Saturday 31 October 2009

Simon Fraser 78, Victoria 75

The Clan broke open a tight game at halftime with a third quarter run and held off the pesky Vikes who made a late run to win their Canada West opener with a very important road win over UVic, a team Simon Fraser may be battling with for a playoff spot in February. With Simon Fraser leading 68-60 and five minutes remaining, fifth-year guard Cyrille Indome used his defense to breath life into UVic with a steal and breakaway dunk that got the crowd back into the game. Another Indome lay-up and resulting free throw after a foul brought Vic back to within 3 at 72-69. When Vic newcomer Zac Andrus drove the lane, was fouled and knocked in a pair of free throws, the Vikes had it back to one at 74-73 with 1 minute remaining. However, the Clan, led by their senior guards Matt Kuzminski and Sean Burke made their late free throws and Jeff Cullen's desperation 3 at the buzzer went for naught as the Clan held on.

Brandon 106, Manitoba 83

The Cats rebound after last night's disappointing loss to the Bisons. Both teams are now 1-1 in Canada West action... More details to follow.

Alberta 65, Lethbridge 48 after 3 quarters

Keyed by back-to-back 3's by 5'11" Scott Leigh, the Bears finished the third quarter on 14-2 run to break open a tight two point game at halftime as they begin the fourth quarter. After 6'1" Jeff Price (16 points on 4-9 shooting, 6 rebounds) knocked in a circus fall away to bring Lethbridge back to within five at 51-46, Leigh (19 points in the first three quarters) got hot from the perimeter when the Horns sank their "d" to try to take away the inside and Leigh made them pay. The Bears have received solid contributions from Jamal Bucknor, Ken Otieno and Harvey Bradford. 6'6" Robin Cooper had 8 points in the first half after which Lethbridge trailed by only 2 at 40-38 but then watched as Alberta rode a 25-10 third quarter to gap the Horns. Alberta is looking for the weekend sweep.

Fraser Valley 48, Thompson Rivers 39

Sam Freeman has 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists as the Cascades have grown their lead to 9 in Kamloops midway through the third quarter.

Calgary 69, Winnipeg 33 midway through third quarter

6'6" Robbie Sihota has already hit the 20 point mark whiel 6'9" Tyler Fidler has 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists as the Dinos are running away with it for the second consecutive night at home against the overmatched Wesmen. Calgary led 57-31 and opened the third quarter with a 12-2 run to lead by 36 with 1 1/2 quarters remaining. Jamie McLeod has 14 points and 4 assists.

Canada West articles

Chris O'Leary's article on Greg Francis and Alberta in today's Edmonton Journal

Francis takes Bears into post-Horwood era

Growing up in Toronto, Greg Francis knew that basketball could take him around the world. The proof came in a college career at Fairfield University in Connecticut and a pro stint that saw him play in England and Lebanon. His furthest trip from home came in 2000, when he went to Sydney with Steve Nash and Canada's Olympic team.

...Continue Reading

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Howard Tsumura's article on last night's stunningly-easy UBC win vs. TWU. Note the size of the crowd was 1,750 fans which is tremendous.

The Josh Factor huge as UBC tops TWU 71-44 in stunning Canada West men's hoop opener

Sometimes basketball games -- like the Canada West men's opener played Friday at UBC's War Memorial Gym -- are like unyielding rock faces. You can't break them open with soft stuff. You can't find your breakthrough moments with feathered jumpers or finesse. Instead, you need to do what Josh Whyte did, and that is put on your hard hat and attack the rim.

...Continue Reading

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UQAM 82, UPEI 61

The Citadins got their transition game going and created turnovers off their press, riding a very strong second quarter in which they outscored the Panthers 26-12 to lead by 18 at halftime and coasted to an easy win in Montreal. Coach Olga Hrycak was able to use her bench liberally in the second half, giving virtually everyone some time. 6'3" Thierry Justin led UQAM with 18 points, going 2-2 from 3 point land and 6-9 from the floor overall. 6'5" wing Eric Kougnima added 11 points and 6 rebounds for UQAM. 6'5" Matt Fennell, a big, strong inside player with good perimeter skills, finished with 17 points and 8 rbounds to lead UPEI who had star 6'5" forward Manock Lual battle foul trouble all evening. The Citadins led 45-27 at the half. UQAM meets Southern New Hampshire U. (this Thursday) and Franklin Pierce (Saturday), a pair of NCAA DII schools.

Windsor 79, Madonna 62

6'7" Nigel Johnson-Tyghter had 19 points and 11 rebounds, 6'2" Issac Kuon added 16 while 6'8" Andre Smyth, who was plagued by fouls on Friday night, added 15 points and 8 rebounds as the Lancers captured the consolation championship at an NAIA tournament in Michigan. After trailing by one at the half, Windsor outscored Madonna 46-28 despite going only 12 for 26 as a team from the free throw line including a combined 4 for 11 by Johnson-Tyghter and Smyth.

Daemen College 77, Laurier 74

6'5" Kale Harrison's challenged, twisting/turning three at the buzzer came off and the home side escaped with a three point win over the Golden Hawks who fought back from an early 13 point deficit in Buffalo, NY. 6'2" Jesse MacDonald led Laurier with 17 points while Harrison added a 10 point/10 rebound double double. 6'5" Connor Meschino had 14 points while 6'0" Travis Berry and Evan Schwantz each added 11 for the Hawks, who fought back to tie the score at 60 before Daemen took a two point lead and then missed the back end of a two shot foul with 5.6 seconds, giving Laurier one final chance at a tie. "We appeared to intimidated early by their athleticism and missed some shots I hope we usually will make", commented Laurier Head Coach Peter Campbell, "but after we realized we could play with them we were fine." The Hawks brought it back to 45-39 and then a balanced scoring effort (5 guys in double figures) helped Laurier surge to tie the game. Laurier opens their OUA season this coming Friday against the Toronto Varsity Blues.

Guelph Phoenix 86, Waterloo 64

From Martin Timmerman...

The Waterloo Warriors played host to the Guelph Phoenix on Saturday afternoon at the PAC. The hot shooting Phoenix beat the Warriors 86-64, leading in every period.

The Phoenix are a senior team of mostly former CIS players, coached by former WLU Lady Hawks coach Stu Julius. The Phoenix shot 52% from the floor, including 13 for 27 from the three point line. The Warriors improved in the second half, but shot just 37% for the game.

Waterloo was led by Ben Frisby with 15 points. Matt Hayes with 12 points and 7 rebounds and Tim Rossy with 11 points were the others in double figures. Five Warriors were on the bench with injuries, including starters Dave Burnett, Cam McIntyre and Jesse Tipping.

For Guelph, former Gryphon Kyle Julius hit for 21 points, with another former Gryphon Rhadi Knapp adding 12 points. Kevin Pangos, a young member of Team Canada added 11 points, while former Team Canada member Andy Kwiatkowski also added 11.

McMaster 71, Wagner 61

The Marauders clamped down defensively, building leads as large as 19 in the second half and 6'6" Keenan Jeppesen made several big shots including a pair down the stretch when Wagner made their final run to cut it to 5 as McMaster came up with a big road win at Wagner College, a U.S. NCAA Division 1 school in Staten Island, New York. Jeppesen went 11-18 from the floor for a game-high 31 points and added 11 rebounds in a dominant effort but according to Marauder Head Coach Joe Raso "we did a tremendous job defensively and our bench was great, especially after Jermaine (DeCosta) and Ryan (Christie) went to the bench early with fouls. Keenan was also super." Scott Laws was also key for Mac scoring all 12 of his points in the second half, many on tough finishes while the aforementioned bench was led by 6'3" freshman Victor Raso and 6'7" Matt Wilusz. The Marauders used a smaller lineup in spurts and Raso was especially happy with "how well we passed the ball today". Christie overcame foul trouble to finish with 9 points and 10 rebounds while 6'2" Tyrell Vernon was very active with 7 points and 9 rebounds. Mac led 29-24 at the half and forced 21 Wagner turnovers. Toronto native Tyler Murray, a graduate of Eastern Commerce, had 7 points and 6 rebounds in a starting role for the Seahawks, members of the Northeast Conference.

Story from Wagner men's basketball site

Saint Mary's 102, RMC 54

The Huskies scorched the RMC zone early, jumping out to a 30-14 lead after only 5 1/2 minutes and then coasted to an easy win over the Paladins. SMU got numerous open looks against Paladins 2/3 zone and had a balanced scoring effort. RMC's forward combo of Nick Cooke and Matt Wookey did the majority of the offensive damage for the Paladins combining for over 40 points and 20 rebounds. SMU hosts X Sunday afternoon at 3 PM at the Tower in Halifax in the final pre-season tune up for both teams before the AUS regular season schedule begins next weekend.

Dalhousie 94, York 51

The tough Tiger quarter-court "d" was on display again this afternoon at Dalplex as Dal held the Lions to only 34 points after 3 quarters and helped create 26 York turnovers in an easy victory in a game they were in complete control of virtually the entire way. "I thought we did a great job defending and not allowing any easy catches in the hi-post where the Lions like to start their offense", praised Dal Coach John Campbell. "We also had good balance and defended very well." Dal took a 12 point lead after one quarter and went into halftime leading 49-23. 5'11" David Tyndale was the only Lion in double figures, going 4 for 8 from the three point line to finish with 19 points while 6'10" Dejan Kravic had 8 points/11 rebounds for York, which again played virtually their entire lineup for extensive minutes. 6'3" Marcus Wong had 21 points in 19 minutes for Dal while 6'9" Joe Schow added 21 points, 7 rebounds. Campbell was able to go deep into his bench and also limit the minutes of 6'2" Simon Farine, who finished with 15 points in 28 minutes. Both teams begin league play next weekend.

Cape Breton 81, McGill 69

The Capers moved to 4-1 vs. CIS teams on the young season with a road win in Montreal against the Redmen. 6'3" U.S. import Jimmy Dorsey again led the way for the Capers with 21 points while adding 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Lazario Burrows had 17 points/11 rebounds in the win while big, strong 6'4" Phil Nkrumah added 12 points and 14 boards while 6'0" point guard Chris Noddle chipped in with 10 points for the winners.

Brock 101, Ryerson 79

After spotting the Rams an early 4 point lead, Brock finished the first quarter on a 26-7 run and cruised to an easy win over Ryerson at home in St.Catharines, taking advantage of 26 Ram turnovers. 6'4" freshman Clinton Springer-Williams continues to show he may be one of the best freshmen to enter the CIS in recent memory, scorching Ryerson for 35 points on 15-25 shooting while 6'1" Didi Mukendi, last season's CIS Freshman of the Year, broke out of a mini shooting slump with 27 points and added 5 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals while running the point for the most part in the absence of 5'11" Joel Whitty still out with a shoulder injury but expected back in time for next weekend's OUA regular season home opener against Ottawa. 6'7" Boris Bakovic went 6-18 from the field but made 15 of 16 free throws to finish with a team-high 28 points and added 15 rebounds. 6'2" Ryan McNeilly made 4 3's to finish with 12 points while 6'1" point guard Josh Budd added 11 but turned the ball over 6 times in the loss. Scott Wheler added 10 for Ryerson and was in the middle of a small skurmish near the end of the game, showing some frustration that resulted in being whistled for an intentional foul. Ryerson, finishing the pre-season winless against CIS competition, opens their season next weekend against Waterloo.

