CIS men's basketball Saturday roundup: StFX's Coach Konchalski hits 800 win milestone

ANTIGONISH, NS - StFX men's basketball head coach Steve Konchalski earned his 800th career victory with an 87-68 win over the UNB Varsity Reds Saturday evening on home court at the StFX Oland Centre.

“I am very proud of the accomplishment,” comments the veteran coach. “My original goal when I came to StFX was to produce high-caliber teams year in and year out, so this milestone is a good measurement of the success of that goal.”

With two wins over UNB this weekend, Coach Konchalksi's X-Men remain undefeated this season with a 7-0 record and are currently ranked second in the nation. Konchalski continues, “My main focus now is on the remainder of the AUS season. We are off to a strong start this year and it could be a special year, I am really looking forward to it.”

The milestone win came in Konchalski's 37th season, all of which have been spent behind the helm of the StFX X-Men. He currently has an all-time overall career coaching record (regular season, playoffs and non-conference) of 800 wins and 410 losses, coaching in over 1200 CIS games and he is the winningest coach in CIS history.

Coach Konchalski has led the X-Men to 14 appearances at the CIS championship and has won three national titles (1993, 2000 and 2001). His X-Men have made 35 consecutive AUS playoff appearances and won nine AUS championship titles. Coach K was named the 2001 CIS Coach of the Year, has been honored as AUS Coach of the Year on six occasions, and in 2010 received the CIS Jean-Marie DeKoninck Coaching Excellence award.

Outside of his StFX coaching experience, Konchalski served as the Canadian national team head coach for four years (1995-98) and assistant coach for 16 years (1973-1988), participating in three Olympic Games (1976, 1984, and 1988). He is currently an advisor to the national team program as a member of the Basketball Canada Council of Excellence.

As a player, Konchalski led Acadia University to a national title in 1965 where he was named tournament MVP. A native of Elmhurst, NY, Coach K has been inducted into the StFX Sports Hall of Fame (2008, 2001), Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame (2007), Acadia Sports Hall of Fame (1994), Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame (1993) and was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Frank Baldwin Memorial Award for dedication to basketball in Nova Scotia in 1999.

Source: StFX Sports Info

HAMILTON, Ont. - The McMaster men's basketball team earned their eighth win of the OUA regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 97-84 defeat of the visiting Waterloo Warriors. Cam Michaud was the game-high scorer with 21 points for the Marauders. The team captain was also named the Big Mac Player of the Game.

A slow start to the game saw Michaud draw fouls twice within the opening minute of the contest. The Warriors took an early lead of 8-6 and made another lay-up for the four point lead at 5:55, but McMaster would respond with a lay-up of their own. Joe Rocca would tie it up at 10.

By 3:30, the Warriors would be forced to call their first time out of the game as the Marauders took a six point lead at 18-12. The Warriors would rally to catch up, but as the score read 19-18 in favour of the Marauders, Rocca sunk a three-pointer to put McMaster back ahead by four. The quarter would end with the Marauders up by five at 27-22.

The Marauders would maintain their five point lead throughout the first part of the second quarter and would extend it to seven with a Victor Raso basket and foul. Both teams continued to foul throughout the second quarter and a number of missed shots on Waterloo’s end allowed the Marauders to keep their lead. A three-pointer from Brett Sanders put the Marauders up by six with less than two minutes left in the half. The final score going into halftime would be 43-38 in favour of the home team. Sanders would have a team-high nine points going in to the second half.

After two minutes in the third, the Warriors would call a timeout with McMaster ahead by eight thanks in part to a three-pointer from captain Raso. The Marauders would then finally take the double-digit lead at 61-49 mid-way through the third quarter with a three-pointer from Cam Michaud. Later in the quarter with 1:20 to go, rookie Aaron Redpath would sink a three to extend McMaster’s lead to 18. Despite the Warriors making a basket at the buzzer the scoreboard would read 74-58 for McMaster.

In the fourth, the Marauders continued to dominate the game pushing their lead to 23 with a dunk from Michaud. A number of Marauders were contributors to their eighth win of the season as they improved to 8-2 in conference play.

