OUA men's basketball roundup: Thunderwolves, Ravens remain undefeated

SUDBURY, Ont. - Another clutch fourth quarter helped the Lakehead Thunderwolves (6-0) men's basketball team elude the Laurentian Voyageurs (2-4) in a 78-69 win Saturday night in Sudbury, Ont.

Andrew Hackner (Thunder Bay, Ont.) led the Pack with 17 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field and connecting on 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc. Both Greg Carter (Ottawa) and Joe Jones (Washington, D.C.) added 13 points from the backcourt.

Inside, sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) had a big double-double with 12 point and 12 rebounds.

Isiah Pasquale (Victoria) was the top scorer for Laurentian, knocking down 23 points while forward Matas Tirilis (Mississauga, Ont.) had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Lakehead's effective ball control was a major factor in the win as the Wolves turned it over just 11 times on the night while grabbing 14 steals, including four by both Jones and Hackner.

Lakehead shot 27-of-65 (41.5 percent) from the field to Laurentian's 21-of-64 (32.8 percent) effort but the Thunderwolves were cold from the free throw line, going just 17-of-31 (54.8 percent). The Voyageurs went 18-of-25 (72 percent) from the charity stripe.

CARLETON 94, WATERLOO 67

At Carleton, the No. 1 nationally-ranked Ravens (6-0) defeated the Waterloo Warriors 94-67 in their last home game of 2009 on Saturday night.

The Ravens took an early lead in the first quarter of action at the Ravens' Nest but the Warriors were able to slowly chip away at the difference trailing 29-20 after the first.

Going into the second quarter the Ravens continued to play their inside-out game with veteran players Elliot Thompson (Fredericton) and Kevin McCleery (Ottawa) who led the Ravens in scoring and rebounding in the first half, giving them a 52-38 advantage going into the second half.

Carleton was able to effectively out-rebound and outscore the Warriors (3-3) in every quarter, giving the visiting team no chance to get back into the game.

The Warriors were able to hold the point margin within 20 points in the fourth quarter. But with two minutes left in the game the Ravens were able to pull away and win the game 94-67.

Carleton was led by McCleery who had 19 points and nine rebounds. Waterloo was led by Ben Frisby (Vancouver) who contributed 19 points in the loss.

MCMASTER 74, YORK 70

At York, Keenan Jeppessen (Stoney Creek, Ont.) led the way once again for the No. 5 McMaster Marauders (5-1) with a 25-point, 11-rebound effort as they escaped with a 74-70 victory over the Lions (1-5).

Both Victor Raso (Hamilton, Ont.) and Scott Laws (Grimsby, Ont.) fouled out of the game while York's 6-foot-4 freshman wing Ostop Choliy (Oakville, Ont.) also fouled out, but not before scoring a career-high 15 points in 30 minutes to keep York close.

The Marauders committed 27 fouls during the game and combined with York for 49.

David Tyndale (Mississauga, Ont.) led the Lions with 19 points.

WINDSOR 118, RMC 57

At Windsor, the No. 6 Lancers (4-2) defeated the Royal Military College Paladins (0-6) 118-57 on Saturday afternoon at the St. Denis Centre.

On Saturday, the Lancers used a 38-point first quarter to jump out to a big lead en route to a 70-23 halftime lead.

Windsor continued to dominate at both ends of the court as they cruised to the victory.

In the win, Enrico Diloreto (London, Ont.) had a game-high 22 points and six rebounds while Matt Handsor (Chatham, Ont.) added 14 points and R.J Wells chipped in with 14 points and five rebounds.

Justin Wiltshire (Ajax, Ont.) had 12 points and three rebounds while Lien Phillip (St. Mark's, Grenada) finished with eight points and 12 rebounds. Rookie Michael Godfrey (Wallacetown, Ont.) added five points and three rebounds.

BROCK 80, RYERSON 69

At Brock, the Badgers (2-4) defeated the Ryerson Rams (3-3) by the score of 80-69 in front of 700 fans at the Bob Davis Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

Brock trailed by as many as 13 points midway through the third quarter 55-42. Over the next eight minutes the young Brock squad would go on a 17-4 run to tie the game 59-59 after a Brian Nahimana (London, Ont.) jumper with 7:02 left in regulation.

With the Badgers trailing 67-65 with 3:12 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Badgers went on a 15-2 run to close out the game led by the duo of freshman Clinton-Springer Williams (London, Ont.) and sophomore Didi Mukendi (St. Catharines, Ont.) who combined for 13 of the final 15 points.