BOX SCORE

McMaster Preview from the Sil campus newspaper

Eyes on the prize for men’s hoops

Keenan Jeppesen is one of the most experienced basketball players in the OUA. Ryan Christie is a rookie. Together, they might give McMaster a chance to win its first CIS Championship.

...Continue Reading

Minot State 100, Regina 76

Regina had defeated Minot State 96-63 at home in Regina just two weeks ago.

Minot State Beavers play in the NAIA's Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) but were informed Friday that the school's application for entrance into NCAA Division II has been accepted. MSU begins the first year of a three-year membership process starting in the 2009-10 season. The transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II is a three-year process, with a two-year candidacy period followed by a third year with provisional status. MSU will continue to compete in the NAIA for the first two years before moving to NCAA DII in its third year. If the school meets all NCAA transition requirements, it will become a full-fledged NCAA Division II member in 2012-13 season.

MSU balanced in opening rout Beavers place six in double figures in win over Regina

Minot State University’s Shaun Johnson reaches up for a dunk as the Beavers played Regina (Sask.) Friday at the MSU Dome. MSU won the game 100-76.

Minot State University men's basketball head coach Mike Hultz said he was pleasantly surprised with how his new players reacted in their first game with the Beavers.

...Continue Reading

Medaille 80, Brock 71

From Brock web site...

Brock Men's Basketball drops 80-71 decision to Medaille

The Brock University men's basketball team (2-5 overall) dropped an 80-71 decision in non-conference action against Medaille College Friday night on the road.

Brock trailed by two points 71-69 with just over three minutes remaining before Medaille went on a 9-2 run including going 5-for-6 from the charity stripe to close out the game.

Leading the Brock offense was freshman standout Clinton Springer-Williams (London, Ont.) who recorded his first career double-double finishing with 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead all scorers.

Also in double figures for Brock were freshman Brian Nahimana (London, Ont.) who added 12 points and five rebounds and senior Phil Ramirez (St. Catharines, Ont.) who added 11 points in the loss. Rookie Andrew Cicuttini (Dundas, Ont.) continued to improve his play contributing with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.

For Medaille, Hack Keith led the way registering 17 points and five rebounds. Mike Berkun and Joe Mogavero both contributed with 12 points each in the victory.

Brock struggled from beyond the arc going just 3-for-21 (14.3%). They also shot just 38.7% from the field connecting on 29-for-75. Medaille was 24-for-49 (49.0%) from the floor.

Calgary 94, Winnipeg 56

From Wayne Thomas of Dinos Hoop News...

The Calgary Dinos opened their Canada West season at ‘The Jack’ on Friday with a decisive 94-56 thumping of the smaller Winnipeg Wesmen. With 5th year post man Ross Bekkering sweeping 19 rebounds off the glass, contributing mightily to Calgary’s 60-39 edge on the boards, the home team led 44-26 at the half, and won the second half 50-30. Winnipeg’s 56 points marked the 4th straight game in which Calgary has held their opponents under 60, and limiting the number of second shots was a big factor. The Dinos had Robbie Sihota with 19, Bekkering with 16,and Tyler Fidler notched 14. The Dinos aggressive defense forced 27 Winnipeg turnovers, with Dustin Reding recording 4 steals, and Bekkering getting 3 blocks. Winnipeg was led by a game-high 24 from Nick Lother, and Peter Louro added 16, but they were overwhelmed by a bigger and more physical Dinos squad. The guard combination of Jarred Ogunbemi-Jackson and Terrence Blake put a lot of pressure on the Winnipeg ball handlers, and Blake made two great hustle plays to prevent a couple of sure hoops. When Coach Dan Vanhooren went to his bench, he got solid play from Blake, Reding, Andrew McGuinness, Jordan Flagel, Patrick Walker and Dan Tilleman. McGuinness, 1st year, Vancouver, displayed a nice outside shooting touch, and Tilleman, also a 1st year, Phoenix, AZ, had 4 rebounds, 7 points, and 2 assists in his 14 minutes. Walker, and unpolished gem with a hunger for rebounds, had 6 boards and altered a few inside attempts by Wesmen shooters. Jamie McLeod led the Dinos with his 5 assists. The same two teams meet Saturday at 8:00 pm. Notes ...Calgary outshot Winnipeg 47% to just 27%, but had a poor free-throw shooting game with only 15/31, while the Wesmen scored 16/26... Calgary’s team speed and quickness appears noticeably better this season with the addition of some impressive new guards... Rather a light turn-out tonight ... est. about 800...Scores from other games ...at Alberta 65 - Lethbridge 55 ... Harvey Bradford with 20 for the Bears, and Jeff Price 19 for the Pronghorns...Fraser Valley 84 - at Thompson Rivers 82 ...Zeon Gray had 28 and Sam Freeman 22 for the Cascades, and Sean Garvey scored 24 for the Wolfpack...Manitoba 80 - at Brandon 74 ... no stats yet ... at UBC 71 - Trinity Western 44 ... no stats yet.

Bryant 88, Concordia 55

The Stingers lose to NCAA Division 1 team Bryant Bulldogs in Rhode Island.

BRYANT THRILLS IN PRESEASON EXHIBITION, DEFEATS CONCORDIA (CAN.), 88-55, FRIDAY NIGHT

Boxscore

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University men's basketball team gave fans a taste what to expect in the upcoming 2009-10 season in Friday night's exhibition against Concordia (Can.), topping the Stingers, 88-55, at the Chace Athletic Center.

Three Bulldogs scored in double digits, led by 18 points from freshman Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 16 from fellow rookie Vlad Kondratyev (Gainesville, Fla.), who didn't miss from the floor or the line all night. Senior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.), Bryant's leading scorer from a year ago, collected 12 points with a game-high eight rebounds.

...Continue Reading

Friday 30 October 2009

UBC 71, Trinity Western 44

Excerpted from the Vancouver Sun... The UBC men — Canadian finalists last year — also got their conference schedule off on a winning note with a surprisingly one-sided 71-44 triumph over Trinity Western. It’s a continuation of a hot rivalry that saw the T-Birds down the Spartan men last season in a hard-fought Pacific Division final.

“We got a couple of really great defensive quarters,” said T-Bird coach Kevin Hanson. “We really made them work for every point tonight.”

The T-Birds held last year’s CIS player of the year Jacob Doerksen to just nine points.

“We showed him a bunch of different looks tonight and it really paid off for us,” said Hanson.

Josh Whyte and Blain LaBranche each had 16 points to lead the UBC offence.

**** First Half Capsule: Josh Whyte has controlled the game for the most part and the Birds "d" has made things difficult for the inexperienced Spartans backcourt as the Big 3 of Calvin Westbrook (4 points), Tyrell Mara (3 points) and reigning Moser Award winner Jacob Doerksen (2 point) have been held in check as UBC leads by 21 at halftime before a boisterous crowd in Vancouver.

Canada West Scores from Friday

First-year Head Coach Kirby Schepp made his first Canada West regular season game very memorable as his Bisons went into Brandon and defeated the Bobcats 80-74... 6'6" Harvey Bradford had 20 points to lead Alberta to a 65-55 home victory over Lethbridge before 700 fans in Edmonton. Box Score

At this hour, Fraser Valley and Thompson Rivers are tied at 42 at halftime. Cascades Zeon Gray and WolfPack's Sean Garvey each have 17 points. LIVE! Stats No word yet on the Winnipeg at Calgary game. Also see previous post as UBC is dominating Trinity Western leading 34-13 at halftime.

Nazareth 91 Western 88 in OT

Despite 34 points from 6'5" Andrew Wedemire on 13-19 shooting from the floor, the Mustangs lost in OT in Rochester tonight. Third-year guard Ryan Barbeau added 15 points/7 assists while forward Garrett Olexiuk had 13. Western led 39-34 at half. Mustangs Head Coach Brad Campbell praised his veteran wing but lamented his team's ability to stop Nazareth, " Andy was unstoppable tonight (however) we really struggled defensively in the second half".

Lakehead 66, Jamestown 63

Lakehead jumped out to an early lead behind Greg Carter's three consecutive 3 pointers off the start the game and built a 36-28 lead by halftime. Jamestown started the second half on an 8-0 run to tie the game and led 55-50 with 9 minutes remaining before LU dug in defensively and battled back to finish on top. Lakehead shot 11-36 from the 3pt line while limiting the home side to only 7 for 15. Carter led the way for Lakehead with 17 points 4 rebounds while fellow guard Cam Hornby had 12 points 4 rebs and 2 steals in his best LU performance of the young season. 6'6"
Yoosrie Salhis had 12 points 6 rebounds in a strong second half effort after foul trouble limited his first half minutes. Lakehead coach Scott Morrison was "really proud of how the guy bsattled and stuck to our gameplan this weekend. Neither game was neccessarily our best effort but we were able to dig in on the defensive end both nights and play tough down the stretch to come out with two good 'team' wins. We are looking forward to preparing for a strong Queen's team to open OUA play next week."

Cape Breton 82, UQAM 76

Courtesy of Al Charters from the CAPERS program.... CAPERS traveled to Montreal by bus for three games in preparation for next weekend's opening of the AUS season against St. Mary's Huskies at home in Sullivan Fieldhouse. They opened against a very tough UQAM University of Quebec at Montreeal team who led at the half 42 to 40, but CAPERS turned up the D in the second half to go with a solid offensive performance for a 82 to 76 victory.

CAPERS were led by the tremendous performance of rookie Jimmey Dorsey with 22 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds and 6 steals, closely followed by big Phil Nkrumah with 17 points 11 rebounds and 4 assists, then came Scott Jaspers-Fayer with 11 points and Tremaine Fraser with 10.

UQAM were led by Adil El Makssoud with 21 points.

CAPERS will play McGill University tommorrow at 3:00 p.m. Atlantic time
tommorrow (Saturday) and Bishops University on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Atlantic
time, and then will come the long 18 hrs or so drive back to the CAPE.

Bishop's 82, UPEI 80

from UPEI Men's Basketball blog

UPEI 80 (42.1 FG%, 42.1 3PT%, 72.7 FT%)
Manock Lual - 22 pts, 11 rbs, 4 stl
Terrence Brown - 18 pts, 4 rbs
Matt Fennell - 16 pts
Nick Toews - 12 pts, 4 ast
Calvin LeBlanc - 11 pts, 5 rbs

Bishop's 82 (50.8 FG%, 47.1 3PT%, 58.3 FT%)

41-48 at halftime

Howard Tsumura's Canada West Analysis

Howard provides his always-accurate and comprehensive analysis of Canada West men's basketball including his weekly Power Rankings

CIS men's basketball and 2009-10 and CW power rankings

Nothing could be more timely.

The UBC Thunderbirds and Langley's Trinity Western Spartans begin the 2009-10 CIS men's basketball season tied for first place in the opening edition of The Province's annual Canada West power rankings. The two teams open the season against each other tonight.

