OUA roundup: Top ranked teams earn victories

THUNDER BAY, Ont. - On a night when starters Greg Carter and Yoosrie Salhia fouled out late, backup guard Joe Jones came up big with 24 points as the "Heart Attack Pack" edged out the tenacious Guelph Gryphons 65-61, Friday night at the C. J. Sanders Fieldhouse in Thunder Bay, Ont. The win improves No. 7 nationally-ranked Lakehead's record to 11-2 as they retain sole possession of first place in the OUA West Division. Guelph drops to 4-9 despite a phenomenal team effort and are last in the West.

A sophomore from Washington, D.C., the energetic Jones was 7-of-14 from the field, and hit three three-pointers while picking up two steals. One of those steals interrupted a crucial Gryphons possession and led to an eventual game-winning reverse lay-up with 6.7 seconds left to make it 63-58. A clutch three-ball from Guelph's sophomore guard Dan McCarthy drew the Gryphons within two points with two seconds left, but Jones iced the game, hitting two free throws with 0.1 on the clock.

Another American import, freshman guard Matt Nagy (Bentonville, Ark.) added 10 points off the bench for Lakehead which won despite struggling mightily from the field, shooting 22-72 (30.6 percent).

Fifth-year senior guard Jay Mott (Burlington, Ont.) and junior guard Jon Moscatelli (Toronto) led four Gryphons in double figures with 13 points and three three-pointers apiece while sophomore Dan McCarthy (Guelph) and junior Michael Petrella (Brantford, Ont.) had 11 and 10, respectively as Guelph shot 23-of-60 (38.3 percent) and 7-of-17 (41.2 percent) from beyond the arc.

Lakehead struggled early and trailed the Gryphons 40-35 through 20 minutes. The Thunderwolves battled back and took a short-lived 49-48 lead in the closing minutes of the third quarter on a lay-up by Jamie Searle (Belleville, Ont.) but the two teams were knotted at 51 entering the final quarter.

The Gryphons took control early in the fourth until Jones made a strong drive and the harm with just over six minutes remaining for the traditional three-point play, tying it up 58-58. Neither team scored during the subsequent four minutes until senior Andrew Hackner (Thunder Bay, Ont.) put the 'Wolves up with a lay-up. The Gryphons' Moscatelli had two huge fast-break scoring chances after forcing steals on consecutive plays but missed an easy lay-up and was later sent packing by Hackner's game-changing block.

From there, Ryan Thomson (Oakville, Ont.) made one free throw before Jones went up his late four point tear.

A 38-27 rebounding edge over the smaller Gryphons gave Lakehead the extra possessions needed to pull out the win with Salhia (Toronto) and Thomson contributed eight apiece. The 'Wolves shot a poor 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) from the free three line but limited Guelph's chances from the charity stripe as the Gryphons went 8-of-11 (72.7 percent).

Lakehead will look for the sweep, Saturday night at the Thunderdome with action tipping off at 8 p.m. ET.

CARLETON 74, QUEEN'S 58

At Carleton, Michael Kenny (Ottawa) scored 16 points as the No. 2 Ravens (12-1) defeated the Queen's Gaels 74-58 on Friday night.

Ravens teammates Willy Manigat (Montreal) and Aaron Chapman (Bloomfield, Ont.) chipped in 13 points each, while Kevin McCleery (Ottawa) added 11.

Mitch Leger (Kingston, Ont.) led Queen's (7-7) with a game-high 18 points. Teammates Dan Bannister (Newmarket, Ont.) and Baris Ondul (Istanbul) scored 14 and 10 points, respectively.

OTTAWA 120, RMC 60

At Ottawa, Max Clarkson and Kemeish Edwards scored 18 points each to lead the No. 6 Gee-Gees (11-2) over the RMC Paladins 120-60 on Friday night.

Six Gee-Gees hit double figures in scoring, including Josh Gibson-Bascombe, Ryan Malcolm-Campbell, Warren Ward and Akeem Gardner with 17, 12, 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Nicolas Cooke led the Paladins (Toronto) with 22 points, while teammate Simon Dakin (Comox, B.C.) added 20. RMC dropped to 0-14 on the season.

LAURENTIAN 84, TORONTO 74

At Laurentian, Paul Kovacs (Barrie, Ont.) scored 23 points to lead the Voyageurs (5-8) to an 84-74 win over the Toronto Varsity Blues (6-7) on Friday night.

Laurentian teammates Manny Pasquale (Victoria) contributed 20 points, while Isiah Pasquale (Victoria) added 19.

Nick Magalas scored a game-high 24 points for the Varsity Blues in a losing effort.

RYERSON 74, YORK 72

At York, a pair of Ryerson Rams (5-8) earned double-doubles in a 74-72 win over the host Lions (2-11) on Friday night.

Boris Bakovic (Toronto) scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Rams, while Ryan McNeilly (Toronto) contributed 18 points and 10 boards.

David Tyndale (Mississauga, Ont.) led York with 21 points.

Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves with files from OUA Communications