Springer-Williams led the Badgers in scoring registering 23 points and eight rebounds. Three other Brock players in double figures included Nahimana who recorded a career-high 15 points and six boards, sophomore Joel Whitty (St. Catharines, Ont.) who added 15 points including three treys and Mukendi who rounded out the Brock leaders with 12 points.

For the Rams, Boris Bakovic (Toronto) led all scorers with a game-high 32 points and 12 rebounds.

TORONTO 64, GUELPH 61

At Guelph, the No. 7 Toronto Varsity Blues (4-2) continued their winning ways with a 64-61 victory over the Gryphons (1-5) on Saturday at the W.F. Mitchell Athletics Centre.

The first quarter was a low-scoring affair as both teams struggled to find their legs. The Gryphons went on to outscore the Blues 21-15 in the second and held a 32-27 lead at halftime.

The game continued to go back-and-forth with Toronto narrowing the gap to three points (48-45) heading into the final frame. The Blues completed their comeback attempt in the fourth, outscoring the Gryphons 19-13 to hold on for the three-point win.

Four Varsity Blues reached double-digit numbers on the night. Fifth-year guard Nick Magalas (Burlington, Ont.) led Toronto with 14 points, while London, Ont. natives Patrick Sewell and Nick Snow had 11 and 12 points, respectively, and Drazen Glisic (Sarajevo) chipped in with 10 of his own. Magalas, Sewell and Glisic combined for 15 boards in the victory.

Fifth-year Gryphons guard Jay Mott (Burlington, Ont.) tallied a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

OTTAWA 73, LAURIER 59

At Ottawa, despite a shaky start, the Gee-Gees (4-2) managed to keep the momentum going and come out on top, defeating the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (1-5) 73-59 Saturday evening.
 
Fifth-year guard Donnie Gibson (Kingston, Ont.) was the Gee-Gees leading scorer, banking 17 points and two rebounds, followed closely by second-year guard Warren Ward (London, Ont.) with 16 points and seven rebounds.
 
Ward was also perfect at the foul line, along with fifth-year guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe (Toronto), third-year Matt Riendeau (Ottawa), and second-year Max Clarkson (Peterborough, Ont.).

Laurier's rookie wing Maxwell Allin (Chatham, Ont.) had a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds while teammate Conor Meschino (Oakville, Ont.) went 5-for-7 on field goals and perfect on free throws for a total of 12 points.

WESTERN 85, QUEEN'S 72

At Western, Andy Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.) was a perfect 14-of-14 at the charity stripe and finished with 24 points as the Mustangs (4-2) won their second straight game, 85-72 over the Queen's Gaels (2-4) Saturday at Alumni Hall.

In a game featuring five lead changes and five ties, Western blew it open with their starters in the second half, outscoring Queen's 26-14 in the third quarter.

Wedemire added eight rebounds and four assists, while Ryan Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.) had 24 points, nine assists and two boards.

Garrett Olexiuk (Burlington, Ont.) added 12 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Senior forward Mitch Leger (Kingston, Ont.) led the Gaels with 20 points and 13 rebounds along with three blocks and a steal. But he was 8-of-22 shooting as the Gaels shot under 40 percent in the second half.

But Queen's clawed close in the second quarter, outscoring Western 21-17. They trailed by just one, 41-40, at the half.

Barbeau hit a clutch trey in the third quarter following up on another from Marcus Barnett (Hampton, Va.), who finished with nine points, to blow the game open.

It capped a 12-0 Western run, starting in the dying seconds of the first half.

While the Gaels' depth was excellent - outscoring Western 36-9 in bench points - they shot the ball poorly including five misses on their last seven shots from the field.

Western also made Queen's pay for sloppy play, notching 26 points off turnovers, including 11 in the third quarter.

LAKEHEAD 89, YORK 76

At York, another big fourth quarter was the difference as the Lakehead Thunderwolves beat the York Lions 89-76 on Friday night at Toronto to improve their unblemished conference record to 5-0.

The Wolves outscored the Lions 28-15 in the final frame to close out a game in which they trailed 41-37 at halftime.

Post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) led the Wolves with 22 points and 13 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end as Lakehead out-rebounded York 39-26.