Seven conference coaches took part in the voting with 14 points for a first-place vote and one point for a last-place vote. UBC and TWU each received three fist-place votes while Calgary received one.

Subsequent rankings will reflect team performance on a weekly basis.

...Continue Reading

Seton Hall 89, Carleton 62

The Ravens turned the ball over for immediate layups at the other end numerous times in the first 10 minutes of play, allowing Seton Hall to build leads near 20 and the Pirates then coasted to an easy win over Carleton in what basically was never a game. Although Carleton was without sickened regulars Mike Kenny, Tyson Hinz and Luke Chapman and Willy Manigat battled the flu, the remaining Ravens, especially regulars Cole Hobin, Elliot Thompson and Kevin McCleery wilted in the face of the Pirates ball pressure and double teams in one of the more disappointing Raven performances in the Dave Smart era. BOX SCORE plus Game Story from Seton Hall web site

Robert Morris 93, Windsor 83

Robert Morris College from Chicago ranked #1 or #3 in NAIA D1 depending on the poll defeated Windsor 93-83 at the Jamieson-Allen Agency Tip-Off Tournament in Spring Arbor, MI. The Lancers played well enough to lead by 9 at the half. In the 2nd half Robert Morris woke up from the 3 point line and their ball pressure forced the Lancers into some turnovers. Coach Chris Oliver was mixed in his assessment of his team: "We were pretty good on offense but just couldn't get it done defensively." 6'6" Nigel Johnson -Tyghter was tough inside and around the paint with 25 points and grab 10 rebounds. 6'3" Isaac Kuon finished with 16 pts and 5 rebounds.

Acadia, Dal sweep OUA East teams

Acadia 82, York 73 6'3" Casey Fox had 21 points including all 8 of his second half points from the free throw line in the last 7 minutes of play as the Axemen pulled away with a late 11-2 run to defeat the Lions in Wolfville. 6'10" Stefan Haynes had 14 points and 8 boards for the Lions while 6'5" Vadim Razenberg added 14 on 7-8 shooting. With Acadia clinging to a two point lead at 62-60 after a three pointer by York guard David Tyndale (11 points), the Axemen went on their game deciding run that was highlighted by only one basket (by Andre Grant who had 14 points/5 rebounds off the bench) and 9 made free throws to give Acadia a 73-62 lead with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. York made their final run to get it to 4 with 1 minute remaining but 6'6" Alex Traikov (16 points/8 rebounds) knocked in a jumper and the Axemen, who shot 16 for 19 from the foul line in the last 7 minutes of the game, made their free throws to hold off York. Acadia led 19-10 early but an 8-0 York run toward the end of the first quarter, led by Haynes and 6'6" Justin Bell (4 points in the run) gave the Lions life and the game remained close virtually the entire way from there. York was whistled for 26 fouls for the night against only 12 for Acadia. The Lions had 11 of their 12 dressed players log at least 10 minutes of play as they search for their rotation. BOX SCORE

Dalhousie 72, RMC 38 The Tigers had their troubles against the RMC zone, going only 8 for 34 from downtown and 12-23 from the line in shooting 33% for the game but it was still enough to route the Paladins at Dalplex. Dal's tenacious "d" was on display as RMC was held to only 14 first-half points and only 21 after three quarters after which Dal led 62-21. 6'2" Simon Farine had 16 points to lead the Tigers, who grabbed 20 offensive rebounds in the game, while 6'6" Simon Dakin led RMC with 11 points and 6 boards. BOX SCORE

Ottawa 93, Prokom 69

The Gee-Gees jumped out to an 18 point halftime lead and coasted to an easy win over Prokom Development Team from Poland. Prokom's senior advisor is Renato DiPasquale, who was a consultant to the Canadian National team this past summer. 6'4" Josh Gibson-Bascombe scored 20 points and 6'1" Max Clarkson added 19 in the win. Ottawa's Sunday afternoon game at Clarkson College in Potsdam, New York has been cancelled due to the numerous cases of influenza that Gee-Gees players have been suffering throughout the week... The Nation's Capital other program, Carleton Ravens, in South Orange, New Jersey tonight to face Big East conference member Seton Hall Pirates, are also dealing with the flu that has brought some anxiety to the Capital Region and will be without 5'11" Mike Kenny, 6'7" freshman Tyson Hinz and 6'3" Luke Chapman, for tonight's game, all suffering flu-related ailments. As well, 6'0" Willy Manigat, who has assumed the starting point guard position, is questionable for tonight's game, also with flu-like symptoms. Click here for LIVE! webcast of tonight's Carleton/Seton Hall game

Also, Streaming Sports Network (SSN Canada) will webcast tonight's Alberta/Lethbridge game beginning at 8 PM Mountain time.

Gunning to be go-to guy...Younger Bekkering looks to take reins for Dinos as fan-favourite brother moves on

There's no doubt two Bekkerings is better than one.

But with high-flying Henry Bekkering graduating from the university hoops circuit, his younger brother Ross is ready for his turn as the go-to guy for the Calgary Dinos men's basketball squad.

"Guys are going to have to step up with Henry gone and I definitely feel I need to raise my game to the next level if we're going to take the next step as a team," he said.

"But we have so many threats on our team, so many big players, that it makes that job that much easier.

...Continue Reading

Jesse Sazant's CIS Alumni in Europe Report

We are extremely pleased to have Jesse report again. Once again, strong evidence that CIS basketball can be an excellent training ground to successful professional careers in basketball.

Note from Jesse: Here is an update on CIS players in Europe I know of. Please feel free to send me any others you know of. NOTE: One player Jesse is likely to include in his next report is Aaron Doornekamp in Italy.

Osvaldo Jeanty (Carleton) - Gaz Metan Medias (Div A) Romania
After things fell through in Morocco, Jeanty went back to Noerdlingen where he has played the last two seasons. After 4 games he was averaging 31 MPG, 13 PPG, 4 RPG, 2.5 APG. He now seems to have left and moved on to Romania. He will make his debut this weekend.

Casey Archibald (UBC) - Noerdlingen (Pro A) Germany
Archibald is now at Noerdlingen - moving from Austria where he played last season. He is averaging 23 MPG, 10 PPG, 4 RPG, 2 APG

Stu Turnbull (Carleton) - SC Rist Wedel (Pro B) Germany
Turnbull played 1 game for Noerdlingen before moving on to Rist Wedel. After 4 games with them he is averaging 23 MPG, 11 PPG, 3.5 RPG

Ryan Bell (Carleton) - Honka Espoo Playboys (Korisliga) Finland
After 8 games Bell is averaging 20 MPG, 3.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG

Andrew Spagurd (Saskatchewan) - Sundsvall Dragons (Basketligan) Sweden
After 9 games Spagurd is averaging 28 MPG, 13 PPG, 7.6 RPG

Greg Surmacz (Windsor) - AZS Koszalin (PLK) Poland
After 4 games Surmacz is averaging 25 MPG, 8 PPG, 6 RPG, 2 APG

Henry Bekkering (Calgary) - Matrixx Magix (Eredivisie) Holland plus Matrixx Team Page
Has only played 4 minutes due to an injury suffered. He has recently had surgery according to their website

Brad Smith (Western) - Medway Park Crusaders (EBL2) England plus England bball site also Stats Page
The team has just started league play after going 2-3 in the pre-season cups. Brad is averaging 32MPG, 25 PPG and 9 RPG

Ryan Marrast (Lakehead and Acadia) - Worthing Thunder (BBL) England
Ryan has recently rejoined the team. After 3 games he is averaging 25 MPG and 8 PPG.

TWU / UBC Marquee Matchup available LIVE! on Video Webcast

I received a nice note from Choyal Brown in Marketing & Communications at Basketball BC letting us know that that marquee matchup on this weekend's CIS slate: Trinity Western at UBC, will be broadcast live on SportsCanada.TV beginning at 8 PM Pacific Time. All UBC games and much of the BCCAA will be broadcast live on SportsCanada.TV this season.

Here is the game preview from UBC web site

Lower mainland rivals clash in season openers tonight

There is nothing quite like a rivalry game to kick-off a regular season and that is exactly what is going to happen this Friday at War Memorial Gym when the UBC Thunderbirds and Trinity Western Spartans basketball teams go head to head on day one of the Canada West regular season. The women tip-off at 6:00 p.m. with the men going at 8:00 p.m.

...Continue Reading

Video webcast: SCTV
Radio: CiTR 101.9 FM

Also, a new show highlighting Quebec basketball called “Le 5 partant” (The Starting 5), which will premiere on Jet7basket.com, Saturday November 7th. This is a monthly show on CIS Basketball (Quebec oriented show with some discussion on the remainder of the country). The show will be aired on both SSNCanada and Jet7basket.com Press Release

Mac splits a pair of scrimmage halves with Army

By all accounts, yesterday afternoon's McMaster Marauder scrimmage at West Point Military Academy against Army Cadets was very successful. Army won the first half 32-27 before the teams reset the scoreboard and Mac triumphed in the second half ironically by the same 32-27 score. The game featured official referees and according to sources had Mac's big do very well. Army displayed a very strong half-court defense that made life difficult for Mac to run their sets. After the two half scrimmages, the teams worked through some half court stuff together and called it a day. The Marauders are in New York City tomorrow afternoon to face Wagner on Staten Island.

CIS vs. NCAA This Weekend

There are several CIS teams with road games in the U.S. against NCAA Division 1 teams, beginning with yesterday's scrimmage at West Point, NY between McMaster and Army.

Defending CIS champions Carleton Ravens open up the exhibition season for the Seton Hall Pirates tonight in South Orange, New Jersey at 7 PM in a game with live webcasting available. The Ravens are also scrimmaging Radford University Highlanders of the Big South conference in Radford, Virginia on Sunday.

Also tonight, John Dore's Concordia Stingers travel to Rhode Island to play at Bryant University against the Bulldogs, an NCAA Division 1 program in the Northeast Conference. The game goes tonight at 7 PM. The Stingers then move over to Vermont on Sunday to meet the Catamounts (NCAA D1 America East conference) at 1 PM. Vermont, perennially favorites for their conference crown, features 6'4" senior guard Maurice Joseph from Montreal.

On Saturday, the aforementioned Marauders are in the Big Apple on Staten Island to play Wagner, which has 6'5" sophomore wing Tyler Murray, a graduate of Toronto's Eastern Commerce Saints where he was coached by current Ryerson Rams mentor Roy Rana, on their roster. The game begins at 2 PM and can be followed via LIVE STATS on the Wagner web site.

Also on Sunday, Laval travels to Orono, Maine to face another NCAA D1 America East conference program, the Maine University Black Bears in a 2 PM start. The Black Bears feature a pair of former Ontario high school stars who were members of the now-defunct NEDA program and are now freshmen at Maine: 6'7" Murphy Burnatowski (Waterloo, Ontario) and 6'9" Mike Allison (Lynen, Ontario).

