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The OUA West took the interlock portion of the schedule during which 64 total games were played, winning 37 games and losing 27. Putting the standings together can provide one perspective of the top teams in the OUA (and the also-rans thus far - the three teams with the worst records in the OUA are all from the OUA East).

Lakehead 7-1
Carleton 7-1
Windsor 6-2
Ottawa 6-2
Western 5-3
Waterloo 5-3
Toronto 5-3
McMaster 5-3
Guelph 3-5
Queen's 3-5
Brock 3-5
Ryerson 3-5
Laurier 3-5
Laurentian 2-6
York 1-7
RMC 0-8

Lakehead's tremendous first-half has been widely lauded here and in other forums and the underlying key to their great start was how well they were able to turn it on in the fourth quarter and down the stretch of games, especially on the road when the T-Wolves came back at Queen's, at York and at Laurentian to pull out wins, the mark of a team learning quickly how to close games out. Lakehead's depth has been key and with Andrew Hackner leading the OUA in three-point shooting (12-22 55%), plus 4 others with double-digit 3's made, the T-Wolves can shoot their way back into games... With arguably the top recruiting class in Ontario this side of St. Catharines, much was made in the pre-season around how Windsor Lancers would integrate their stable of newcomers. In 6'0" Josh Collins, the Lancers have a point guard with savvy and the confidence of his teammates who has produced (greater than 2:1 assist to turnover ratio while playing more than 18 mpg); Collins gets closer each game to taking this team over at the lead guard spot. Freshman Enrico DiLoreto has also been productive, averaging just over 9 ppg in 21 mpg and is quickly becoming acclimated to this level of play. However, the Lancer veterans continue to lead the way, especially Isaac Kuon, who averages 16 ppg while shooting a solid 46% from the floor, while inside Nigel Johnson-Tyghter and Andre Smyth have been instrumental especially in tight games at Ottawa, at Toronto and at Ryerson, all of which the Lancers have pulled out. Last season, Lancers overall decision-making on the offensive end down the stretch of the season was not of championship calibre and as such Windsor fell short of reaching the Nationals - whether or not this element comes from the vets or one or two freshmen this season, it should be the key factor determining Windsor's success... McMaster Marauders received an early Christmas present late in the summer when 6'6" Keenan Jeppessen was accepted into the MBA program at Mac and was thus able to play his fifth and final year of eligibility at home and clearly the slick swingman has not disappointed, authoring an All-Canadian-type season to this point. Jeppessen is the only Marauder averaging double figures, leading the OUA West in scoring at 21.6 ppg, adding 9.1 rpg among the league leaders. Mac does have several other weapons including 6'1" Tyrell Vernon, 6'7" Cam Michaud and scrappy 6'3" freshman Victor Raso, who injects energy off the bench and is not afraid to take big shots, however consistency has been an issue for the entire supporting cast. After a strong start in the pre-season, 5'11" Jermaine DeCosta's game fell off rather dramatically once OUA play kicked off and while 6'4" Scott Laws is emerging into a very good lock-down defender, he will need to contribute offensively as well. The Marauders also need a more consistent effort from 6'7" Ryan Christie and may have to deal with some roster churn if 6'8" Mouchtar Diaby and 6'9" Terry Licorish join the roster after the break...The very young Brock Badgers, with a starting lineup comprised entirely of first and second year players, are getting better by the day, led by their 6'4" CIS Freshman-of-the-Year candidate Clinton Springer-Williams and the top freshman in the CIS last season, 6'1" Didi Mukendi. However, Coach Ken Murray has lamented on several occasions what has plagued this maturing group: taking care of the ball and the stats are telling as Brock is among OUA leaders in turning it over. Brock has maybe the highest potential athletic forward combination in the country with 6'9" freshman Brian Nahimana and 6'6" sophomore Mark Gibson. Nahimana especially has shown dramatic improvement even since the start of the regular season at both ends with his length and long arms. As has been the case over the years, Murray likes to ride his first five - all starters average at least 23 mpg with sophomore point guard Joel Whitty (36.1), Mukendi (33.5) and Springer-Williams (35.4) all among OUA leaders in minutes played. Experience usually becomes a key in the second half of the season and with the arrival of 6'1" Mike Cruickshank, an OCAA transfer from Humber College Hawks, the Badgers get an athletic, battle-tested wing/guard who has been through the wars playing in meaningful, rival-type games against the likes Sheridan Bruins. Expect Cruickshank's presence to allow Murray to lighten up minutes for Whitty and Mukendi... The veteran-laden Waterloo Warriors finished the first half strong with a pair of resounding wins at home despite not having probably their best overall player 6'4" Ben Frisby, in the lineup. Frisby had one of the better halves ever against a Carleton Ravens team this decade, scoring 19 first-half points in what turned out to be a blowout Warrior loss in Ottawa but then injured his ankle later in that game and missed the final weekend. 