Joining Michaud in double-digit points included Rocca with 20, Raso with 11 and Redpath with 10 

For the Warriors, Wayne Bridge scored 20, Mike Wright recorded another 18, Cam McIntrye had 16 and Justin Johnson added another 11.

Next up for the Marauders is the Brock Badgers who are also fighting for the top spot in the OUA West. Tip-off is 8:00 p.m. at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.

Source: McMaster Sports Info

WATERLOO, Ont. - For the third time this season, the No. 8 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks men's basketball team (8-1) scored more than 100 points as they defeated the Waterloo Warriors (4-5) by a score of 110-60 Wednesday night at the Athletic Complex.

Third year guard Maxwell Allin of Chatham, Ont., led the charge for the Hawks as he posted 21 points, including 19 in the first half, on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. He also finished the game 5-for-8 from three point range.

The Hawks had four other players record 10 or more points in the victory while every player who dressed for the game had at least two points.

After the two teams traded buckets early in the first quarter, the purple and gold put together a 20-6 run to close out the quarter as they led 26-10 after 10 minutes of play. The second quarter was much of the same as the Hawks continued to make shots and stretched their lead to 26 at the half.

Laurier would put any hopes of a Warrior comeback to bed in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 28-10 and allowing the starters to rest for the entire fourth quarter as they cruised to their eighth victory of the season.

"I thought offensively we played reasonably well," said Head Coach Peter Campbell following the victory. "We moved the ball and we had a lot of guys contribute to the scoring so thats important to us."

"We came strong right out of the gate," said Allin, echoing Campbell's sentiments. "Everyone was knocking down shots and we got out to a comfortable lead and we just went on from there."

Other notable performances from the Hawks came from rookie guard William Coulthard of Oakville, Ont., and guard Kyle Enright, also of Oakville. Coulthard knocked down a career-high 16 points thanks to 4-of-6 shooting from three point range while Enright carried over his strong play from the fall, finishing with 17 points.

Waterloo guard Mike Wright of Burlington, Ont., led the Warriors with 25 points.

The Hawks will now prepare for their meeting with the Brock Badgers (7-2) on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.

NOTES: With a 5-of-8 performance from beyond the arc, Enright has now connected on four or more three pointers for the seventh time this season...Warriors leading scorer Cam McIntyre of Kitchener, Ont., saw limited time on the floor due to an injury suffered over the holiday break...Laurier has now won five straight games against their cross-town rivals...the rematch between the two teams is scheduled for February 15.

Source: Laurier Sports Info

KINGSTON, Ont.- Aaron Best made a strong return from an early-season injury, tallying 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting while Nem Stankovic recorded his first double-double of the year, and the Ryerson Rams men's basketball team rolled over the RMC Paladins with a 92-19 triumph on Saturday night.

The Eastern Commerce standout, who was sidelined with a foot injury on season-opening weekend, shot just under 65% from the floor, and also picked up six steals and four rebounds.  Stankovic (Toronto) added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Jahmal Jones (Mississauga) and Gavin Berry (Waterloo, Ont.) dropped 11 each in the victory. 

James Byun had a team-high seven points in a losing cause for the Paladins (0-10), who remain tied for last place in the East division with York (0-10) and Queen's (0-10). 

The Rams (5-5) move to .500 for the first time this season and keep pace with the Toronto Varsity Blues (5-5).  Both teams are currently tied for third-place in the East and sit just one game back of the Ottawa Gee-Gees (6-4) in second.

Ryerson will welcome the defending national champion Carleton Ravens (10-0) to Kerr Hall Gym next Friday evening.  The men will then host the Gee-Gees on Saturday in a critical match-up with playoff standing implications.

Both games will take place at 8:00 p.m., and will be available online at the Live Video page. 

Source: Ryerson Sports Info

SUDBURY, ON - The Carleton Ravens put their undefeated streak on the line against the Laurentian Voyageurs, and emerged victorious by a flattering score of 98-51. This score line did not justify the effort, and hard work of the Voyageurs, who led the game for a majority of the first half.