More CIS vs. NCAA games next week:
Monday, Nov 2 Alberta at Gonzaga
Monday, Nov 2 UBC at Oral Roberts 7 PM
Tuesday, Nov 3 UBC at Oklahoma 7 PM
Tuesday, Nov 3 Trinity Western at Utah Valley University 7:15 PM
Tuesday, Nov 3 Saskatchewan @ Montana State
Thursday, Nov 5 Trinity Western at Brigham Young 19:15:00
Saturday, Nov 7 Trinity Western at Utah State 19:15:00
Friday, Nov. 6 Concordia @ Rhode Island 7:00 PM
Thurs. Nov 7 UQAM at Southern New Hampshire 19h

Two more pieces on UBC & Jeppesen

Lyndon Little of the Vancouver Sun takes a look at Canada West favorites in both men's and women's basketball

Campus hoopsters shoot for a banner year: SFU women, UBC men appear poised to make a run at another national championship appearance

UBC Thunderbirds Josh White drives against Trinity Western Spartans during CIS Men's basketball action at UBC.

With the SFU and UBC women taking turns bringing home national titles and the UBC men coming off an appearance in last year’s Canadian final, the epicentre of this country’s university basketball scene can arguably be said to lie within the Metro Vancouver boundaries. With a new season about to tip off, it’s time to look at how fortune might smile on both schools in 2009-10:


UBC Thunderbirds

After suffering five first-round upset losses in six years at the nationals, the UBC men finally got over the hump last season and went all the way to the championship game. Now that they’ve finally got that monkey off their backs — in reality it must have seemed more like a gorilla — the men T-Birds can concentrate on striving to take the final step.

...Continue Reading

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Larry Moko's first article of the season on Mac basketball featuring Keenan Jeppesen

Keenan comes full circle to reach Mac

By wearing a McMaster Marauders uniform this season, Keenan Jeppesen's basketball career has come full circle.

The 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward began as a star player at Saltfleet District Secondary School before he accepted an NCAA Division I scholarship offer at Brown University and then transferred after two years to the University of Western Ontario.

...Continue Reading

Thursday 29 October 2009

Lakehead 77, Valley City State 68 + several articles of note

Lakehead overcame a slow start to lead at the half 40-31 and held on for the win over Valley City State University Vikings, an NAIA team based in Valley City, North Dakota. Officials called it tight to the tune of 46 total fouls. Lakehead gave up 23 points at the FT line but otherwise played tough defense throughout the last 30 minutes of the game. Both teams turned the ball over with LU committing 22 turnovers and Valley City with 19. LU out-rebounded VCSU 44 - 23. Jamie Searle led 24 points on 9-11 shooting, Yoosrie Salhia 16 points, 10 rebounds, Joseph Jones 13 points and Ryan Thomson 10 points 7 rebounds. Thunderwolves Head Coach Scott Morrison was "pleased with the defensive effort we gave today after a slow start. Valley City did a good job pressuring the ball and making us uncomfortable early, but we hung in there and did some damage in the paint to open up the perimeter. We have one more tough test tomorrow night with Jamestown to prepare us for the tough OUA east interlock schedule in November."


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The Gateway, University of Alberta's campus newspaper, previews this season's Bears and new Head Coach Greg Francis

Francis era begins vs. ’Horns: Bears Basketball ready to tip-off the regular season at home

CAN’T TOUCH THIS Scott Lee and the Golden Bears open up the regular season at home this weekend against the Lethbridge Pronghorns as the CW basketball season tips off across the conference.
Sitting at 2–4 on the preseason and coming off a lengthy road trip, the University of Alberta basketball squad is prepared for their upcoming home opener against the Lethbridge Pronghorns. Led by head coach Greg Francis, the Bears have already weathered a rigorous schedule, in which they’ve played each game on the road and have encountered various top-ranked sides.

...Continue Reading

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Spartans poised for big season: Tyrell Mara headlines a strong recruiting class which should help Trinity Western build on last year's solid season


There will be no flying under the radar for the Trinity Western Spartans this time around.

After posting their best season ever (20-10) and coming up one game shy of qualifying for the national championships for the first time, the men’s basketball program went out and added the best recruiting class in school history.

...Continue Reading

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Wesmen men finish fourth in Pembina Chrysler Invitational: Wesmen lead for three quarters against Concordia but lose in final 10 minutes


The Wesmen men’s basketball team lost two hard-fought games to finish fourth at the 2009 Pembina Chrysler Invitational Oct. 23 to 24.

...Continue Reading

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Eyes on the prize for men’s hoops from McMaster Sil

Keenan Jeppesen is one of the most experienced basketball players in the OUA. Ryan Christie is a rookie. Together, they might give McMaster a chance to win its first CIS Championship.

...Continue Reading

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Patching up the pre-season from the Fulcrum, uOttawa

Men’s basketball finishes third at Jack Donohue tournament

MONTPETIT HALL WAS a testing ground Oct. 23–25 as four varsity men’s basketball teams experimented to find the right players and starting combinations in the 35th annual Jack Donohue pre-season tournament. The University of Ottawa men’s basketball team played host to the Cape Breton Capers, the Bishop’s Gaiters, and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. The tournament—which honoured the former head coach of 17 years of Canada’s national basketball team—concluded on Oct. 25 as the Varsity Blues defeated the Capers 76-68. Earlier in the day, the Gee-Gees beat the Gaiters 82-73 to finish in third place.

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Acadia 97, RMC 65

Acadia led by 6 after one, took a 46-30 lead into halftime and then coasted with an early third quarter run as 6'6" Alex Traikov again dominated with 25 points and 14 rebounds while reserve Dustin Poirier had 13 of his 20 points after halftime. The score was tied at 14 with about 6 minutes gone in the first quarter when Triakov had back-to-back finishes and when Joe Nwabuzor (10 points, 12 rebounds) put back a 3 point miss at the buzzer, the Axemen led 21-15 after one. Later Acadia finished the second quarter on a 13-5 run to lead by 16. The Axemen then put the game away for good with a 16-6 run off the start of the second half and were never threatened thereafter. Acadia dominated the glass, outrebounding RMC 47-29 including 17 offensive rebounds. 6'10" Nic Cooke had 18 points (14 points after the intermission) and 8 rebounds to lead the scrappy and resilient Paladins. Jon Wilson had 12 including 2 3's while Nova Scotia bred point guard Justin Hill, making his return to Atlantic Canada added 11 with 2 3's.

BOX SCORE

St. Mary's 66, York 53

The Huskies break a five-game losing streak with a victory at home against the Lions in the first game of the Stu Aberdeen Classic. The Huskies led the game by over 20 points on two seperate occasions, once in the first half and then again in the second half before Coach Ross Quackenbush went deep into his bench. Flashy point guard Joey Handles Haywood finished with a game-high 21 points and 6 assists in only 20 minutes for Saint Mary's, which was playing their fifth game in seven days and their first of the pre-season at home in the Tower in Halifax. Fifth-year guard Mark McLaughlin recovered from some minor shooting woes while in Southern Ontario to go 5 for 9 from the floor for 11 points and added 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Saint Mary's got a strong effort from long-armed 6'8" sophomore Ian Robertson with 8 points and 8 boards in 15 minutes. There were no Lions in double figures. SMU hosts RMC on Saturday and then X on Sunday afternoon in a pre-season game. York meets Acadia tomorrow night and then Dal on Saturday.

Mike Koreen's article on Queen's star Mitch Leger + some corrections

Time once again for my weekly corrections to weekend previews which are becoming more common place likely given my advancing age and general... what was I just saying...

Bishop's/CBU Time change: The game between Bishop's & Cape Breton is at noon on Sunday, not 1 p.m. It was changed earlier in the year to accommodate CBU's travel schedule... Brock scheduling update: The Badgers play Medaille College from Buffalo on Friday night and their game on Sunday vs. Point Park has been cancelled as Point Park players do not have passports... The Badgers also hope to have sophomore point guard Joel Whitty back in the lineup next weekend when the OUA regular season kicks off and Brock hosts Ottawa and Carleton. Whitty injured his shoulder two weeks ago at the Laurier tournament.

Bulked-up star proving to be a force for Gaels

Things sure have changed for Mitch Leger since the winter.

The Kingston-born star of the Queen's Golden Gaels basketball team can only laugh looking back at the days that followed a season-ending knee injury.

"I remember all the guys were practising and pretty excited about facing Ottawa and Carleton," the six-foot-six Leger said yesterday. "(At the same time), I rode the (stationary) bike in the basement for five minutes and I was pretty pumped about that."

...Continue Reading

Articles of note

Fraser Valley Preview from Abbottsford News

Cascade hoop teams young, but loaded with potential

Third-year forward Kyle Grewal is the lone player on the University of the Fraser Valley men's basketball roster who has been with the program for more than one year.

But despite the relative youth of his squad, Barnaby Craddock's optimism about his team is almost palpable.

...Continue Reading

Plus another piece from the same newspaper on Sam Freeman and his prowess from the free-throw line

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Nice honour for former Lakehead star 7'0" Jim Zoet (pronounced "Zoot" for those who haven't played in men's league tournaments over the past three decades)

Former Uxbridge resident honoured at Lakehead; Jim Zoet only native son to ever make it to NBA

As a young athlete in the 1970s, all Jim Zoet wanted was to play basketball.

He didn't care where, he just wanted to play.

...Continue Reading

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Acadia basketball blog profiles sophomore Justin Boutiler

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Kamloops This Week has a preview piece on Thompson Rivers WolfPack

WolfPack men hungry for playoffs

Sean Garvey has gone from player to coach to player again this season for the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s basketball team. Garvey and returning veteran Greg Stewart are intent on hauling the hoops squad into the post-season for the first time. The quest begins this weekend at the Tournament Capital Centre with 8 p.m. games on Friday and Saturday against Fraser Valley. 


“Yup.”

That was the petite, straight-faced reply from the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack’s biggest player — 7-foot-2 forward Greg Stewart — when asked if this is the year the school’s men’s basketball team finally qualifies for the Canada West playoffs.

“It’s the fact that we don’t want to lose anymore,” he eventually added.

...Continue Reading

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From UVic student newspaper

Ravens hold off Vikes, sweep Vetrie tournament

The Carleton Ravens held off a hard-charging UVic Vikes men’s basketball squad down the stretch to cap off the weekend’s 2009 Guy Vetrie Memorial Tournament, Oct. 23 to 25.

...Continue Reading

Final Weekend of Extensive Non-Conference Play

The highlight of the CIS non-conference schedule this weekend is the Stu Aberdeen Memorial tournament in Atlantic Canada which this season sees York Lions (0-1) and the injury-riddled RMC Paladins (0-6) play at Acadia, St. Mary's and Dalhousie. John DeCoste of novanewsnow previews the tournament held annually in honour of the legendary AUS coach from the late 50's and early 60's.

Stu Aberdeen Tournament Schedule (all games Atlantic time):
Thursday Night:

RMC at Acadia 7 PM AT (Kings-Edgehill in Windsor)
York at St. Mary's 7 PM (Tower)
Friday Night:
York at Acadia 7 PM
RMC at Dalhousie 7 PM
Saturday Night:
York at Dalhousie 3 PM
RMC at St. Mary's 3 PM

To finish the weekend off in Atlantic Canada (although not part of the Stu Aberdeen Classic), historical rivals St. Mary's and St. FX will meet in Halifax at the Tower in a pre-season game beginning at 3 PM.