6'3" Cam McIntyre shouldered much of the offensive load in Frisby's absence, highlighted by a 7-13 performance and a season-high 27 points against York. It was McIntyre's third 20+ point performance including 21 at home in a close win against Queen's. The Warriors are undefeated at the PAC this season including 4-0 in league play and a perfect 3-0 mark at their Naismith tournament... Laurier Golden Hawks need to get much more consistent offensive production from their 6'5" all-OUA West forward Kale Harrison, who has only scored in double figures once after starting the season with 23 at Toronto, 17 at Ryerson and 20 vs. RMC. 6'2" Jesse MacDonald, a fifth-year veteran who plays with much confidence, was the best overall Hawk in the first half while Laurier has an emerging conference all-star of the future in 6'6" Max Allin, who brings one of the best all-round games for a freshmen in the country, with his combination of scoring (10.6 ppg including 13-34 38% 3's), rebounding (7.5 rpg) and intangibles like shot blocking, grabbing loose balls and court savvy... With two last-second losses and two others (3 point loss to Toronto, 5 point loss to Ryerson) that could have gone either way, 3-5 Guelph Gryphons are a couple of breaks away from being near the top of the OUA West standings. 6'4" fifth-year wing Jay Mott is Guelph's top offensive threat at 21.1 ppg incuidng 28 3's (42.4% from downtown) however a better (and healthier) second half is expected from 6'4" Jonathan Moscatelli who again missed games yet still averaged 15.8 ppg in the five he played. More consistent point guard play from 6'1" Mike Patrella, especially at key points in the game, may help close out ball games more effectively however Patrella is showing signs in his third year that he could emerge into an all-conference guard when all is said and done. The development of Guelph's young big guys is very important if the Gryphs are to contend for the West crown... After heavy graduation losses from his CIS Final Four team of last season, Western's Brad Campbell has done one of the better coaching jobs in the OUA West thus far with only two seniors, including 6'5" Andrew Wedemire, who has finally been assigned the lead offensive role and the slick forward has delivered with five 20+ point games this season already. Almost unstoppable in the post one-on-one with his quickness, Wedemire (18 ppg/4th in OUA West + 7.3 rpg/5th in OUA West) has drawn double teams consistently and has developed the ability to get teammates involved for open looks. 6'1" Ryan Barbeau (15 ppg) continues to develop as the primary lead guard. Always a three-point shooting threat playing off former guard Matt Curtis, Barbeau can still shoot it, especially when Wedemire is doubled and as the ultra-strong point develops his mid-range game and ability to get to the rim, Western's offensive possibilites open up further. 6'6" Garrett Olexiuk (11.6 ppg/6.1 rpg) continues his maturation as a top-of-the-rotation guy. Both newcomer imports, 6'1" Marcus Barnett (9.1 ppg/5.1 rpg; transfer from NCAA D1 William & Mary) and 6'5" David Harder, have been rotation contributors. Barnett had 24 points in a loss at Ottawa while 6'1" Jason Milliquet provides his usual defense-stretching three point range; expect the veteran guard from Sarnia to shoot it better than 34% from three in the second half in this his fifth and final season... While remaining near-dominating at home thus far, Carleton Ravens have shown that they have come back to the pack this season especially on the road with a loss and two other close calls in OUA play. 6'8" Kevin McCleery has established himself as the best pure post player in Canada, culminating in a dominant effort at McMaster to end the first half. When the Ravens are right, the offense goes through McCleery who is virtually unstoppable when no double comes and is very savvy at finding open shooters or cutters when a second or third defender comes. 6'3" Elliott Thompson has emerged as one of the more consistent Ravens offensively while 6'4" Cole Hobin has been a lock-down defender all season. 6'1" Willy Manigat, working through the loss of his father during the first half, provides energy off the bench and usually strong on-the-ball "d". Carleton needs to get more out of 5'11" Mike Kenny, who was tremendous in his first three seasons playing off other decision-makers but struggled in the first half as the main man at the point. The best of young guys is 6'5" Tyson Hinz however 6'3" Anthony Ashe is also emerging as a three-point shooting threat... Unlike many prior seasons, Ottawa Gee-Gees are getting it done with consistent defense and rebounding. Ottawa has allowed the fewest points in the OUA and has one of the better rebounding margins. Ottawa's underrated set of bigs, led by 6'8" Louis Gauthier and supported well by 6'9" Mathieu Riendeau and 6'8" Matt Michaud have been terrific, especially cleaning the defensive glass and also finishing numerous slick looks inside from Ottawa's 6'4" All-Canadian Josh Gibson-Bascombe, who is enjoying another banner season. The Gee-Gees would like a bit more consistency from 6'3" fifth-year wing Donnie Gibson who is their main perimeter threat while 6'6" Warren Ward is a tremendous scorer in the open court and when an appropriate one-on-one matchup presents itself. Ward, only a sophomore, continues to work to improve his decision making and defensive rotations. 6'1" Max Clarkson has been very productive playing both guard spots and brings a scrappy, aggressive edge at both ends... In the pre-season, Toronto Varsity Blues overcame injuries with consistent production deep into their bench. Fortunately, the Blues got healthy toward the end of the first half, especially 6'8" Nick Snow who had several games becoming of an all-conference forward and the usual great effort from their veteran back-court of 6'1" Nick Magalas and 6'2" Rob Paris, because that bench that had been so productive lagged. Underrated 6'6" Drazen Glizic continues to improve steadily, especially as a big-time rebounder (9.9 rpg) while 6'6" Andrew Wasik is able to take advantage of certain matchups. The veteran-laden Blues also received some strong efforts from 6'3" Patrick Sewell. The Blues, who lose the majority of rotation to graduation after this season, have already moved to restock their roster with a verbal commitment from 6'4" Alex Hill, the former Toronto Eastern Commerce high school star who accepted a scholarship from Cornell University but has decided to return home to play for the Blues, eligible next season. Expect Hill to evolve into a Rob Paris-type wing scorer who can stroke it beyond the three point arc... In 6'6" Mitch Leger, the Queen's Golden Gaels (did I get that correct ?) have their first All-Canadian-type player probably since current Carleton coach Dave Smart led the country in scoring in the early 90's. Leger demands attention in the low post and out to the three point line and his added bulk has made him very difficult to muscle. 