CIS men's basketball Saturday roundup: Cascades, Bisons take final Canada West playoff spots

The first quarter was evenly matched as the lead changed hands several times before the Warriors would take a slight lead of five points, 21-16, going into the second quarter. Scott Laws (Gormley, Ont.) would continue to draw fouls for the Marauders and the home team would take a lead of just one point at halftime. 

In the third, the Marauders came out flying as they scored 30 points and at one point had a twelve point lead. Matthew Wilusz (Hamilton, Ont.) was big on the boards for McMaster with 12 and Victor Raso (Hamilton, Ont.) contributed 15 points off the bench.

The Marauders built a ten point lead to start the fourth quarter and looked like they might pull away, but the Warriors stayed in it. Waterloo's Jordan Hannah (Kitchener, Ont.) had a game-high 24 points for the Warriors and would lead the charge in the final minutes of the game. 

After Waterloo tied it up at 77, the Marauders would go on a 11-0 run to move ahead 88-77 with a little over three minutes to play. 

With McMaster up by nine, 91-82, with two and a half minutes to go the Warriors kept cutting into the Marauder lead and would get to within four. After McMaster made a free throw to make it 94-88, Alan Goodhoofd (Oakville, Ont.) would hit a jumper, and Luke Kieswetter (Waterloo, Ont.) would grab the steal on the ensuing possession setting up a Hannah three pointer that cut the McMaster lead to just one, 94-93. 

Waterloo would then foul Jordan Tew (Greensville, Ont.) who would miss both free throws with 11 seconds to go. Waterloo would grab the rebound and scramble to the other end to get a shot off. Wayne Bridge (North York, Ont.) would pick up the ball and hit a jumper with less than two seconds left on the clock to give Waterloo the 95-94 victory.

Laws scored double digits in the loss with 15 points as well as Nathan Pelech (Mississauga, Ont.) with ten. 

Goodhoofd was a big factor in Waterloo's win a 22 points and 17 rebounds double-double performance. 

Source: Waterloo Sports Info

Despite the victory, the Badgers miss the OUA playoffs for the third consecutive season since winning the CIS National Championship in 2007-08.

Brock had four players in double figures led by junior Mark Gibson(Toronto, Ont.) who recorded a season high 32 points going 9-for-19 from the field and 14-for-16 from the charity stripe. He also pulled down seven boards. Senior Mike Cruickshank(Toronto, Ont.) contributed with 14 points and six assists with senior Andrew Kraus(Markham, Ont.) and freshman Cedric Kasongo(Welland, Ont.) chipping in with 11 and 10 points respectively in the victory.

The Golden Hawks also had four players reach double digits led by Kale Harrison who registered 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sharif Wanas collected 18 points and seven rebounds while Jamar Forde and Maxwell Allin added 17 and 13 points respectively.

Prior to the game, the Badgers honoured graduating seniors Mike Cruickshank and Jordan Johnson(Greensville, Ont.). 

Cruickshank, who joined the Badgers in 2009, finished his Brock regular season career with 475 points, 149 rebounds, 134 assists, 69 steals in 35 OUA games. At Brock, he had a career 36.3 FG% (153-for-421), 33.5 3PT% (65-for-194) and 77.0 FT% (104-for-135).

Johnson, who was part of the CIS National Championship team as rookie in 2007-08, played in 82 career OUA regular season contests adding 230 points, 200 rebounds, 67 steals and 41 assists. He finished with a career 39.2 FG% (89-for-227) and 62.0 FT% (44-for-71).

Source: Brock Sports Info

Isaac Kuon led all scorers with 23 points, while Josh Collins contributed 21 points on impressive 60% shooting.

The Gryphon's stormed out to a 10-0 lead early, but the Lancers were able to chip away to trail 23-22 after the first. The Gryphons saw balanced scoring from their starters, while the Lancers relied heavily on Kuon and Collins.

The second was equally close, with Guelph using an 8-1 run to take an 11 point lead halfway through the quarter. Again, Windsor chipped away, cutting the deficit to five heading into halftime.

The third quarter was all Windsor as they did most of their damage inside and at the charity stripe. With the Gryphons utilizing a guard heavy lineup, the Lancers were able to get to the line and get a number of easy looks inside. The Lancers outscored the Gryphon's 27-18 in the quarter to take a 71-67 lead.

Windsor kept the pressure on in the fourth, extending their lead to as many as 10 points before the Gryphon's answered with back to narrow the margin to 87-83 with four minutes remaining. The Lancers were able to keep the Gryphons at bay and secure the win.

The Lancers will now have a bye in the quarter-finals, and will await Wednesday's results to learn their semi-final opponent. The OUA semi-finals will take place next Saturday, February 26th at 7:00pm at the St. Denis Centre.

Source: Windsor Sports Info

The hometown Reds fell behind early, allowing CBU to open the match on a 12-0 run. It wasn't the outcome UNB desired in their final match at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym, as the closest the Reds came to CBU was a six-point margin.

As the regular season is drawing to a close, the loss could have detrimental effects to the Reds' playoffs hopes. However, losses from Saint Mary's and Acadia added some insurance to their postseason bid.