A pair of other AUS teams take to the road again as UPEI and Cape Breton tour into Quebec for games against UQAM, Bishop's and McGill. Schedule as follows:

Friday Night:
Cape Breton at UQAM 7 PM
UPEI at Bishop's 7 PM (these teams met two weeks ago at the House-Laughton tournament at Carleton with the Gaiters coming back to squeeze out their only win of the season)
Saturday Night:
UPEI at UQAM 7 PM
Cape Breton at McGill 2 PM
Sunday afternoon:
Cape Breton at Bishop's 1 PM (these teams played last Saturday night at the Jack Donohue tournament in Ottawa with the Capers winning comfortably)
UPEI at McGill 2 PM

We put this in last week's preview one week too early (thanks to those who pointed it out) so you can be forgiven if you feel like you've read this before... The Windsor Lancers cross the border into Michigan this weekend for the Jamieson-Allen Agency Tip-Off Tournament in Spring Arbor, MI which includes NAIA's Spring Arbor Cougars, Madonna University Crusaders (NAIA) and NAIA division I perennial power Robert Morris College, who the Lancers face in Friday evening's opening round at 6 PM. A year ago Robert Morris reached the NAIA Final Four and garnered national attention when they upended Big Ten Conference member Northwestern University in an exhibition game... Virtually the Ottawa Gee-Gees roster and coaching staff has been adversely affected by the flu permeating through the Nation's Capital and at this time it is not known whether or not the Gee-Gees can travel to Clarkson College on Sunday to meet the NCAA Division III side. Ottawa has a date at home against Prokom Development team from Poland which is scheduled to begin at 3 PM... Ryerson Rams have a pair of games highlighted by a meeting in Buffalo, NY at Daemen College. The Rams also play at Brock on Saturday at 2 PM in the Bob Davis Gym as they visit the "Region" this weekend. Peter Campbell's Laurier Golden Hawks also take a trip to Buffalo to face Daeman College on Saturday afternoon, the day prior to Ryerson playing there... The Guelph Gryphons host the Guelph Phoenix senior men's team on Friday night in Guelph... Brock also hosts U.S. school Point Park at 1 PM on Sunday... Rob Smart's Queen's Gaels, off to an impressive 5-0 start including 4-0 at home, play their first road game of the young season just over the border in Canton, NY against St. Lawrence College in a 1 PM start on Saturday afternoon... Regina Cougars play at Minot State in Minot, N.D. over the weekend... Western Mustangs have a pair of games in Rochester, NY, a trip they seem to make every other year or so, playing at Nazareth College at 7 PM on Friday and then RIT in Rochester on Saturday...Head coach Scott Morrison's Lakehead Thunderwolves men's basketball will head south of the border this week as they tune up for their OUA regular season with two games and a scrimmage session with American competition. The Wolves start their trip with a Wednesday scrimmage at Rainy River Community College in International Fall, MN before heading to North Dakota to play the Valley City State Vikings on Thursday, and the Jamestown College Jimmies on Friday. Lakehead has posted a 4-1 preseason record and is coming off a tournament win at the Brandon Super 8 at Brandon University. This trip will be their last opportunity to prepare for their OUA season opener, November 6 at Queen's. The Thunderwolves have faced their share of injuries during the preseason and coach Morrison has juggled his lineup in recent weeks to adjust. Making their Thunderwolves debuts two weekends ago at the Super 8 Tournament were guards Cam Hornby and Matt Nagy, and forward Anthony McIntosh. Post Brendan King is out, however, and will not play after sustaining a foot injury in practice. Four Wolves players missed practice last week with H1N1-like symptoms but are expected back for the roadtrip. Thunderwolves' Thursday night game at Valley City State University will be webcast/video streamed online Tipoff is at 7pm Central Standard Time.

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Humber 74, Guelph 64 in Rexdale, Ontario

The Gryphs dug themselves a big 18 point halftime hole by going 21% from the floor including 1-10 from three point land in the first half before whittling it down to 6 with the ball and 3 minutes remaining but could not all the way back against another in the seemingly-annual strong teams at Humber College. Guelph came out strong in the third quarter, bringing the game back to single digits quickly and were in a position to challenge for the lead however 11 missed free throws in the second half capped their undoing. Down 6 with the ball and 3 minutes remaining, 6'4" Jonathan Moscatelli (2-11 shooting for night) had a wide open look that got stick between the rim and the backboard and Guelph never challenged again. 6'2" Dan McCarthy led the way for the Gryphs with 17 points while 6'4" Jay Mott, who left the game in the fourth quarter with another ankle injury, added 13 for Guelph which trailed 39-21 at halftime. Guelph also played without two of their freshmen: 6'11" Colin Hood and 6'8" Matt Howlett. 6'5" Jeremy Alleyne showed a slick shooting touch for the Hawks, leading all scorers with 18 points while twenty-seven year old 6'8" J.R. Bailey, an ex-Gryphon in his second stint with the Hawks, had a 13 point/13 rebound double double for the winners.

Canada West Regular Season Week One

Canada West regular season play kicks off this weekend with 12 of the 14 teams in action. There are three pairs of games that are Fri/Sat double headers and a pair of single games (one on Friday TWU/UBC and one on Saturday SFU/UVic). Regina and Saskatchewan do not play Canada West regular season games this weekend although the Cougars are playing non-conference games. All records listed are pre-season vs. CIS teams only.

Friday Night:
#7 Trinity Western (1-0 at #2 UBC (3-0) 8 PM PACIFIC (webcast on citr.ca): The Spartans, who played only 1 pre-season game against CIS competition, immediately have an opportunity to improve on their CISHOOPS.CA ranking with a visit to #2 T-Birds (3-0 in CIS pre-season). TWU's young guards will have to deal with T-Birds deep and athletic backcourt led by 6'2" Josh Whyte while UBC's less experienced backcourt will have to deal with 6'8" Moser Award winner Jacob Doerksen and NCAA D1 transfer 6'6" Tyrell Mara among others. Will perceived strength at guard overcome a strong front line ? The weekend's marquee CIS matchup in Vancouver should answer this question. This is the only game of the weekend between these two teams which are forecasted to compete for the Canada West - West Division championship.

Fraser Valley (2-3) at Thompson Rivers (0-4) 8 PM PACIFIC The Cascades travel to Kamloops where the WolfPack look for their first win against CIS competition this season. TRU has webcast games in the past; check the TRU website for more details. These teams also play on Saturday night.

Winnipeg (1-4) at #3 Calgary (3-0) 8 PM MOUNTAIN The Dinos look to avenge a 14 point loss at Winnipeg last season led in their backcourt by freshman Winnipeg native 5'10" Jarred Ogunbemi-Jackson, who can "d" up the ball and played major minutes in the Laval tournament this past weekend. This also marks the CIS regular season debut of touted 6'11" Adam Dobriansky, a NCAA D1 transfer from Monmouth College. Teams also play on Saturday night.

Lethbridge (0-0) at Alberta (2-4) 8 PM MOUNTAIN Two Canada West rookie coaches make their regular season debuts although the Horns Dave Adams did coach in the 90's on a interim basis while Bears Greg Francis makes his home court debut with a freshman-laden group. Both Friday and Saturday games are available with live! stats on the Alberta web site.

Manitoba (2-4) at Brandon (1-2) 8 PM CENTRAL TIME Kirby Schepp makes his CIS regular season coaching debut with a comparatively small lineup that has thus far played reasonably exciting basketball by spreading the floor and playing pseudo small ball. The Bobcats have been without All-Canadian Dany Charlery, unavailable for much of the pre-season and are working in several new faces into their always-athletic and exciting lineup. The teams also play on Saturday.

Saturday Night:
Simon Fraser (2-1) at Victoria (1-2) 7 PM PACIFIC The Vikes men's have led Canada West in defensive scoring for five consecutive years, and with an emphasis on D assured again for 2009-10, this year's task at hand will be improving production at the opposite end of the floor. SFU features three Vancouver Island natives including senior Matt Kuzminski of Nanaimo. The Vikes swept their 2008-09 season series versus the Clan 3-0. All Vikes home games are broadcast online, with streaming video and audio commentary, at: govikesgo.com

Also, 20:00 Man@Bran; 20:00 Wpg@Cgy; 20:00 Leth@AB.

Here is the official Canada West men's basketball preview from Canada West sports information

2009-10 Canada West Men's Basketball Preview by Canada West Sports Information Offices

Overview: Canada West basketball sees a big change in the league format, adopting a two-division system, with the Great Plains and Central Divisions merged and a Pacific Division that remains intact. The playoff format sees four Prairie teams make the post-season, three Pacific schools in and a wild card team between the Prairie fifth-place finisher and Pacific fourth-place squad.

...Continue Reading

Wayne Thomas's Canada West - Eastern Division Preview

Part Two of Wayne Thomas's Canada West Preview in which today he takes a look at the Eastern Division of Canada West.

The Calgary Dinos are one of several teams appearing to have a good shot at the Eastern Division title in Canada West Basketball in 2009-10, but the defending Canada West Champs have rivals with experience, some key recruits, and more veteran depth at the guard spot, which can be decisive at the finish. The Dinos have a dominating trio up front, and Ross Bekkering, Robbie Sihota, and Tyler Fidler can keep the Dinos at or near the top of this new 8 team Canada West Division. The Dinos will be challenged by the Brandon Bobcats under 2nd year coach Keith Vassell, himself a CIS National Champion as a Bobcat under Coach Jerry Hemmings. The ‘Cats and their long-time rivals, the Regina Cougars, both have impressive back-courts with experience and shooting.

The Saskatchewan Huskies also appear strong in the back-court and also challenge opponents with a big, physical front line as well. This leaves 4 more teams vying fo playoff spots , starting with Coach Greg Francis’ Alberta Golden Bears. The Bears have some new faces who can contribute to a playoff run if the new-look team can gel. The two Winnipeg schools need to improve in order to jump into contention, and the Manitoba Bisons under new Coach Kirby Scheff are hopeful some new blood will replace 3 graduated starters from last season. Coach Dave Crook adds an impressive big man to a core group, who could show improvement over last year’s 5-17 squad. Lethbridge has 9 fresh faces on a 15 man roster with new Coach Dave Adams preaching patience to allow some young recruits to get their bearings in Canada West play.


Team Predictions ...

