Friday 27 November 2009

Calgary 39, Trinity Western 39 Halftime

A 20-5 run to end the second quarter led by 6'8" Jacob Doerksen, who hit a buzzer-beating 3 among his double digit first half point total and 6'5" Tonner Jackson has brought the Spartans back to within 6 after trailing by as many as 17. The Dinos used strong pressure "d" to create turnovers to take a comfortable lead over the host Spartans early. Calgary jumped out to a 28-11 lead but 6'7" Jason Keegstra hit back-to-back 3's, part of a 6-1 TWU run that ignited the crowd but Spartans Calvin Westbrook turned it over bringing the ball up, leading to a Ross Bekkering breakaway slam and later Robbie Sihota knocked in a long 3 off a pick and pop and the Spartans were forced to call timeout with about 5 minutes left in the first half down 15. But Doerksen led the comeback, highlighted by a three from the right wing that beat the buzzer. Bekkering picked up 2 quick fouls late in the half and sat out the last 2 minutes. Calgary's 5'11" freshman Jerrod Jackson has shown that he is a legitimate high level point guard in Canada West, handling and going past defenders, getting into the lane, finding teammates and playing with the savvy of a veteran although Jackson did pick up a technical late in the second quarter for what appeared to be trash talking.

Watch the game LIVE!

Canada West scores thus far

Quick look at CW... we'll have a full recap tomorrow morning... one upset as Manitoba knocks off UVic by 1 in Winnipeg.

UBC@Wpg 89-54
UVic@Man 83-84 (ot)
TRU@Bran 87-93 webcast
UFV@Reg 89-73

Bishop's 77, Concordia 71

Freshman Onnex Blackwood's lay-in with 4 1/2 minutes remaining gave Bishop's the lead for good, Tim Hunter later followed with a big 3 and a quick steal to help ice the game and the Gaiters grabbed a huge win at home to vault themselves back into the playoff hunt in Quebec. Earlier, Blackwood, who led all scorers with 21 points, had given Bishop's an 8 point lead 1:30 into the fourth quarter, but the Stingers had one run left, going on an 11-3 run to tie the game culminated in an Evens Laroche lay-up. Laroche had 14 and 6'1" guard Decee Krah had 12 for Concordia who hurt themselves going only 55% from the free throw line, including 1-8 in the fourth quarter and 8-16 overall in the second half. Conversely 5'11" Orien Green was solid from the line, going 4-4 in the final minute part of an 8-9 effort that contributed to his 20 points. Bishop's shot 62% from the field in the second half, overcoming 16 Stinger offensive rebounds. BOX SCORE

Lakehead 76, Carleton 73

If the nation didn't believe the T-Wolves were for real before tonight, Lakehead left little doubt that this is the case by shocking the #1 team in the nation at home in the Thunderdome tonight. Once again, as has been the case all regular season, the T-Wolves dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring Carleton 20-9 to win by 3.... MORE...
Lakehead once again overcame a 4th quarter deficit, this time against the #1 team in the country to outlast Carleton 76-73
Thunderdome was at capacity
Carleton capitalized in the first half on sloppy turnovers and poor defensive rotations by lakehead
2nd half lakehead did a better job going inside and started knocking down some outside shots

Lakehead
Yoosrie Salhia 19 points 8 rebounds
Joe Jones 16 points 2 rebounds
Brendan King 11 points
Ryan Thomson 10 points 7 assists, 3 rebs

Carleton
Elliot Thompson 25 points, 5-8 from 3pt
Cole Hobin 12 points
Tyson Hinz 11 points

Lakehead Coach Scott Morrison on the victory... "There is no question that was a huge win for us. While it only counts for two points in the standings, our team now believes we are capable of beating any team with the right type of focus, intensity and execution. We were not perfect tonight, but luckily neither was Carleton and we were able squeeze out a tough one. The trick now is to get re-focused on a hot Ottawa team tomorrow night and do everything we can to finish the semester on a winning note."