Laurentian began the game as a major underdog, against a highly talented, undefeated Carleton Ravens team. However, in the opening minutes, it was the Voyageurs who showed their talents. Some expert shooting and offensive play from Manny Pasquale (Victoria, BC) saw Laurentian take a 19-16 at the end of the first period. This lifted the crowd within the Ben Avery Gymnasium, with an almost full house urging the Voyageurs to maintain their strong start. The start of the second quarter saw the Ravens begin to settle down and find some rhythm. Despite highly physical defence, the clinical, and precise shooting of the Ravens saw them take a slim, 38-32 lead into the half way point.

However, the fairytale half for the Voyageurs quickly became a distant memory, as Phillip Scrubb (Richmond, BC) and Tyson Hinz (Ottawa, On) began to showcase some skills with 21 and 23 points respectively. The game was now in the hands of the Ravens, and it became apparent why the team remains undefeated. Laurentian fought valiantly but was outscored 60-19 in the final two quarters, as the offensive prowess of the Ravens shone through yet again. In the end, the Ravens ran away with a landslide win of 98  51, a result that did not truly show the effort and talent brought forth by a strong, and persistent Voyageur team that held the Ravens against the ropes for almost the entirety of the first two quarters.

After the game, Coach Swords had little to say about the result, and hailed the talents of the Ravens team. He praised his teams ability to compete for the first half of the game, and put a true scare into the mind of the Ravens.

For more information about the Laurentian Voyageurs, visit http://www.luvoyageurs.com for the latest news and results.

Laurentian University's Department of Athletics is home to 15 varsity sports teams. The Voyageurs and Lady Vees decorated history of pride and tradition includes 61 provincial championships as well as 9 national championships in 50 years of competition.

Source: Laurentian Sports Info

The Lakehead Thunderwolves had the opposite start on Saturday night as they did on Friday as Western opened up the game with an 8-1 run and won the 1st quarter 21-17. In the second quarter Lakehead focused its defense and held the Mustangs to 11 points and a Ryan Thomson buzzer beater put the 'Wolves up 4 at the half; 36-32.

Western was without starting guard Ryan Barbeau, who was red hot on Friday evening, scoring 26 points, but was in street clothes on Saturday evening for undisclosed reasons. Also not dressed on Saturday was Quinn Henderson. Although Mustangs forward Peter Scholtes stepped up in a big way scoring a game-high 35 points, it was all for not as the Pack pulled away in the third quarter and contained a feisty Mustangs team down the stretch to seal the victory.

Lakehead's top scorer was Venzal Russell with 25 points, 4 assist, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Russell dazzled the Thunderdome crowd with a plethora of drives to the basket at break neck speed, twisting and turning between defenders and finishing with both hands on either side of the hoop with just the right amount of 'English' on the ball, as they say. Other leading wolves were Joe Jones with 16 points in 23 minutes, and Greg Carter with 13 points in 20 minutes of floor time.

Coach Scott Morrison:

"It was not our prettiest effort but it was good to see some guys like Russell, King and Jones have good games after struggling a bit since the break. Western's team really stepped up in the absence of two of their main guys and of course Scholtes was possibly the best player on the court offensively over 80 minutes this weekend. This week in practice we will be working on our man defense discipline as well as looking to create some more opportunities on the glass before we travel to Waterloo to take on the hottest team in the OUA West right now in Laurier."

Stay tuned for webcasting links for next weekend's games @ Laurier.

Source: Lakehead Sports Info

Lancer men’s basketball head coach Chris Oliver won his 100th regular season game with the Windsor Lancers on Saturday night, as the Blue & Gold defeated the Guelph Gryphons 70-59 at the St. Denis Centre.
 
The win also marks Oliver’s 125th CIS regular season career win, which he has earned as the head coach of Windsor (2005-present) and the Queen’s Gaels men’s basketball team (2002-2005).
 
Windsor is now 7-3 in the regular season, and are tied with the Brock Badgers in the OUA standings. 
 