6'2" Baris Ondul is another tough, scrappy guard who helped the Gaels finish the first half strong with a buzzer-beating three against Brock, a shot which was filled with controversy, first over the amount of time remaining and second whether or not Ondul travelled on the play. Queen's had a very impressive road win at Windsor in a game they won comfortably however a last-second loss to Lakehead and a blow out loss to Guelph, both at home where they are 1-3 in league play, prevented the Gaels from a top two first-half finish in the East. Regardless, the Gaels should always be in games with their team-oriented offense and ability to consistently prevent teams from getting to the rim... After a winless vs. CIS pre-season, Ryerson Rams opened the OUA regular season with a pair of home wins against Waterloo and Laurier. The Rams then lost 5 of their last 6 games of the first half however four of the five losses (at Brock, at Lakehead, Windsor, Western) all came down to the final minutes and Ryerson did come from behind to win at Guelph. Clearly, 6'7" Boris Bakovic (22.9 ppg/10.6 rpg) leads this group offensively, having another All-Canadian calibre season while playing over 37 minutes per game. 6'1" sophomore Josh Budd (13.6 ppg/43% 3's/33.5 mpg) has shown signs of becoming an all-conference guard down the road with consistency from game-to-game the next step necessary to that goal. Budd needs to be the catalyst in improving Rams average of more than 17 turnovers per game (3rd worst in OUA). Maybe the most improved Ram is 6'10" fifth-year center Joey Imbrogno who has been much more diligent with his preparation and fitness and it has showed, especially on the defensive end with his ability to block or alter shots. Imbrogno has battled some minor injuries. 6'3" Ryan McNeilly is making decisions becoming of an experienced upper classman. In general, Ryerson has made a more impactful committment to defending and rebounding and should be right there to host a home playoff game in the East... Whispers around the CIS scene have York Lions Head Coach Bob Bain contemplating retirement as early as the end of this season. Bain, now in his 35th year, is the Dean of OUA coaches and has had a wonderful career: 11 OUA East Division championships, six Wilson Cup OUA championships, eight CIS/CIAU national championship appearances plus two CIS and nine OUA coach of the year awards. The Lions could look to use this as a potential rallying point as they generally struggled, especially on the road, facing double-digit first-half deficits in all 4 league games. Usually a team that can score, York shot under 40% in 5 of their 8 league games and went only 12 for 41 from beyond the arc in their final 5 games including 3-14 in their only win at home against Brock. Bain continues to spread time around generously as nine players average at least 15 minutes per game led by 5'10" David Tyndale, York's leading scorer at 14.4 ppg. York's pair of 6'10" bigs, fourth-year senior Stefan Haynes and freshman Dejan Kravic, have combined to block about 3.5 shots per game and together average about 20 points and 12 rebounds per game. The Lions are starting to tighten up defensively however still are among the leaders in points allowed and have allowed teams double digit offensive rebounding totals in almost every game thus far... Another team that has struggled out of the starting gate on the road is Laurentian, falling behind early in decisive losses at Western, Windsor, Laurier and Waterloo. Ben Avery Gym remains a very tough place for opponents to play as the Vees seem to feed off the crowd's energy as both of Laurentian's wins (Brock, Guelph) have come at home. Vees 6'6" fifth-year post Matas Tirilis (11.8 ppg/7.8 rpg/29.3 mpg) continues to provide maximum effort as he has done throughout his career however he is learning to deal with being the focus of opponent's preparation. Laurentian remains very young at the lead guard spot with 6'0" freshman Manny Pasquale supported by 6'1" sophomore Andrew Lalonde, part of the reason why the Vees lead OUA in turnovers per game, although turnovers have been spread around. 6'3" Isiah Pasquale averages almost 5 made 3's per game and together the brothers are averaging almost 30 ppg between them... RMC Paladins had an injury-filled first half, creating the need to play alot of zone. Scrappy freshman Justin Hill averages 12.8 ppg while shooting 42% from three point land however must improve on his almost 4 turnovers per game average. While RMC plays hard every game, the results just have not been there with most losses by 30 points or greater, the closest being 23 points... NOTE: Readers may note that the Canada West review already posted and in-progress and soon-to-be-completed reviews of Quebec and Atlantic Canada contain much more relevant and accurate team and individual statistics given the comparative ease of finding the data on their web sites as compared to the OUA's site which, in a time-constrained environment where cumbersome navigating, incomplete and inaccurate listing of players (two Mitch Leger's as an example) and other time-consuming challenges, does not allow for simple analysis; thus, the analysis of OUA stats suffers and as a result the ability to tell the story to the fan base also suffers.