AUS Tonight: CBU dominates Dal; X handles Acadia

St. FX 89, Acadia 72 Christian Upshaw led 5 X-Men in double figures with 27 points and added 10 assists as the St. FX jumped out to double digit lead at halftime, held off a second half Axemen run and coasted to a win at home in Antigonish. 5'9" Will Silver added 12 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists and 8 steals in a wonderful all-round effort for X, 6'7" Alberto Rodriquez had 17 points/6 rebounds and 6'5" Jeremy Dunn added 13. 6'5" Alex Traikov had a strong game inside to lead Acadia with 22 points and 16 rebounds while 6'6" freshman Owen Klassen went 6 for 8 from the floor for 16 points and 7 boards to lead Acadia. Star 6'3" wing Casey Fox turned the ball over 8 times for Acadia, finishing with 11 points. BOX SCORE

Cape Breton 84, Dalhousie 62 The Capers held Dal to 32% shooting and led by 26 after three quarters, handing the Tigers their second consecutive loss in an easy win. 6'3" Paris Carter and 6'1" Jimmy Dorsey each had 4 3's and together led the Capers with 18 points apiece on the night. Carter knocked in 4 of 6 from downtown in only 20 minutes as Coach Jim Charters gave 11 players significant playing time. 5'11" Tremaine Fraser had 16 points for CBU. Simon Farine had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Tigers but shot only 6 for 19 from the floor. BOX SCORE

Martin TImmerman's Waterloo/Laurentian report

Win or lose Martin does a great job with all Waterloo home games...

Warriors Win With Hot Shooting The Waterloo Warriors used a hot shooting night to defeat the visiting Laurentian Voyaguers 91-70 on Friday night. The Warriors shot 52% from the field including 13 of 21 for 62% from the three point line. They added an 80% night from the free throw line. The Warriors started quickly, building a 10-5 lead after 3 minutes, making it 26-15 after the first period and holding a 52-29 lead at half time. Cam McIntyre with 12 and Manny Pasquale with 8 led Waterloo and Laurentian in first half scoring. To start the second half Waterloo briefly extended the lead to 26 points before Laurentian hit some threes and made some stops on Waterloo. Laurentian narrowed the gap to 15 early in the fourth quarter, but Waterloo re-grouped to bring it back over 20. Both team emptied the bench for the last three minutes with the game decided. Cam McIntyre led four Warriors in double figures with 21 points. Luke Kieswetter and Jesse Tipping had 13 points each. Alan Goodhoofd was just short of a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Ben Frisby sat out the game for Waterloo, still suffering from an injury suffered in Ottawa last weekend. For Laurentian, Manny Pasquale ended with 14 points and Jamie Campbell added 11 points. Next up for Waterloo is the York Lions at 8:00pm on Saturday. York is 1-6 in OUA play, losing to Laurier on Friday night. The games are part of a Think Pink fund raiser and awareness weekend at Waterloo. Men's and women's hockey and basketball teams provide the sporting events.

Laurier 66, York 55; other OUA scores

The Golden Hawks led by 20 after three quarters and coasted to an 11 point win over the Lions in Waterloo. 6'2" Jesse MacDonald led the way with 18 points, going 5-11 from 3 point land while 6'6" freshman Max Allin added 8 points and 12 rebounds. 6'10" Stefan Haynes led York (1-6) with 16 points. York attempted only 3 3's all night, making 2.

Waterloo 91, Laurentian 70 Jumping out to a 52-29 lead by halftime, the Warriors, playing without injured wing Ben Frisby, rode a 21 point effort from Cam McIntyre to dominate the Vees in Kitchener. McIntyre went 5-7 from downtown and 6'1" Luke Kieswetter was a perfect 3 for 3 part of a 13-21 effort from beyond the arc overall for Waterloo.

Guelph 83, Queen's 57 Jay Mott and Jonathan Moscatelli combined to go 9 for 18 from three point land and the Gryphs built a 22 point lead after 3 quarters to comfortably defeat the host Gaels. Mott finished with 25 points while Moscatelli, breaking a shooting slump, added 20 for Guelph. Mitch Leger had 20 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes before fouling out in the fourth quarter for Queen's.

Brock 91, RMC 54

Western 80, Ryerson 69

The Mustangs broke open a tight game with their defense, holding the host Rams to only 7 fourth-quarter points and forcing 6'7" Boris Bakovic into 8-22 shooting to win by 11 in Toronto. 6'5" Andrew Wedemire led the way with 23 points (9-14 shooting) and 7 rebounds while steady 6'1" point Ryan Barbeau again had a solid 19 point, 9 rebound, 3 assist effort. Freshman Zac Angus had 12 points in 29 minutes in a strong supporting effort for Western.

Windsor 61, Toronto 60

The Lancers came back from an early third quarter 10 point deficit with some tremendous work inside by 6'7" Nigel Johnson-Tyghter to come back to edge the host Varsity Blues. Windsor's constant full court pressure appeared to unnerve the Blues at points as Toronto shot only 27% for the game even with grabbing 24 offensive rebounds (10 by 6'6" Drazen Glizic). 6'8" Nick Snow was in constant foul trouble for Toronto as the athletic Lancer front line led by Johnson-Tyghter and 6'7" Andre Smyth had several second chances at key points in the game. More to follow...