After 18 games played, UNB remains in fourth place with 20 points. Saint Mary's and UPEI sit fifth and sixth respectively with 18 points apiece. Acadia, the seventh seed, have two games in hand on the three squads they're chasing, but continue to sit six points out of the final playoff spot.

Despite having their playoffs hopes still very alive, UNB head coach Brent Baker was displeased with his team's offensive performance against the country's fifth-ranked club.

"You can't come out and miss as many shots as we missed in the first quarter. It was the telltale tape of the game. They're not ranked in the top of five because they're poor," said Baker.

"You can't spot this type of team that kind of lead."

The Reds were caught flat-footed in the first quarter, dropping the frame 19-6. The home team began to fight back in the match, but couldn't contain CBU guard Paris Carter.

The 6'4'' Baltimore, Maryland native nailed three daggers from beyond the arc that squashed any attempt at a comeback. Carter led his squad into the half with 46-33 lead.

"We didn't have an answer to him," said Baker simply.

The offensive onslaught continued into the second half as the Capers opened up an 80-51 lead at one point in the fourth quarter. Even a pair of threes from Dustin Anthony was not enough to spark the Reds and CBU coasted to their fifteenth win.

Baker did see some positives in the defeat. Colton Wilson recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Daniel Quirion scored the team high with 13 points.

The Reds did keep pace with the Capers' high-octane offence during the match. The teams squared off the second quarter 27-27 and only loss the fourth frame by one point. They just couldn't overcome their poor start.

"It's the not the fact that you can't compete with this team," explained Baker. "It's the fact that you can't dig yourself a hole against this type of team."

According to the UNB coach, their early offensive woes leaked into their defensive game and the Capers capitalized.

"Those have to separate entities and we didn't do that. We came down and missed shots and we let that affect what we do defensively. That snowballs on you sometimes," said Baker.

"We hurt ourselves. We didn't play our game."

UNB will get another shot at the Capers and a chance to lock up a playoff spot next weekend when they travel to CBU and StFX in the final weekend of the regular season.

Source: UNB Sports Info

The teams battled throughout the first 30 minutes, with Laval holding one-point leads after the first quarter (20-19), halftime (40-39) and after the third quarter (57-56), each time thanks to points just before the buzzer. Altogether, the contest featured seven ties and 19 lead changes.

The Gaiters took control of the game with an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter, capped by a Mike Andrews (Oakville, Ont.) jumper at 7:25 to push the lead to 64-57. Laval pulled back to within one as Jean-Francois Beaulieu-Maheux hit a three to make the score 73-72 with 1:15 to go, but the Gaiters responded with a three of their own by Alex Audette-Génier (Montreal, Que) to restore their four-point cushion. Three free throws down the stretch sealed the deal for the Gaiters.

Along with Hunter's 21, the Gaiters were helped by Audette-Génier, who added 15 points. The other Gaiters in double digits were Sean Monplaisir (Toronto, Ont.), who scored 11 points and four assists, while Antoine Côté-Caouette (Quebec, Que.) scored ten and added five boards.

Laval was led by Beaulieu-Maheux, who scored a game-high 30 points and added a team-high three assists. The Rouge et Or were also helped by Etienne Labrecque, who scored 13 and added eight rebounds as well as Jérôme Turcotte-Routhier, who scored 11 and added six rebounds.

The Gaiters shot a season-high 51% from the field (28-for-55), while holding Laval to 41% shooting (28-for-69). The Gaiters hit a season-high ten three-pointers, going 10-for-16 from long range, while Laval went 7-for-25. The Gaiters committed only 13 turnovers, while Laval made only ten.

With the loss Laval (20-12, 16-9 CIS, 10-5 QUBL) dropped into second in the QUBL standings, one game behind Concordia.

The Gaiters (3-27, 3-24 CIS, 2-11 QUBL) end their 2010-11 season next Saturday as they take on Concordia in Montreal. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

Source: Bishop's Sports Info

Source: Western Sports Info

The teams were close through three quarters, and a pair of Eric Garcia free throws brought Manitoba to within five points early in the fourth. Cue the theatrics from downtown, as the Cougars hit back-to-back-to-back three-pointers – two from Jeff Lukomski and the final one by Brendan Hebert – to push the lead up to 14.

The Cougars maintained a double-digit lead down the stretch, and a vintage Marek Downarowicz three-pointer from the corner essentially sealed the victory with just under three minutes left in the game.

Regina's fifth-year players were led by Lukomski, who went 5-for-9 from three-point land and ended up with a team-high 24 points for the Cougars. Downarowicz ended up with 13 points and 14 rebounds to secure his second double-double in as many nights and his fourth of the season, while Kris Heshka ended up with nine rebounds, five steals, and four points in his final home game as a Cougar. Lynn Gee made his third career start and ended up with three points, all of which came on a second-quarter three-pointer.

Third-year forward Paul Gareau scored 21 and pulled down nine rebounds for the U of R.

Garcia tied Lukomski for the game high with 24 points, while Richard Reimer scored 17 and added 12 rebounds for a big double-double. Kevin Oliver had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Bisons.

