Saturday 19 February 2011

OUA West this afternoon

Waterloo 95, McMaster 94  6'2" Wayne Bridge knocked down the game winner after a scramble with less than 2 seconds remaining to lift the Warriors to an improbable comeback at McMaster.  With the victory, Waterloo moved into a three-way tie for the final playoff spot in the division however Guelph wins the three-team tiebreaker to finish sixth and will meet Laurier Golden Hawks in Waterloo on Wednesday night in an OUA West sudden-death playoff game.

With the Marauders leading by 9 and about 2 minutes remaining, 6'3" Victor Raso, in foul trouble all afternoon, was whistled for his fifth.  Raso finished with 15 points in just 18 minutes for the Marauders.  Still, Mac led by 6 with 30 seconds remaining but Warriors improbable rally continued as after a steal, 6'1" fifth-year senior Jordan Hannah culminated a tremendous final game of his career with his 5th three of the game, bringing it to 94-93.  On the ensuing possession 6'0" Jordan Tew was fouled and after he missed both free throws, Tew almost recovered the offensive rebound.  The ball then went out of bounds to Waterloo and Warriors tried a lob from the sideline which was tipped to 6'0" fifth-year senior Luke Kieswetter and the coach's nephew, on the final play of his career, found Bridge open who made no mistake from 15 feet, shocking the Marauders.  Another Warrior fifth-year senior enjoyed one of the best games of his career as 6'6" Alan Goodhoofd contributed 22 points and 17 rebounds in the win.  Hannah was unbelievable from the perimeter, finishing with a game-high 24 points including 5-9 3's.  6'1" Kenan Etale led Mac with 18 points including 4-6 3's but turned it over a couple of times late. 

The Marauders again played without 6'8" Taylor Black (status for playoffs is unknown) and 6'9" Scott Brittain (out for season) while Waterloo did not have 6'3" Cam McIntyre in the lineup.  The Marauders went deep into their bench for much of the first half but the Warriors played hard and did not wilt despite already knowing they were eliminated from the playoffs.  Despite the loss, Mac (11-11) will host Western in their first round playoff game Wednesday night in Hamilton.  I may have reported otherwise earlier.

Brock 78, Laurier 73  6'6" Mark Gibson had a career-high 32 points on 9-19 shooting including 14 for 16 from the foul line as the Badgers came back in the fourth quarter, doing what they had to do but falling short of a playoff spot after Waterloo's improbable comeback at Mac.  6'5" Kale Harrison had 19 for Laurier, which played without 6'7" forward Patrick Donnelly, who has concussion-like syndromes and got only 6 minutes out of injured 5'11" guard Travis Berry.  Brock was able to pull out today's victory but finishes out of the playoffs after losing 6 games this season by 2 points or fewer.  A pair of fifth-year senior transfers closed out their post-secondary careers for the Badgers as 6'1" Andrew Kraus had 11 points on 4-13 shooting and 6'2" Mike Cruickshank added 14 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.  Laurier hosts Guelph on Wednesday night in an OUA West sudden-death playoff.

Windsor 92, Guelph 85  The Lancers continued their torrid recent perimeter shooting, going a white-hot 13 for 19 from downtown to come back in the second half and defeat the Gryphons in Guelph.  By the time the second half had started, Guelph had already clinched a playoff spot.  6'3" Isaac Kuon continued his tremendous play of late, going off for 23 points including 4-5 3's and 6'1" soph guard Josh Collins added 21 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, also knocking down 4 of 5 of his 3's.  Guelph stayed in the game with a solid 11 for 27 display from downtown, getting 22 points from 6'2" Dan McCarthy and 20 from 6'4" Jonathan Moscatelli, who continues to round back into top form offensively.  5'11" Mike Petrella added 19 for Guelph but fouled out late in the contest.  Windsor gets a first round playoff bye while Guelph travels to Laurier on Wednesday.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's a shame about Scott Brittain.
Unfortunately, once a player develops a history of concussions, it is nearly impossible to ever be free from the danger of re-injury.
When he played, the Marauders were a dangerous team and their record with him starting was actually quite impressive.
However, the concussion issue was always there and it finally forced a premature end to his season and a sad conclusion to his playing career.