OUA EAST STANDINGS
Carleton 7-1
Ottawa 6-2
Toronto 5-3
Queen's 3-5
Ryerson 3-5
Laurentian 2-6
York 1-7
RMC 0-8

January 5, 2010
8:00 pm Queen's at RMC
January 8, 2010
8:00 pm Toronto at Queen's
8:00 pm Ryerson at RMC
8:00 pm Laurentian at Carleton
8:00 pm York at Ottawa
January 9, 2010
3:00 pm Toronto at RMC
8:00 pm Ryerson at Queen's
8:00 pm Laurentian at Ottawa
8:00 pm York at Carleton

OUA EAST SCORING LEADERS
Boris Bakovic (4th) - Ryerson 22.9 PPG
Mitch Leger (4th) - Queen's 21.0 (estimate because OUA web site shows 2 Legers)
Warren Ward (2nd) - Ottawa 18.4
Josh Gibson-Bascombe (5th) - Ottawa 17.3
Kevin McCleery (5th) - Carleton 16.5
Rob Paris (5th) - Toronto 16.0
Isiah Pasquale (1st) - Laurentian 15.5
Nick Magalas (5th) - Toronto 15.4
David Tyndale (2nd) - York 14.4
Manny Pasquale (2nd) - Laurentian 13.6

OUA WEST STANDINGS
Lakehead 7-1
Windsor 6-2
McMaster 5-3
Waterloo 5-3
Western 5-3
Brock 3-5
Guelph 3-5
Laurier 3-5

January 6, 2010
8:00 pm Waterloo at Brock
8:00 pm Western at Windsor
8:00 pm Laurier at Guelph
January 8, 2010
8:00 pm McMaster at Lakehead
January 9, 2010
3:00 pm Laurier at Western
4:00 pm Guelph at Waterloo
8:00 pm McMaster at Lakehead
8:00 pm Brock at Windsor

OUA WEST SCORING LEADERS
Keenan Jeppesen (5th) - McMaster 21.6 PPG
Jay Mott (5th) - Guelph 21.1
Clinton Springer-williams (1st) - Brock 21.0
Andrew Wedemire (5th) - Western 18.0
Isaac Kuon (4th) - Windsor 16.0
Jesse Macdonald (5th) - Laurier 15.8
Jonathan Moscatelli (4th) - Guelph 15.8
Cam Mcintyre (3rd) - Waterloo 15.6
Dan Mccarthy (2nd) - Guelph 15.2
Ryan Barbeau (3rd) - Western 15.0