The Bisons end the Canada West schedule with a 9-15 record. Despite the loss, Manitoba clinches a spot in the postseason thanks to Saskatchewan's win over Calgary. With Fraser Valley's win over Brandon on Saturday night, the Bisons finish in eighth place in the Canada West standings and will meet No. 2-ranked UBC in the Canada West quarterfinals next weekend.

The Cougars (14-10) have known since last weekend that they'll be heading to Saskatoon next weekend for the Canada West quarterfinals. The best-of-three series against the University of Saskatchewan gets underway on Friday night.

NOTES: Lukomski finishes his career ranked No. 19 on Canada West's all-time list with 1504 points ... Lukomski ends with 308 three-pointers in his career, a total which ranks first in conference history and 69 ahead of second-place Casey Archibald (UBC, 2002-07) ... Heshka finishes as one of just 10 players in U of R history to score at least 1100 career points ... Heshka is also ranked third in the school record book with 656 career rebounds ... Gareau ends the year ranked second in the U of R's single-season record book in points (448), free throws made (128), and free throws attempted (167).

Source: Regina Sports Info

Barrett finished two rebounds away from a triple-double, posting 27 points and 14 assists in 39 minutes on the floor to lead the Huskies to the win.

Calgary needed a victory coming into the night to claim the eighth and final playoff spot in Canada West. The Dinos finish the year 8-16 and finish ninth in the conference standings, missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

While Calgary was able to keep the Huskies away from the century mark on the night, it was a dominant performance by Saskatchewan on the glass early that sent the visitors out to a sizable early lead. The Huskies held a monstrous 20-4 edge in rebounding after the first quarter and, while Calgary did pick it up on the glass from that point forward, the 10-point lead the Dinos spotted their opponents after 10 minutes turned out to be insurmountable.

"That's the difference in the game," said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren, who took the Dinos to back-to-back national semi-finals in 2009 and 2010. "Our young guys will learn the importance of hitting somebody and keeping guys away from the glass. Our physical strength is going to improve, and we'll be back."

Barrett had another slow start for the Huskies, doing most of his damage in the even quarters with eight and 10 in the second and fourth, respectively. Without question, however, his biggest hoop of the night was a ridiculous buzzer-beater off the window from five feet beyond the arc to end the third quarter. It quelled the momentum that Calgary had built up in the late stages of the frame – the Dinos had cut the Huskies' lead to just six points, but Barrett's magic made it a nine-point game for Saskatchewan heading into the final 10 minutes.

Duncan Jones added 16 while Rejean Chabot put up 15 and Michael Lieffers 14 for Saskatchewan. The visitors had an uncharacteristically poor night from the free throw line, however, connecting on just nine of their 23 opportunities.

But the free throw shooting didn't matter as the Huskies dominated on the glass, out-boarding Calgary by a 51-37 margin.

To their credit, Calgary stayed with the Huskies and didn't back down, even with the game out of hand – which made things interesting down the stretch as affairs got a little physical. The officials whistled 19 fouls between the two sides in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Fidler led the way for the Calgary Dinos with 17 points, while Keenan Milburn and Andrew McGuinness added 13 apiece for the Dinos. Dustin Reding and Matt Letkeman scored nine each.

It closes the book on a tough season for a young Dinos squad that lost the services of its top two point guards to injury with Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson seeing action in just three games while Andy Rochon had shoulder surgery in the off-season.

"I'm proud of our guys' efforts," Vanhooren said. "They worked hard all year, and of all the teams fighting to make the playoffs we showed we're a competitive team and that's a testament to their effort. And there are some memories we're going to bring back from this season, like the way this game ended. This group is going to get older, and we'll have our turn."

The Huskies finish third in Canada West and host their provincial rivals, the Regina Cougars, in a best-of-three conference quarterfinal series next weekend with the winner advancing to the Final Four.

Source: Calgary Sports Info

With the loss, the Vikes fall to 15-9 and finish fifth in the Canada West standings. They will face the Alberta Golden Bears (16-8) in the best-of-three Canada West quarter-final series beginning Thursday in Edmonton (6 p.m. PST). The Bears were forced to bump the start-date of the series back to Thursday as they are also hosting women's basketball and men's and women's volleyball playoffs the same weekend. Game 2 goes Friday afternoon and Game 3, if necessary, Saturday afternoon (both games 2 p.m. PST).

The Vikes were 9-3 on the road in the regular season and split the season series with the Bears.

On Saturday, the Vikes trailed 41-35 at the half but allowed 25 third-quarter UBC points. The size and depth of the Thunderbirds outmatched the Vikes, with UBC's bench outscoring UVic's 31-20.

Nathan Yu led the Thunderbirds with 17 points while Doug Plumb added 16. Mike Berg was terrific in the post for UVic, scoring a game-high 20 points and adding six rebounds. Ryan MacKinnon continued his strong play with 18 points and five rebounds.

UVic honoured four graduating seniors - Jeff Cullen, Jeff Spoor, Wendell Thomas and Marco Dolcetti – in a pre-game ceremony to thank the foursome for their contributions to the program.

Source: Victoria Sports Info