Wednesday 4 January 2012

OUA West Begins second half tonight

Three OUA West games kick off the second half of the CIS regular season tonight with a pair of title contenders meeting in Windsor as McMaster visits the St. Denis Center to face the Lancers (game available on SSN Canada).  The Marauders have handed their point guard duties to 6'2" freshman Adam Presutti and he has not disappointed.  Another first year recruit 6'8" Nathan McCarthy has been solid up front for the otherwise-undersized Marauders.  6'6" Cam Michaud and 6'3" Victor Raso remain the Marauders veteran go-to players, especially as play pushes toward the end of the season when experience typically wins.  The Lancers are a bit younger than Mac with their Big 3 of 6'2" Enrico Diloreto, 6'1" Josh Collins and 6'8" Liem Phillip each now deep into their junior seasons.  The Lancers have an impact freshman of their own in 6'5" Rotimi Osuntola Jr., a tough matchup.  Both coaches are very familiar with one another as Lancers Chris Oliver, if memory serves, was on the McMaster coaching staff when Mac's second-year boss Amos Connelly played for Mac.  Game time in Windsor is 8 PM on SSN Canada.

In Waterloo, Laurier Golden Hawks host cross-town rival Waterloo in a game available on Hawk Vision.  The Hawks had their 7 game winning streak snapped on the final weekend of the season at Carleton and feature at least two OUA honours candidates in 6'6" Kale Harrison and 6'6" Maxwell Allin.  Waterloo, which most figure will be in a battle for a playoff spot, has one of the more explosive offensive players in the league in 6'3" Cam McIntyre.  The Warriors come off an 0-3 performance in the Ryerson tournament.

In St. Catharines, the Brock Badgers open the second half hosting Guelph.  The Gryphs hope to have 6'0" guard Kareem Malcolm back after he was injured at the Ryerson tournament.  6'2" Dan McCarthy remains one of the better scorers and leaders in the OUA West for Guelph.  The Badgers look to move over .500 at home in league play (6-2 overall) with their deep, athletic group that figures to try to push the action defensively on Guelph.

Stay tune for game reports later tonight.

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