Junior guard Cam Hornby (Winnipeg) added 16 points and three steals while point guard Greg Carter (Ottawa) and freshman post Ryan Thomson (Oakville, Ont.) each had 10 to round out a balanced team effort.

Vadim Razenberg (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Dejan Kravic (London, Ont.) led the Lions with 16 points apiece while David Tyndale (Mississauga, Ont.) added 14.

CARLETON 97, LAURIER 54

At Carleton, the No. 1 Ravens defeated the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks 97-54 at the Ravens' Nest on Friday night.

The Ravens came out with intensity in the second quarter finding success in the paint with Kevin McCleery (Ottawa) and Kyle Smendziuk (Kanata, Ont.). On the defensive end the Ravens had some trouble guarding Golden Hawks guard Jesse MacDonald (Brantford, Ont.) who tallied 14 points in the first half. But the Ravens hit more shots to give them a 50-31 lead going into the half time break.

Hustle and a great team effort also allowed the Ravens to rebound the ball extremely well and get second and third opportunities on offence. The Ravens out-rebounded the Golden Hawks 41-24 for the game.

Great defensive plays by Cole Hobin (Ashton, Ont.) and Willy Manigat (Montreal) created more opportunities for the Ravens in the third.

The Ravens were also able to contain MacDonald better in the second half, which forced Laurier to make plays through other players. However, the Golden Hawks were unable to capitalize on their inside play and could not get back into the game, giving the Ravens the 97-54 win.

RYERSON 79, GUELPH 74

At Guelph, the Ryerson Rams came from behind to defeat the Gryphons 79-74 on Friday night.

The Rams trailed for the entire contest and by as much as 12 points until taking their first lead with 6:44 to play in the fourth quarter. With the game tied 72-72 with 44 seconds remaining, OUA all-star Boris Bakovic (Toronto) hit a pair of free throws to give Ryerson a two-point lead. Following the free-throws, the Rams full court pressure forced Guelph to turn the ball over after failing to gain half court. Ryerson hit its free-throws from then on to seal its first road win of the season.

Bakovic recorded a double-double with a team-high 27 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Ryan McNeilly (Toronto) added 15 points for the Rams, while Joey Imbrogno (Toronto) and Richardo Dunkley (Kitchener, Ont.) each had 13 points.

Jay Mott (Burlington, Ont.) had a game-high 31 points for the Gryphons, while Dan McCarthy (Guelph, Ont.) added 17 points.

TORONTO 68, BROCK 62

At Brock, the No. 7 Toronto Varsity Blues started their weekend on a good note, eking out a six-point win, 68-62, over the host Badgers in St. Catharines, Ont.

The difference on Friday night - third-year guard Anthony De Giorgio's (Toronto) drained a season-high 15 points, as did Nick Magalas (Burlington, Ont.), and Drazen Glisic (Sarajevo) hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds.

In a close contest through the first two quarters of play, the Blues would head into halftime with a slight 35-33 lead over the Badgers. However, it would be Brock coming out of the gates in the second half, looking to take command of the game on their home court.

Having been outscored 18-12 in the third quarter, Toronto exploded in the final frame and clamped down on the defensive, holding their opponent to just 11 fourth-quarter points while knocking down 21 of their own to close out the game and seal the victory.

Glisic was one point shy of a double-double, also added nine points, while Nick Snow (London, Ont.) had 10 of his own and grabbed seven boards, six on the offensive glass.

The Badgers had four players in double figures; Clinton Springer-Williams (London, Ont.) and Joel Whitty (St. Catharines, Ont.) tallied 13 each, while Didi Mukendi (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Brian Nahimana (London, Ont.) had 14 and 10 respectively.

MCMASTER 81, LAURENTIAN 68

At Laurentian, the No. 5-ranked McMaster Marauders exploded for a 14-1 run to begin the third quarter, blowing open a tight game, and propelling the maroon and grey to an 81-68 win over the Laurentian Lady Vees on Friday evening in Sudbury, Ont.

The Vees jumped out to an early lead, 11-4, on the strength of a perfect 3-for-3 effort from beyond the three-point arc. Slowly, the Marauders started to chip away, trailing by only a basket, 15-13, after one quarter.

The visitors fought back to knot the score, before Laurentian once again regained the advantage, 24-19. But an 11-0 run gave the maroon and grey to their first lead of the evening, 30-24.

Forward Matas Tirilis (Mississauga, Ont.) knocked down four straight foul shots, to bring the home side even once again. Mac went into the locker room ahead 35-33.