In the game, the trio of Josh Collins, Jahmal McQueen, and Lien Phillip dominated the floor with a balanced attack and contributions from all sides. Collins led all scorers with 26 points and 6 assists, while McQueen chipped in 16 points, and Phillip had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
 
Windsor lead the game the bulk of the way, but Guelph battled despite their poor shooting to close the gap to one with just over two minutes left.  Collins quickly answered with a big three with time running out on the shot clock to put the Lancers up for good.
 
The Lancers shot 48.9% from the field, and an amazing 43.8% from behind the arch.
 
Windsor will return to the court for their third straight home game on Wednesday as they host the Waterloo Warriors at 8:00pm at the St. Denis Centre. Tickets for the game are $8 for adults and $5 for youth/senior and are available at the door. 

Source: Windsor Sports Info

KINGSTON, Ont. - The Gaels came up short to the University of Toronto Varsity Blues this Saturday evening in Kingston. The final score was 67-56.

The Gaels were not ready to start this game, falling behind 18-1 right off the bat. They struggled on both sides of the court, entering the second quarter down 21-7. The second quarter started the same way as the first, with the Blues going on a 7-0 run leading to a 33-17 score at the half.

The Gaels were not going to give up without a fight. They outscored the Varsity lues in the quarter, bringing the game within ten points. Another streak from the Blues, however, would be the last nail in the coffin for the Gaels, as they struggled against a 8-0 run to begin the quarter. The Gaels showed excellent reseliency after their shaky start, but it was not enough to get ahead.

Michael Fairine  of Ottawa led the Gaels with 17 points.

Men's basketball action continues next weekend versus Laurentien University on Friday night. Tipof is set for 8:00.

Source: Queen's Sports Info

The York University Lions men's basketball team looked for a better effort against the Ottawa Gee-Gee's after a loss to the Carleton Ravens last night. Despite one of their best efforts of the season, the Gee-Gee's proved to be too much for the Lions, losing, 92-71.
 
The Lions carried a lead in the second half, but in the end, the Lions could not keep up with the Gee-Gee's balanced scoring. Six players from Ottawa scored in double figures, led by Mike L'Africain, who poured in a game-high 21 points, including five three-pointers.
 
The Lions were led by Richard Iheadindu (Brampton, Ont.), who scored 19 points, 17 of which came in the first half. David Tyndale (Mississauga, Ont.) was not far behind, scoring 18 points, including four three-point makes.
 
The Gee-Gee's came out with their foot on the pedal, jumping out to 7-0 lead. The Lions got on the board thanks to a steal and a breakaway lay-up from Iheadindu. After another flurry by the Gee-Gee's, Tyndale got on the board with two straight lay-ups to cut the lead to 12-6.
 
Following a 12-2 run by the Gee-Gee's, Iheadindu hit two more three-pointers to keep the deficit manageable. The Lions trailed 16-16 after one quarter.
 
The teams went back and forth to start the second quarter until Tyndale hit a pair of three-pointers to cut the lead to six at the halfway point of the frame.
 
With Ottawa up 38-30, Iheadindu went on his own personal 9-0 run with three consecutive three-pointers, to give the Lions their first lead of the game at 39-38. However, their lead would only last mere minutes as Ottawa would hit free throws to regain a 41-39 lead at halftime.
 
Tyndale started off the second half with a three-pointer to give York its second lead of the game. It would be short lived as Ottawa would build a double digit lead throughout the quarter.
 
However, the Lions did not let the game out of reach as Aaron Rados (Ottawa, Ont.) finished the quarter with a three-point-play and the Lions found themselves down by nine heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Lions came out shooting in the fourth quarter cutting Ottawa's lead to seven thanks to Raheem Isaac's (Brampton, Ont.) lay-up plus a foul midway through the quarter.
 
However, this would be as close as the Lions would get, as Ottawa continued to push the pace offensively, building a comfortable lead, en route to a 92-71 victory.
 
The Lions (0-10) hit the road on Wednesday (Jan. 11) to take on the Laurentian Voyageurs. Game time is 8:00 pm.  