1. Calgary Dinos ... With four returning starters, the Dinos could dominate again. Solid guard recruits in Andrew McGuinness, 6’2”, Vancouver, Dan Tilleman, 6’5”, Phoenix, Jarred Ogunbemi-Jackson, 5’9”, point guard, Winnipeg, and Terrence Blake , 6’1”, Edmonton, have added quickness,shooting, and defense in the back-court. Jamie McLeod, who started at point very effectively last season, can steady the attack, and returnees Lindsay Thouret (5th), Jordan Flagel (3rd), and Trevor Debolt (2nd), add depth, but the question is: can Calgary’s guards compete with vets like Regina’s, Saskatchewan’s, and Brandon’s in the heat of Canada West play? Ross Bekkering should be an All-Canadian up front, with his incredible athleticism, and Robbie Sihota is a clutch shooter, who has added muscle and savvy heading into his 5th year. Tyler Fidler, a 6’9” swing-man will be the key. Fidler’s scoring is needed more than ever with the loss of Henry Bekkering to the Euro-League. Forward depth is left to 6’7” Dustin Reding, and rookie Patrick Walker, at 6’8”, an athletic work in progress. Should Dinos Football QB Eric Glavic, a 6’6”athlete, who showed some game with St. Mary’s Huskies, decide to suit up after the grid season is done, he could strengthen this spot.
Lost ... H. Bekkering, Dom Coward, Andy Rochon, Tony Dhaliwal, Brennen Fule. Added ... Ogunbemi-Jackson, Tilleman, McGuinness, Walker, Blake, Glavic, David Laskin. Last year ... 17-5 ... Prediction ... 14-6

2. Saskatchewan Huskies Greg Jockims has both a solid guard combo and a group of big, physical forwards, and the Huskies could surprise with their depth. Shawron Glover is flashy in the Allen Iverson mode, and was the CW leader in scoring ...25 ppg, and steals ...4 spg. 6’6” Nolan Brudehl was a good rookie, who will play the coach’s style, and Troy Gottselig has developed into a scoring threat to go with some rugged rebounding. Add in the returning Mike Linklater, a slashing guard, and 6’8” Michael Leiffers, and the Green and White could be much tougher this season. Lots of depth in the post with Chris Unsworth, a 6’8” transfer from Calgary, joining his 6’10” brother Clint ... both are rugged defenders and space eaters on the glass.
Lost ... Mac Fairbairn and Dan Brudehl. Added ... Linklater, Unsworth. Last year ... 10-12 ... Prediction ... 12-8

3. Regina Cougars ... Regina has been testing Brandon for years, and now gets a chance to contest a title on a bigger scale, and they may have the horses to get the job done. The addition of Darius Mole, a point guard from Arizona, complements an already strong guard group of Paul Schubach, who has played the point but has swing guard attributes, and Jeff Lukomski, a long-range bomber who can light it up at any time. The Cougars have veteran Jamaal Williams in the high post, teaming with the crash and bash of Kris Heshka, who can hold his own with bigger opponents down low. Danny LeBeck, another import from Scottsdale, AZ is 6’6” and an adept passer according to Coach James Hillis. Sterling Nostedt and Jordan McFarlen will give some quality minutes coming off the bench at guard spots. Lost ... none significant. Added ... Darius Mole, Danny LeBeck, Paul Gareau, 6’8”, Neil Olukoya, 6’4”. Last year ... 12-10 ... Prediction ... 11-9.

4. Brandon Bobcats - At times, Dany Charlery is impossible to guard ... the times he is on the court! The 2009 All-Canadian will spark a Brandon back-court with his speed, scoring touch and defensive larceny. He has Tarik Tokar as one of the league’s premier set-up men at the point, as well as having added Andrew Kraus, who shone for Acadia in their CIS Finals run in 2008. This has to be one of the CIS’ top back-courts and, if the Bobcats can get their forwards to fight off bigger opponents, Brandon could do better than 3rd. Rejean Chabot, himself a solid scoring guard, is sitting out the season, but Coach Keith Vassell, taking a page from Coach Hemmings’ book has recruited Terri Thomas, a 25 year old guard from Chicago, and Kyrie Coleman a 6’7” wing from Washington, D.C., who should see some floor time.
Lost ... Chabot, Stevens Marcelin, Erik Holm, Lonnie Duncan. Added ... Kraus, Coleman, Thomas, Martin Lawrence, 6’11” rookie, James Elias, Jelani Deliovsky. Last year ... 13-9 ... Prediction ... 10-10

5. Alberta Golden Bears - In the year 1AH (after Horwood), incoming Coach Greg Francis follows the most successful coach in Bears basketball history, and his roster has 8 new faces to add to key returnees, Scott Leigh, a feisty point guard, who can hit the trey, and 6’4” Harvey Bradford, who battles in the post giving away size in every match-up. 6’8” Jeff Stork is returning after time away, and he should help in the post. The rookie group is as hyped as any in the CIS starting with 6’7”Jordan Baker, a lefty wing offensive threat, who learned the game from father Doug and mother Trix, both of whom were stars at U of A in days past. Todd Bergen-Henengouwen, a 6’5” wing was recruited from Pronghorn country in Picture Butte along with Ken Otieno, a 6’2” guard from Lethbridge. Rob Dewar,a 6’11” post from the NEDA program in Ontario followed Francis out west, and he is joined in the post by Jamaal Bucknor, a 6’7” Concordia College transfer. Khas Tokar, a guard from Grande Prairie College, should see minutes right away.
Lost ... C.G. Morrison, Neb Aleksic, Justin VanLoo, Eric Casey and 5 more. Added ... Storck, Baker, Bergen-Henengouwen, Otieno, Dewar, Tokar, Bucknor, Nikola Manojlovic, Jordan Hone.
Last year ... 13-9 ... Prediction ... 9-11

6. Winnipeg Wesmen - Coach Dave Crook can’t be happy at 5-17,and neither can his veteran team led by Peter Lomuro, a very athletic swing man, and Nick Lother a headsy guard, who was the top scorer last season at 15 ppg. Eric Zimmerman, a 2nd year, 6’5” wing man, can score as well. James Horaska, another 4th year forward, was limited by injuries, one of several last season for the bad-luck Wesmen. Mike James started every game last year and led in rebounds with 7 rpg and he hopes to get a lot of help from Adam Dobriansky, a 6’10” transfer from Monmouth U., an NCAA school. If Ben Kingdon, at 6’7”, stays healthy after knee problems a year ago, he can be a rebounding plus. Crook also added two Winnipeg high school stars, Brayden Duff and Mark Ridd, both small forwards. Look for marked improvement from Winnipeg if Dobriansky can make as big a difference as his coach thinks he can, and if the injury bug stays away.
Lost ... none ... Added ... Dobriansky, Duff, Ridd.
Last year ... 5-17 ... Prediction ... 8-12

7. Lethbridge Pronghorns - Dave Adams wants to win a National Championship in Lethbridge, but he knows it will take a few years to reach that promised land. In basketball-crazy Southern Alberta, Adams has a reputation as a good teacher and motivator, and he will need these strengths as he tries to incorporate 9 new faces to his 15 man roster. Adams is fortunate,however, to have a few key pieces returning including high scorer Danhue Lawrence a sharp-shooter (20 ppg) who can hit from outside, and take it tough to the hoop. Derek Waldner enters his 2nd year after leading the ‘Horns in rebounding (6.5 rpg) as a rookie, and returning after resting an injury last season is Quinn Van Gaalen, a shooting guard who will be helped with the arrival of Jeff Price, a transfer point guard from the Dinos, who instantly upgrades the Lethbridge back-court. Robin Cooper is a tough forward who can help with rebounding along with Brandon Thomas-James, a 6’5” 2nd year post, while Randy Davis, a transfer from Red Deer College should help at the offensive end, bringing a 17 ppg scoring average last year in the ACAC. High school recruits include 6’7” Taylor Norum and 6’5” Sean McCormick.
Lost ... Allan Kadima, Sean Nelson, Sephton Spence. Added ... Price, Davis, Norum, McCormick, Kyle Wilson.
Last year ... 5-17 ... Prediction ... 7-13

8. Manitoba Bisons - Kirby Scheff comes in to try and revitalize a Manitoba program, which had fallen on hard times ... 4-18 is very rocky! Nathan Dixon is the returning leading scorer from 08-09, but the Bisons lost Chris Pereira, Myron Dean and C.J. Wicker, who were all starters. Eric Garcia, another returning guard is a good three point shooter, and can distribute the ball. Key recruits for Schepp, who comes from the Winnipeg high school ranks, are two 6’ guards who played at Sisler HS for their championship team in 2007-08 ... Jonar Huertas and Kurtis Sansregret played at Red River College last season and can step in immediately. Sean Maxwell, a 6’7” forward transfer from UBC can play inside and outside, and should provide some needed scoring, and will be joined up front by Richard Reimer, a 6’7” forward who returns after 2 seasons off.
Lost -Dean, Wicker, Pereira Added- Huertas, Sansregret, Maxwell, Reimer.
Last year ... 4-18 ... Prediction ... 6-14


New Coaches at Three Schools

Dave Adams, Lethbridge, and Kirby Schepp, Manitoba are homegrown leaders in their basketball community, while Greg Francis, Alberta, is a high profile import from the Canada Basketball program based in Toronto. These three fresh faces join a group of four veterans and one young playing legend as the Head Coaches in the Eastern Division of Canada West.

Wed a.m.

For fans in Southern Ontario, there is potentially great game tonight in Guelph as Humber College Hawks, perennial Top 5 CCAA team, meet the Gryphons in a matchup featuring two coaches who together have led Canada's World University team for the past several summers: Chris O'Rourke of Guelph (Head Coach) and Darrell Glenn of Humber (Assistant Coach). Both O'Rourke (Guelph) and Glenn (UPEI) are also CIS alumni as players. There is some precident to players graduating from Humber and transfering to Guelph, most noteable, Aron Bariagbre, an OUA All-Star at Guelph in his final season, who originally played at Humber... LATE NOTE: This game is at Humber College in Rexdale NOT in Guelph as written above... McMaster Marauders, off to a torrid start with very impressive wins the past three weeks, begin a two game tour of U.S. Division 1 schools with a date at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY to meet Army Cadets tomorrow (Thursday) at 4 PM. The Cadets, a member of the Patriot League, were 11-19 last season and have a veteran group with 11 players entering either their junior or senior years with the program... The CIS weekend begins on Thursday also as the York Lions (0-1) take a trip out East beginning with a matchup at the Tower in Halifax on Thursday night against St. Mary's (1-5), which has a quick bounce back after their four-games in four-days tour in Ontario last weekend, which ended this past Monday night with a tight loss at Brock in St.Catharines. We'll have more on the York/RMC tour out east this weekend shortly... IN ADDITION, as mentioned, the Canada West regular season kicks off this weekend and we will break it all down and also hope to have Wayne Thomas's Canada West - East Division preview up later today... FINALLY FOR THIS MORNING, we have had several inquiries regarding how we compile the division records breakdown and in the absence of Bob Adams incredible site, we have been keeping the scores individually. For those requiring the data, please email me... Speaking of Bob, we have been in touch with him and indeed he has decided, after at least two decades, to not keep his site updated and please understand that it is for very good reason. We plan to spend more time honouring Bob's tremendous contribution to CIS basketball and update you on him in a future post. Stay tuned.

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Campus Newspaper Tour

Simon Fraser: Clan itching to get ball rolling on new season

Without a true star player, the 2009- 2010 Clan basketball season may come down to grinding out victories in the truest sense of the expression. The team lost two key players this offseason as Greg Wallis graduated after a fantastic CIS career and Frank Bradley was forced off the team due to academic reasons.