A 14-1 run gave the Marauders a 49-36 lead, but after scoring their first field goal of the quarter past the 5:00 mark, Laurentian briefly got back in it, closing the margin to five points. But the maroon and grey quickly silenced the gathering, extending their lead to 15 points, 62-47, at the end of the third quarter.

Tyrell Vernon (Hamilton, Ont.) and Keenan Jeppesen (Stoney Creek, Ont.) combined for 48 of McMaster's 81 points. Vernon was 12-for-18 from the floor, finishing with a game high 25 points, while Jeppesen tallied 23 points.

Manny Pasquale (Victoria) knocked down 15 points to lead Laurentian. Tirilis added 14 points and 13 rebounds.

WESTERN 105, RMC 57

At Western, the Mustangs got into triple-digit scoring with an easy 105-57 win over the RMC Paladins at Alumni Hall on Friday.

Zachary Angus (Burlington, Ont.) led the Mustangs with 18 points and five assists. Rookie Paladins guard Justin Hill (Halifax) led RMC with 19 points including a pair of threes.

But the Paladins' 18 turnovers were costly.

Starting forward Garrett Olexiuk (Burlington, Ont.) also had 14 points, six assists and three boards. Six Mustangs were in double-digit scoring including Angus, Olexiuk, Brett Lawrence (Welland, Ont.) with 13 points, and David Harder (Copenhagen), Andy Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.) and Marcus Barnett (Hampton, Va.) with 10 points each.

In the second quarter, Western's bench came on to support and performed admirably - outscoring the RMC bench 17-3 with every player seeing the floor for at least four minutes in the half.

The Mustangs starters got three minutes of playing time to open the third quarter, extending the lead to 69-30, then the subs came in and outscored the Paladins 15-14 for the final seven minutes of the quarter. Western continued to lead, stretch in the margin to 40 points, with the score 84-44 after three quarters.

Lawrence had eight third-quarter points and played intelligent defence. The Paladins hurt themselves with a number of unforced turnovers but shot well from three-point range hitting three treys.

In the fourth, Western's starters came back in briefly, but Western played a composed fourth quarter and nearly doubled up on RMC.

QUEEN'S 73, WINDSOR 64

At Windsor, Mitch Leger (Kingston, Ont.) recorded 21 points and added 10 rebounds to help the Queen's Gaels upset the No. 6-ranked Windsor Lancers 73-64 at the St. Denis Centre in Windsor, Ont.

Queen's exploded for a 17-8 lead after the first quarter with strong interior play by Leger. Queen's continued its strong play in the second but the Lancers responded with 26 in the second to earn a 34-34 tie heading into the half

In the second half, the Gaels used a 7-0 run in the third quarter to regain the momentum and hung on late for the 73-64 upset victory.

Baris Ondul (Istanbul) tallied 16 points while Ryan Hairsine (St. Marys, Ont.), contributed 10 points in the Gaels victory. Bernard Burgesson (Port Hawkesbury, N.S.), added nine points and seven rebounds.

John Woldu (London, Ont.), was Windsor's top scorer dropping 13 points while Andre Smyth (Windsor, Ont.), recorded a double-double tallying 10 points and 10 rebounds. In all four Lancers recorded 10 points.

OTTAWA 74, WATERLOO 66

At Ottawa, in a comeback final quarter, the Gee-Gees claimed a 74-66 victory over the Waterloo Warriors.
 
The Gee-Gees took the initial lead and were ahead 39-33 heading into the half.  After a tough third quarter and getting out-shot by 11 points, the Gee-Gee had ground to make up trailing by five points heading into the final quarter. But the Gee-Gees came out hard in the fourth quarter securing their victory over the Warriors.
 
First-year rookie Kemeish Edwards (Brampton, Ont.) had a stellar final quarter sinking two free throws to take the lead and a three pointer to further secure the Gee-Gees win late in the fourth quarter.
 
Third-year guard Matt Riendeau (Ottawa) led the Gee-Gees in scoring with 20 points and in rebounding with 15 grabs. Riendeau went four for four on his free throws and is currently third in the OUA for his 62 percent field goal percentage.

Source: Ryerson Rams, Toronto Varsity Blues, Lakehead Thunderwolves, McMaster Marauders, Western Mustangs, Queen's Gaels, Ottawa Gee-Gees, Carleton Ravens, Brock Badgers, Windsor Lancers