Source: York Sports Info

The Huskies were ice cold from the floor all game, but 10 UBC turnovers in the third quarter kept them in the game, down 10 points heading into the fourth.

Team scoring leader Jamelle Barrett struggled mightily with his shot, taking a 1-for-14 mark into the final quarter, but he hit a three to start the final frame off and bring his side to within seven. The Huskies continued to pour it on with an 11-1 run, eventually cutting the lead down to 53-52 after a Michael Lieffers dunk with less than three minutes remaining.

UBC's top scorer, Nathan Yu, also struggled with his shot in the first half, but came back with a long two to restore a three point lead, and with the 'Birds up 58-54 late, rookie guard Malcolm Williams iced it with a three-pointer from the corner with 30 seconds remaining.

"I thought our guys did a good job defensively, but both teams were really tired playing close games against ranked teams the night before," said UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. "Down the stretch we did what we had to do, but you just shouldn't win games with 29 turnovers and allowing 22 offensive rebounds, and we're trying to address both of those things."

Yu, who was 5-for-13 after three quarters, finished 8-for-17 with a game-high 22 points thanks to a solid fourth quarter. Tommy Nixon was the only other T-Bird to score in double figures, dropping 13 points to go with his five rebounds and three blocks.

"It was a game of just mental toughness," Yu said. "Both teams were so tired, and we're not the deepest teams so a lot of guys were playing major minutes, and it was just a game of defence and grinding it out, and we were the tougher team."

Barrett still led his team with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half, but shot just 4-for-20 on the night.

"We put a bit of height on him, and you can't guard him with one guy so we double teamed him and triple teamed him at times not letting him get to the rim," said Hanson. "He's a real focal point on their team, especially since they lost Nolan Brudehl, and I thought we did a really good job of containing him."

Poor free throw shooting was devastating to the Huskies down the stretch. They trailed by just a few points for most of the fourth, but hit just two of eight free throws in the quarter.

For the game, the Huskies shot 27 per cent from the field and 57 per cent from the line. UBC shot 38 per cent and 88 per cent respectively in those categories.

The T-Birds started strong defensively, holding the Huskies scoreless for several minutes while building an 11-2 lead out of the gate. They blocked three shots during the scoring run, two courtesy of Nixon.

But then the Huskies' defence stepped up, and the 'Birds were held off the scoreboard for the last six minutes of the frame. They led just 11-9 heading into the second quarter.

Barrett was held in check early on, missing his first 11 shots from the field and scoring just two points in the first half. As a team, the Huskies shot just 16 per cent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and had seven shots blocked.

UBC had 11 blocks in the game. Fifth year centre Balraj Bains had five to his credit.

The Huskies gave UBC fits on the offensive glass, pulling down 22 offensive rebounds in the game, but they managed just six second chance points thanks to tough T-Bird defence in the low post.

Lieffers led the effort with 15 rebounds, also adding 11 points for a double double.

Kamar Burke was UBC's top rebound man as usual with 12 boards.

The Huskies fall to 6-3 but still lead the East Division, and will look to build on that lead next weekend in Calgary.

The Thunderbirds are 6-2 and in second place behind Victoria in the West. They will get a chance to pick up some ground next weekend when they take on Thompson Rivers.

Source: UBC Sports Info

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The Trinity Western men’s basketball team got its second win of 2012 with a 107-97 victory over Calgary Friday at the Langley Events Centre.

The Spartans were especially dominant in the first quarter as they outscored Calgary by 15 points and then managed to maintain a lead the rest of the way.

Trinity Western was led by Kyle Coston, who had 28 points and seven rebounds, Sean Peter, who had 25 points and four rebounds and Tristan Smith, who had 17 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Calgary was led by Tyler Fidler, who had 23 points, all of which came in the second half, and Boris Bakovic, who had 22 points and seven rebounds in his return to the court after missing the first half of the season with a knee injury.

The win moves Trinity Western to 4-6 on the year while the loss drops Calgary to 3-7.
 