Ottawa 65, McMaster 63 in OVERTIME

6'4" fifth-year guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe hit a twisting floater with 4.1 seconds remaining in overtime as the Gee-Gees outlasted the Marauders in a very exciting game in Hamilton. With the score tied and just over 20 seconds remaining, Mac's star 6'6" forward Keenan Jeppessen (13 points) had his shot in traffic blocked and the result was Ottawa ball out of bounds. After the Gee-Gees struggled to get the ball in-bounds and almost turned it over, Gibson-Bascombe (18 points) took possession at mid court, drove left around Jermaine DeCosta and then hit a teardrop over the outstretched arm of 6'7" Ryan Christie to allow Ottawa to survive after giving up a 16 point first half lead. Jeppessen's shot at the buzzer to tie was not close however the fifth-year forward from Stoney Creek put on an All-Canadian performance down the stretch of regulation and early in OT, scoring the first five points of the extra frame when it appeared the Marauder comeback would lead to an overtime win. But the Gee-Gees stiffened defensively and made some big shots, most noteable a three by 6'6" Nemanja Belatic to bring Ottawa back within 1.

Ottawa dominated much of the first half, holding Mac to only 12 points midway through the second quarter, leading by as much as 16 before a late run got the Marauders back to within 11 at halftime. An 8-2 Mac run got the game back to within 5 but Gibson-Bascombe was able to knife into the lane and feed Ottawa's bigs for easy layups and 6'6" Warren Ward had some acobatic finishes to enable the Gee-Gees to maintain their leads. Ottawa led by 5 with about 3 minutes remaining but DeCosta hit a huge 3 from the left wing and then Jeppessen tied the game with about a minute left to force the extra session.

Although Gibson-Bascombe had another tremendous game, Mac's Scott Laws did a very solid job on the star guard in the second half allowing Mac to stay close. 6'6" Ryan Christie, who was a DNP in the past 3 games for Mac, got into early foul trouble and looked sluggish at the start but was on the floor for much of the Marauders comeback. 6'3" freshman Victor Raso was solid for Mac, dropping a pair of long 3's in the third quarter to help kickstart his team.

The Gee-Gees jumped out to leads as large as 16 in the first half as Gibson-Bascombe started quickly and 6'1" Max Clarkson did yeomen's work scrapping around the offensive glass while Baletic was also solid. More importantly, the Gee-Gees did a great job getting back in transition and defending Mac in the quarter court and, had it not been for another outstanding half from Jeppessen (plus some very poor Mac free-throw shooting), the lead may have been higher. Christie looked sluggish, giving up several second chances on the defensive glass, missing 4 free throws and had to go to the bench with his 3rd foul with about 5 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Mac got back in the game late in the quarter as Ottawa committed a series of fouls, at least 3 of which were 94 feet from their basket.

Watch the game (very good feed) via webcast

Lakehead / Carleton game on LIVE! webcast

Got a note from Coach Morrison... tonight's game between the last two undefeated teams in the OUA: Carleton and Lakehead will be broadcast

Webcast link

Big Night in OUA Interlocking Play

Several tremendous matchups tonight in the OUA, highlighted by #1 Carleton visiting #9 Lakehead as the lone remaining undefeated teams in Ontario square off in Thunder Bay. A nice battle at the post should ensue as 6'6" sophomore Yoosrie Salhia is likely to matchup with fifth-year 6'8" All-Canadian candidate Kevin McCleery in a battle of athleticism and explosiveness vs. finesse and strength. Carleton's ability to hold 5'9" Greg Carter in check, likely matching up with 6'0" Willy Manigat, in a battle of Ottawa-bred guards, should go a long way in determining the outcome. Unfortunately, there is no coverage of this great game anywhere that I know of.

In Hamilton, Ottawa Gee-Gees (4-2) visit McMaster (5-1). The Marauders expect to have 6'7" freshman forward Ryan Christie back in the lineup after a three game absence, which will aid Mac's defensive paint area presence and rebounding. A nice matchup between a pair of All-Canadian candidates 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe of Ottawa and the Marauders 6'6" Keenan Jeppessen, should be a treat for Hamilton fans. Again, no known live media coverage of this event other than Dale Stevens' very strong and consistent tweets on Twitter.