...Continue Reading

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The Manitoban - Not a good weekend for Bisons basketball: Men’s team gets only win

...Continue Reading

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Badgers blown out by X-men

The Brock men's basketball team hosted the St. Francis Xavier X-Men on Oct. 24 where the Badgers put on one of their worst exhibitions of the season, losing 74-54 and dropping to 1-4 in pre-season play. The Badgers shot 28.8 per cent from the field, with the loss coming a day after defeating Franklin College by a score of 93-78.

...Continue Reading

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Older, fairly lengthy piece from Waterloo Imprint

Warriors take Naismith: UW's mens basketball team conquers Naismith two years straight, a first since 1985

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Badger guard working hard to become a complete player

Jay Fleming knows that to be a great basketball player he has to play offence and defence.

Monday night at Brock University's Bob Davis Gymnasium, Fleming scored seven points and pulled down a big defensive rebound at the end of the game to secure the Badgers' 69-67 exhibition win over the St. Mary's Huskies.

"I was behind the play and saw the (Huskies) shot go up and the rebound come down," Fleming said. "I got lucky to grab the ball in the corner."

...Continue Reading

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Canada West - West Division Preview by Wayne Thomas

As has been the case over the past few years, Canada West will kick off the CIS regular season beginning this weekend with a full slate of games. For those who haven't yet heard, Canada West has a new look, with two divisions (West - the former Pacific with 6 teams and East - the former Mountain and Great Plains divisions combined into one). The playoff format has also been altered as 8 teams make the playoffs: the new structure in Canada West has only 3 guaranteed spots for West Division teams, 4 for the east, plus a wildcard team filling out the quarter-final draw and the first round will involve a cross-over. That is, 1st West vs. 4th East (all Best 2 out of 3 on the same weekend with home school getting all 3 games at home). One aspect I personally find disappointing are the names of the divisions as Canada West West Division doesn't seem to roll off the tough as nicely as Canada West - Pacific and Canada West - Mountain/Prairie or the like.

We have very pleased to be able to share with you a pair of very comprehensive Canada West previews (West and East Divisions) written by the incomparable Wayne Thomas who keeps everyone so well informed about Calgary Dinos and Canada West activity. Wayne has been great providing information along with another legend out west who continues to beg for anonymity - we thank all our sources for helping to keep the entire country informated about our great game.

WAYNE THOMAS'S CANADA WEST PREVIEW (Part One - West Division)

T-Birds, Spartans Look to be the Class of the West. Led by floor leader Josh Whyte, the UBC T-Birds have won the Canada West crown in 2 of the past 3 years and appear to have a line-up capable of adding to that string despite the loss of 3 key veterans from last year’s silver medalist squad. Chris Dyck, the deadeye shooter, Bryson Kool, the big man in the middle, and Matt Racher, the effective strong forward, are all gone, but Coach Kevin Hanson has his outstanding scoring point guard, Whyte, ace rebounder Brent Malish, and outside threat Blaine Labranche returning. Additions to the roster include 6’5” former TRU star Kamar Burke, and highly touted guard transfer Denny Dumas, a B.C. native who played at U. of North Dakota. The Trinity Western Spartans, who were hammered in the Canada West semi-final 96-65 by the eventual champion Dinos, have added some transfer recruits, who should have them giving the ‘Birds all they can handle in the West Division. The 2009 CIS player of the year, 6’7” Jacob Doerksen is a strong, smart, and smooth power player, who can score and rebound with Canada’s best. Several notables in a very deep recruiting class include 6’6” Tyrell Mara, a talented wing man, who played at Portland in the NCAA, coming out of Coach Scott Allen’s perennially dominant White Rock Christian high school program. Another NCAA transfer is 6’5” Calvin Westbrook, who is a skilled combo guard. The Simon Fraser Clan, entering their last season in Canada West before fleeing to the NCAA Div. II ranks, feature two senior guards, Sean Burke and Matt Kuzminski, and a couple of rugged inside threats in Tallon Milne and Eric Burrell. They and the UVic Vikes hope to challenge the Thunderbirds and the Spartans. Fraser Valley Cascades Coach Barnaby Craddock wants to move up nearer the top of the West standings in this, his 3rd season as Head Coach in Abbotsford. The Cascades are definitely a team on the rise, with Kyle Grewal and Sam Freeman ready to lead the assault. The addition of California import Zeon Gray at the point should get these two scorers the room they need, and the return of Yale HS sensation, Joel Friesen, out last year with a knee injury, will also stir excitement in the Valley. That leaves Coach Thom Gillespie’s Thompson Rivers Wolfpack with slim pickings in the race for a playoff spot, despite the return of 7’ Greg Stewart, an effective shot blocker, and uber-senior Sean Garvey, who plays his 5th year after a foray into coaching. Jeff Friesen, a tough 6’7” forward, and Drew Bleth, a 3 point threat are another two 5th years expected to lead the ‘Pack.

Team Predictions ...
1. UBC T-Birds - Until they’re knocked off, the ‘Birds are the favourites, with the dynamic Josh Whyte penetrating,scoring, and creating opportunities for his new running mate, Kamar Burke, a 6’5” scoring threat who left TRU for a spot with the perennial contenders at Point Grey..The team grit and chemistry will be a focus for Coach Kevin Hanson, as he tries to bring all the new elements together. Helping with this task will be a solid group of returnees, especially Brent Malish, who rebounds with a vengeance and 6’6” Kyle Watson, a glue guy in the post who will scrap on every possession. Blaine Labranche (5th) is a dangerous outside shooter, and Balraj Bains, the 6’9” post, now gets his chance to become an integral part in the rotation. As usual UBC flaunts incredible depth, with Alex Murphy, Akeem Pierre, and Nathan Yu, just waiting for their chances to contribute, and newcomer Denny Dumas, a 6’2” transfer from North Dakota, originally from Burnaby, expected to shine. To add to the embarrassment of riches Coach Hanson successfully recruited two of B.C.’s top high school grads in 6’1”Jas Gill, guard, Oliver, and 6’4” Tommy Nixon, Kitsilano, Vancouver. This new group will be tested by improving contenders in the West, but UBC has, indeed, re-loaded, and is hunting for another championship.
Lost ... Dyck, Kool, Racher. Added ... Burke, Dumas, Gill, Nixon. Last Year ...21-2 ... Prediction ... 14-4

2. Trinity Western Spartans - Not to be out-done in the recruiting wars, Coach Scott Allen snared Calvin Westbrook, and Tyrell Mara, two more B.C. high school grads returning from U.S. college experiences, and 6’8” Clint Wickham from the B.C. College League, scoring 18 ppg and rebounding 11 rpg. Trinity has considerable veteran presence as well, with outside shooter Louis Hurd ready to fire plus two big men 6'8" Joe Vroom and 6’7” Lance Verhoeff, a Calgary Christian HS grad in his 4th year. Top prospect Tonner Jackson, who, along with Mara, toiled for Coach Allen at White Rock, is a 6’7” banger, who will help with depth up front. Add two other impact recruits in 6’6” Nico Manochini, a wing from Burnaby, who had a sip at a U.S. junior college, and 5’9” point Elijah Nakagawa, a 16 ppg scorer at Columbia Bible College, and you have a deep and talented team looking to take another shot a dethroning the T-Birds in the West.
Lost ... Jamie Vaughn, Brian Banman ... Added ...
Westbrook, Mara, Wickham, Manochini, Jackson ... Last Year ... 17-6 ... Prediction ... 13-5

3. Fraser Valley Cascades - Youth will be served, and the Cascades top players are 2nd and 3rd years for the most part. Last year’s Canada West rookie of the year, Sam Freeman, will likely chalk up big point totals with his feathery touch and quickness to the rim, and Kyle Grewal, at 6’6”, a slick 3rd year forward with guard skills can step up his scoring and continue to be a big factor on the glass for Coach Craddock. UFV could move up to challenge the “big two” if their key recruits, point guard Zeon Gray and Laurentian transfer Craig Bauslaugh can make an immediate impact. Joel Friesen, coming off a year of rehab on his ACL injury, has the pedigree to shine as a rookie,and his all-around game should nicely into Craddock’s offensive plan. Big man Josh Kufske, a 6’7” 2nd year, can shoot, and the forward group will be strengthened by 6’8” James Elliott, who scored 14 ppg at Lakeland College in the Alberta Colleges League. The 4th year post, an Australian, is a versatile threat at both ends of the court. 6’7” Jasper Moedt rounds out a solid front line with his rugged style aimed at grabbing boards and getting the garbage hoops. This Cascades team will surprise some of Canada West’s highly regarded squads, and should be a factor in the playoffs with the maturing of their stars and addition of key talent.
Lost ... Tristan Smith, Gurjote Jhaj, Mike McKay ... Added ... Gray, Bauslaugh, Friesen, Elliott. ... Last year ... 7-16 ... Prediction ... 12-6

4. Victoria Vikes - The loss of Mitch Gudgeon and Tyler Haas leaves Coach Craig Beaucamp without 29 pts. and 16 rebounds a game, and a huge deficit in on court leadership. Ryan McKinnon a strong wing-man with a deft touch from downtown, will be expected to carry the scoring load, along with Wendell Thomas, a 6’6” forward, who finished strong last season both as a scorer and rebounder. Cyril Indome, a speedy guard from Winnipeg, now in his 5th year will be a key starter, along with big Mike Berg, a bruising post man, who returns from a stint with Canada’s National Rugby program. The Vikes added two big men, Nick Adair,a 6’6” former BCCAA rookie of the year, and 6’8” Adam Connelly, who is touted as having European type skills, for a big man. Zac Andrus, a talented point guard from Whatcom College, Bellingham, will push 4th year Jeff Cullen for the starting role. Dan Evans, a 6’3” transfer, led the BC Colleges in scoring as a rookie. Coach Beaucamp is known as a defensive-minded mentor who will have his Vikes competing for a playoff chance, but the new structure in Canada West has only 3 guaranteed spots for West Division teams, 4 for the east, plus a wildcard team filling out the quarter-final draw. This may mean the Vikes, long a fixture near the top of Canada West, will be scrambling in late February. Lost ... Gudgeon, Haas, Brandon Dunlop, Mike Hull ... Added ... Andrus, Adair Connelly ... Last year ... 17-6 ... Prediction ... 11-7

5. Simon Fraser Clan - For their swan-song in Canada West, the forever also-ran Clan are hoping their two big senior guards, Sean Burke, and Matt Kuzminski can somehow lead them to competitiveness with UBC and Trinity. Kuzminski racked up 15 ppg and added 5.5 rebs., while Burke, the set-up man had 5 assists per game to go with 12 ppg and 4.5 rebs. Burke recently broke the Clan’s all-time assist record, and he must be the key factor, if SFU has any playoff aspirations.
Coach Scott Clark. in his 15th season, will sorely miss big man Greg Wallis and his 18 pts. and 10 rebs. per game. The big man to watch now is Eric Burrell, a 6’7” 3rd year from Surrey, who will have Talon Milne, a 6’8”, 2nd year, from Vanderhoof to assist with the heavy lifting. Coach Clark also hopes Tristan Gruenthaler, a 6’6” forward from Yale Sec. can deliver on his promising form. Kevin Shaw, a teammate of Burke’s at Argyle Sec. is a 3 pt. threat in his 5th year, and will keep this guard-oriented team in some games with his 44% shooting from beyond the arc. Kevin Pribilsky comes off the bench with speed and some scoring touch and couple of 6’5” prize recruits with an eye to a future in NCAA Div. ll are Chris Paredes from N. Van. and A.J. Hanson from Port Coquitlam.
Lost ... Wallis ... Added ... Gruenthaler, Paredes, Hanson ... Last year ... 14-9 ... Prediction ... 9-9