In downtown Toronto, Western Mustangs (4-2) face the improving Ryerson Rams (3-3) in Kerr Hall. 6'7" Boris Bakovic continues to take the necessary steps to bring the Rams to contender status with his scoring, rebounding and leadership. The Mustangs fifth-year wing/forward 6'6" Andy Wedemire finally appears to be coming into his own as the offensive leader at Western, supported by slick third year guard Ryan Barbeau, who is strong enough to drive into traffic and create but can also knock down 3's - Barbeau has allowed the 'Stangs to hardly skip a beat at the point most nights after 6'1" Matt Curtis graduated after last season. This game is available on Ryerson webcast . #10 U of T Varsity Blues host Windsor Lancers with Toronto welcoming back 6'2" fifth-year senior Rob Paris from the suspended list. Expect Windsor to push the tempo defensively, pressing up on the ball and taking away the passing lanes in an attempt to create offense out of their "d" and, more importantly, try to take the Blues out of their patterned offensive sets. Toronto's ability to guard the ball and convert in transition will be important. This game may be available on SSN Canada .

Fans in the Kitchener-Waterloo area get a look at a pair of improving OUA East teams this weekend as York (1-5) visits Laurier (1-5) tonight in a game available on HAWKCAST LIVE!. Both teams have lost their share of tough games in the early season and both love to play up tempo. The Lions have been using a zone defense more frequently lately and the Hawks have several sharpshooters in 6'2" Jesse MacDonald, 6'5" Kale Harrison and recently emerging 6'6" freshman Max Allin who love to jack it when open. York's diminutive guard David Tyndale will battle with fellow sophomore point Travis Berry. Across town at the Waterloo PAC, the Warriors, licking their wounds from a pair of losses in Ottawa last weekend including a pasting at the hands of Carleton Ravens, return home to face Laurentian. The Warriors had a difficult time stopping Carleton last weekend as the Ravens were able to play from inside/out and knock shots down. Waterloo lost the services of 6'3" Ben Frisby, who had 19 first-half points against the Ravens, for the latter part of the game with what looked like a severe ankle injury; no word on whether Frisby, who may be Waterloo's most consistent overall offensive player, will be ready to go this weekend. The Vees rely on strong outside shooting from the Pasquale brothers (Manny and Isiah) and are defending with much more purpose however if 6'6" Matas Trilis, a hard-working fifth-year post, can be impactful at both ends, he could be a difference maker working against 6'9" fellow fifth-year post Matt Hayes.

In Kingston tonight, Guelph Gryphons, who have simply been snake-bitten down the stretch of most games this season, get a chance for redemption on the road, facing Queen's Gaels in the Bartlett Gym. Guelph's young front line will be tested as All-Canadian candidate 6'6" Mitch Leger, with his added strength and ability to play either inside or out, looks to lead the way. Gryphs 6'4" fifth-year wing Jay Mott can keep Guelph in games with his shot-making and Guelph is still looking for the type of production 6'4" Jonathan Moscatelli gave them early in his career. 6'2" Mike Patrella should engage in a nice battle with 6'2" fifth-year guard Baris Ondul of the Gaels. Brock also meets RMC Paladins tonight in Kingston.

Also a pair of games on Saturday afternoon,

3:00 pm Laurentian vs. Laurier: Vees Head Coach Shawn Swords played five seasons at Laurentian under current Laurier Head Coach Peter Campbell and on Swords current Laurentian roster is 6'5" wing Jamie Campbell, who happens to be Peter's son. Both teams need this victory and expect a wide-open affair. Also at 3:00 pm Guelph is at RMC.

Latest Jim Thomas Reports from the Hoop-la

The Thomas Report - 11.22.09
Written by Jim Thomas on Sunday, 22 November 2009

The Carleton Ravens have looked vulnerable in a couple of games this season which has led some bloggers on the net to downgrade their chances of winning another CIS title. However, the thirty point massacre over a strong Windsor team on their home court last weekend should have silenced their critics fast. Until someone actually defeats the Ravens in league play, they are undoubtedly still the cream of the crop and the odds on favourite to again win the championship in March.

...Continue Reading

Friday Articles

Excellent piece in the Kelowna newspaper on Simon Fraser Clan. No word on whether or not 6'5" Chas Kok, a big piece of SFU's success thus far, will be available this weekend after an injury to his leg last Friday night against Fraser Valley kept him out of the Saturday game.

Canny Clan unselfish and unbeaten; Team adopts selfless team-first Princeton offence and starts 5-0

In the parlance of their new offence, you could say that someone left the back door open for the Simon Fraser Clan to grab a spot in the CIS national men's basketball rankings.