6. Thompson Rivers Wolfpack - Sitting out there in the Interior, Kamloops appears to be a tough recruiting draw, and Coach Thom Gillespie is hoping a couple of seasoned veterans who are returning for another go will be able to lift the ‘Pack to respectability. Sean Garvey, a lead guard who will score and compete, will help as a mentor for younger talent, and Greg Stewart, a 7‘ 1” gentle giant of a shot-blocker (51 last year), will be a big space-eater in the middle, but there just doesn’t appear to be enough fire-power to allow TRU to improve there cellar position in the West. Jeff Friesen, a 5th year forward from Vancouver Island, led the ‘Pack with 16 ppg, and Drew Bleth, a 6’1”, 5th year guard, who scored 15 ppg with his outside shot, will spark the attack. New recruits, who Coach Gillespie has had a chance to recruit, include Travis Beck, a 6’6 guard/forward from Vernon, along with Milos Janjic, a guard, and Joseph Tubbs, a forward, both from Ontario. The pre-season brought 5 losses, with 4 against CIS schools, and 1 vs. UNBC, a B.C. College League team. The only 2 wins were over Langara College of Vancouver, and this does not auger well for the Wolfpack prospects in the upcoming regular season.
Lost ... George Aramide ... Added ... Garvey, Janjic, Beck, Tubbs. Last year ... 2-21 ... Prediction ... 3-15.

Brock 69, St. Mary's 67

Brock escapes with 69-67 victory over St. Mary's (from gobadgers.ca web site)

BOX SCORE

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's basketball team (2-4 overall) held on to defeat the St. Mary's Huskies by the score of 69-67 Monday night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.

The Badgers led 44-28 at the half after shooting 45% from the field including 6-for-9 (66.7%) from beyond the arc.

In the third quarter, the Huskies would double up on the Badgers outscoring them 24-12 which included a late run to bring it within four points 56-52 after 30 minutes.

To open the fourth quarter, St. Mary's would go on a 8-2 run to take their first lead 60-58 which included Joey Haywood knocking down all three free throws after being fouled by the Badgers Vauhn Williams outside the arc.

With the Badgers trailing 67-66, sophomore Mark Gibson (Toronto, Ont.) would get a nice roll off the rim to give Brock a 68-67 lead with 27 seconds remaining. Next possession St. Mary's Mike Poole would get an open look from beyond the arc with six seconds left which would not fall. St. Mary's would foul sophomore Didi Mukendi (St. Catharines, Ont.) right away who would then go just 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to put the Badgers up 69-67 with 4.2 seconds left in regulation. With the ball at half-court the Huskies would have another chance to win but Mark McLaughlin's field goal would come up short as the Badgers escaped with the victory.

Brock had three players in double figures led by freshman Clinton Springer-Williams (London, Ont.) who recorded 14 points and five rebounds. Mukendi contributed with 12 points and six assists while freshman Brian Nahimana (London, Ont.) added a career high 11 points including a clutch three-pointer late in the fourth quarter.

For the Huskies, Haywood led the way with 18 points and five assists. Demitri Harris added 12 points while Ryan DeWinter rounded out the Huskies leaders finishing with 11 points in the loss.

The Badgers next action is this Friday, October 30th when they travel to Buffalo to take on Medaille College. They end their non-conference schedule at home Saturday, October 31st at 2pm when they host the Ryerson Rams.

Monday 26 October 2009

Mike Aylward's column on Video webcasting

To Be (Seen) or Not To Be (Seen); THAT IS THE QUESTION (For the CIS):

(Part 3 of 3)…

Videowebcasting:

As discussed in Parts 1 and 2 of this series; the CIS and its member schools face a major challenge in the 21st Century. How to raise the CIS profile in the national media consciousness in the digital age while facing a lot of economic challenges on the part of the media, the CIS, and CIS member schools?

There has been a slow but steady improvement in the coverage of CIS sports by the national media; but there still is a long way to go.

In this final installment I am going to discuss a way that the CIS, through work by the conferences and each member school, can help themselves in this cause.

There are a wide variety of tools that now can be used to get the information out about the CIS. Every CIS member school (and the CIS and each conference) now have websites of varying quality with information such as articles, stats, schedules, photos, Top 10 lists, etc. Some now have video and audio reports. Many have been jumping on the social media bandwagon with such tools as RSS feeds, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, etc. These are all great tools and will help build a connection with fans and potential fans.

However, there is still an area that is sadly lacking; and that is the video webcasting of CIS major sport live events. Again, this has been getting better but the progress has been excruciatingly slow. I am not going to discuss audio webcasting; because it is already dinosaur technology; it should be offered as an option as part of the vidcast or for minor team events.

Why is videowebcasting so important to the CIS? Because of the lack of national media coverage; the CIS and each individual school must build their own grassroots broadcast network. This is a way to connect to existent fans and to build the fan base and to build connections to the countless alumni in Canada and around the world.

Why have the CIS member schools been so slow to embrace video webcasting? The first reason has been a general lack of vision on the part of athletic directors across the country and conference presidents and the second main reason always given is that there is no money or staff to get it done.

The first is getting better slowly but the fact that many CIS schools are not vidcasting their major sport home games should be a source of shame and embarrassment to these athletic directors. The second, budget and resources, just does not ring true anymore.

There are many ways to get videowebcasts done in the present day. The first is by using a professional vidcast service like News-cast.com out of Fredericton; the first service to every broadcast a CIS event. SSN Canada is making big inroads and also offers a good service. News-cast doesn’t ask for a fee, just that the school supply the broadcast and News-cast gets it money by charging pay-per-view and through ads. Canadians don’t seem to like pay-per-view for vidcasting; but this is a very good service. SSN offers a comprehensive package whereby the schools supply the broadcast and SSN offers a certain number of free views per broadcast event; and it makes its money through ad revenue. SSN is a good option also; especially for larger schools with a lot of teams and a lot of possible home events to potentially broadcast. There are other excellent pro services available in Canada in the USA as well.

However, many schools have either balked at the pay-per-view concept or at the idea of paying a flat fee; this is Canada after all; where everybody wants everything free.

Voila! There are now two excellent free options available; www.ustreamtv/ and www.justin.tv/ (and there are others). These platforms are free to use for the broadcaster (in our case; a CIS school) and free for viewers to watch. Ustreamtv, for example, offers live chat so fans can discuss what is going on and give feedback to the broadcasters, multiple screen inputs (up to four), the ability to pull down external video (such as ads), free game archive service for future views, stats graphic generator, etc. And it’s free! Ustreamtv now even has the capability to broadcast from select cell phone cameras! (not that I recommend that for a CIS broadcast; but hey, maybe better than not having one!)

So, what does a school need to do a vidcast? It needs a hi-speed internet connection, a computer with a graphics card that can upload the broadcast, a video camera, and a microphone for an announcer if you want totally bare bones. To raise the standard a little, throw in a audio mixer, and a couple headset mics and you have two announcers. To raise it even more; bring in another camera and an a/v switcher box and maybe a PVR to do instant replay.

For those schools that still cite budget problems; there is an even simpler style, which has been done by some CIS schools, just broadcast the game video with the camera’s built-in mic picking up ambient sound and no announcers; it is still better than not having a broadcast at all!

Staffing is often cited as a problem; mainly because schools don’t want to pay for a broadcast crew. However, there are lots of ways to work around that; ask for volunteers from the student body as announcers, if there is a campus radio station; work with them, if there is a journalism or communications program at your school; work with them, if there is a community college broadcast program; work with them; if regional cable is doing a TV game; work out a deal to have the broadcast also sent out on vidcast. Be creative.

Budget for equipment is also cited as a problem but the fact is; I am betting every CIS school has the equipment or it is very cheap to buy now; even for cash-strapped athletics departments. They can also offer sponsors ad options in exchange for equipment donations.

So, you can see; there are many ways to get a vidcast going.

The final reason why it bothers me so much that CIS fans don’t get to watch a lot of CIS major team home games is this; and this is the big one! There are two services presently used by CIS member institutions; one is called Game Tape Exchange and the other is Game Film. From what I have found out (and my experience as a former SID), in the four CIS conferences, every game for football, men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and men’s and women’s volleyball are recorded onto digital video and then uploaded via the internet to these two services after each game.

The point of this exercise is so that coaches can access these services with a Login and a Password and then view every game so the coach can scout her/his opponents. This is all grand and good and helps the coaches which helps raise the level of the product and in itself; this is a good idea.

But, it’s a very bad idea when only the coaches can watch the games and interested and potential fans can not! Think about it! This means that there is a paid student (maybe a volunteer) operating a camera and a laptop computer with video encoding software so that the game is archived and then uploaded to these services. But we can’t watch the games live! All it would take would be an internet connection and a mic and announcer and the game is vidcasting live and perhaps free if on ustream or Justin.TV; while still archiving for the coaches. Or just do the bare bones and put the video up! Shameful and embarrassing!

On a side note; why don’t these two services at least offer archived game viewing for fan viewing? I know, I know, bandwidth costs; but perhaps that should be part of the contract? However, not a necessary step if the schools vidcast these games live and archived for fans on their own.

If this came to pass; this would mean that every CIS major sport home game would be available for live broadcast (and archiving for fan view) for every team! Think about it! There really would be a CIS-TV; albeit a co-operative one between the schools, the conferences, the CIS, and the pro vidcast services! There really are no excuses here. This basically means that for these sports; almost all equipment and staff are already in place; there just is no live broadcast!

This lack of vidcasting is not the fault of the CIS; this falls at the feet of the conferences and the individual schools who control the regular season and playoff games. The conferences have to mandate that major sport home games are vidcast; just like they mandate that these games are sent up to Tape Exchange and Game Film.

It is also way past high time that Athletic Directors become more creative in their vision and find ways to make this happen; give their Sports Info Directors the needed support in this area; in terms of budget, equipment, volunteers and staff, and not simply tell the SIDs to make it happen or that they will look into it for the future. Remember; it’s not just live games you can vidcast; but media conferences, post game interviews, do live interviews with viewer chat questions, athletic awards ceremonies, etc. etc. etc.

Each week; I can watch Canadian high schools sports, Junior B British Columbia hockey, weddings, bar mitzvahs, you name it; but I still don’t have a very big option when it comes to watching major sport live games from the largest sporting organization in Canada.

I have laid out some cheap and easy ways to make CIS vidcasting happen en masse; however if the schools continue moving at the snail pace they are on; things will slowly get better in dribs and drabs and nice media releases will come out saying how a school will vidcast three of its team eight home games; the CIS status quo will continue. But, meanwhile new revolutions will occur in internet broadcasting and CIS sports will remain five years behind. It’s way past time for CIS vidcasting to join the present.