With its newly-installed Princeton offence, that time-honoured half-court set that succeeds when unselfish, fundamentally-sound team play is allowed to flourish, the undefeated Clan (5-0) have made a back-door cut to the No. 10 position nationally. It hosts the Lethbridge Pronghorns (4-4) and No. 4-ranked Calgary Dinos (7-1) Friday (8:15 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m.) respectively in its final two Canada West league games before the conference's annual December break.

...Continue Reading

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Basketball V-Reds out to get wins

It may not be visible to the untrained eye, but the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds men's basketball team is, in fact, getting better.

It's obvious everywhere but in the win column.

The V-Reds, in Year 2 of a rebuilding project under sophomore coach Brent Baker, are off to an 0-5 start to the Atlantic University Sport Men's Basketball Conference season, a situation they hope to rectify when they host the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers - also winless at 0-3 - Saturday night and Sunday afternoon at The Pit. Game times are 8 p.m. and 3 p.m., on the back half of a hoop twinbill.

...Continue Reading

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Coach K focused on adding victories

X-Men head coach Steve Konchalski takes a 737-399 record into games this weekend.

Steve Konchalski will be honoured tonight for 35 years of success.

But what he really wants is to add to his awesome win total by hanging a loss on the Acadia Axemen.

Konchalski’s X-Men tangle with the Axemen tonight at Oland Centre in a clash of the last two unbeaten teams in the men’s basketball ranks in the AUS. The veteran X-Men are 3-0, all on the road, while the young and talented Axemen are 4-0.

...Continue Reading

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Vikes look for strong first-half finish

Both University of Victoria Vikes basketball teams will be looking to shore up their defences in the final Canada West games before the Christmas break.

The Vikes teams both recorded splits last weekend on the road against the Trinity Western Spartans. The Vikes are the visitors tonight against the Manitoba Bisons and the Winnipeg Wesmen tomorrow.

...Continue Reading

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Regina Cougars webcasting... Some Cougars athletics fans may have already noticed that they can now see some U of R games live on the world wide web. This is the first year the university has offered live webcasting of basketball and volleyball at www.reginacougars.com.

Adam Geiger provides the play-by-play for both sports while former Cougar Chris Knoop provides the colour analysis for volleyball and U of R sports information director Braden Konschuh handles the same for basketball.

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Doerksen Canada West athlete of the week

Trinity Western's Jacob Doerksen knocks down a Victoria Vikes defender and his shot during Saturday's Canada West men's basketball game.

Scoring nearly 30 points per game has earned Jacob Doerksen the Canada West male athlete of the week award.

Trinity Western’s Doerksen accounted for 24 points, 40 per cent of his team’s offence, in a 62-59 loss to the visiting Victoria Vikes on Friday in Canada West men’s basketball action.

And he followed that up by scoring 35 points as the Spartans dropped Victoria 83-71 on Saturday night.

...Continue Reading

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Laurentian cagers ready to hit the road today

Hoping to extend their three-game winning streak, the Laurentian University Lady Vees basketball team travels to Waterloo for a pair of games against the Waterloo Warriors and Laurier Golden Hawks.

...Continue Reading

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Redmen gallop over Gaiters in team's final home game

Thornhill's career-high 35 points propels McGill to victory

...Continue Reading

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Thursday 26 November 2009

Weekend Previews and other articles

Larry Moko of the Hamilton Spectator previews McMaster's weekend at home against Ottawa and Carleton

Mac men in tough facing Carleton, Ottawa cagers

Keenan Jeppesen of the McMaster Marauders was selected an NCAA Division I all-star during his basketball stint with the Brown University Bears. He later transferred to Western, helping the Mustangs win back-to-back Ontario West Division titles.

...Continue Reading

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Memories of the Bucket Heads from the 90's at Brock...

Isaac's 21st century Army

Brock Badgers Athletics has been prospering since its existence, winning close to 30 national titles and 50 provincial titles. This success has granted them a respectable status in the Ontario and Canadian university sports scenes. However, one major downfall has been subpar fan support. With a student population of 17,000-plus, Brock's sport following could be described as mediocre at best.

...Continue Reading

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H1N1 could halt Cougars' schedule at any moment

The University of Regina Cougars women’s basketball team’s games are expected to go ahead this weekend, but with H1N1 having an effect on universities across the country, most teams know contests could be postponed at a moment’s notice.

...Continue Reading

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UBC Injury Update: UBC takes a trip to Winnipeg for games Friday against the University of Winnipeg and Saturday vs Manitoba. The Birds will be missing senior forward Brent Malish (ankle), but will be welcoming back senior forward Blain LaBranche from the injured list.