“It’s little steps for us,” said Spartans coach Scott Allen. “We’ve shown that we can be very explosive on the offensive part. I think fatigue got the best of us late after we rolled our starters for as long as we could to keep the lead up. But it was a fantastic effort and a well-deserved win.

“I think as shots start falling and we start executing and recognizing mismatches, we start rolling. We pushed the ball down the floor well, which is pivotal for this team since we’re smaller, and we had a lot of energy tonight.”

The Spartans got off to a quick start in the first quarter as Coston knocked down a 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the game which seemed to set the tone for what would be an offensive surge in the first half for Trinity Western.

Calgary responded with back-to-back jumpers from Josh Wolfram to give the Dinos a 4-3 lead but then Trinity Western went on a 6-0 run to retake the a lead that they would never relinquish.

With the Spartans Calvin Westbrook, who finished with 22 points, on fire from beyond the arc, going three for four in the first 10 minutes and collecting a team-high 13 points, Trinity Western built a 15-point lead, 29-14, by the end of the first frame.

In the second quarter, the Spartans dominated the glass, outrebounding Calgary 11-4, and continued to push their lead, opening up a 20-point halftime advantage.

Trinity Western’s Kyle Coston had 11 points in the quarter to lead the home side to an impressive opening 20 minutes.

Calgary’s Wolfram led the Dinos with 12 points while Bakovic, contributed 11 points, nine of which came from the free throw line.

In the third quarter, the Spartans continued to maintain a healthy double-digit lead as they went back and forth with Calgary for the better part of the frame.

The Dinos got to within 12 points twice, at 62-48 after a Dustin Reding lay-in, and then again at 72-58 after a Daan Wiersum lay-in, but couldn’t get any closer.

Each time the Dinos got close, the Spartans pulled away again, finishing the third with an 80-61 lead.

In the third quarter it was Peter leading the charge with 11 points in the quarter for Trinity Western.

For Calgary, Fidler responded in the third quarter with eight points to help the Dinos to a 27-point quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Dinos made of a game of it as they closed to within eight points with 2:41 left in the game. But the Spartans didn’t allow Calgary to make any long runs late as they held off a Fidler and Andrew McGuinness-led charge – Fidler had 15 points in the fourth and McGuinness had 12 – to earn the win.

The Dinos got to within seven points after a 3-pointer from Fidler with 25 seconds left but they wouldn’t get closer.

Both teams are back in action Jan. 13-14 with the Spartans travelling to UBC-Okanagan to play the Heat while Calgary returns home to host Saskatchewan.

Game Notes – The Spartans shot 62.1 per cent from the field while Calgary shot 48.4 per cent…TWU had 35 rebound to Calgary’s 31.

Source: Trinity Western Sports Info

The winning streak is over for the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s basketball team. After winning their last three Canada West outings, the WolfPack fell at home to the University of Manitoba Bisons.  The score on Saturday (January 7) was 86-78.  Thompson Rivers falls to 5 and 5 while Manitoba moves to 6 and 4 on the season.
 
“This was a huge one for us,”said Bisons coach Kirby Schepp. “ Obviously, both of our teams were 5 and 4 going into the game tonight. They are a very, very good squad. It is unbelievable how much they (TRU) has improved in only one year. For us to get this win against a team that we are going to be competing with in the Can West standings, on the road is very important.”
 
“I thought our effort wasn’t good enough at the defensive end,” said WolfPack head coach Scott Clark. “Our toughness wasn’t good enough. And when you have that kind of effort, this is the result.”
 
The WolfPack led 21-19 after the first quarter but were outscored by Manitoba 22-18 in the second and found themselves down 41-39. Turnovers were a factor in the first half for TRU, as they turned the ball over 11 times and wound up with 23 for the game.
 
“I think we turned over the ball at critical times and missed some easy free throws,” Clark continued. “Its risky when that happens.  We have nobody to blame but ourselves.”
 
In the third quarter,  The ‘Pack rebounded, scoring 30 points to Manitoba’s 23 and leading 69-64. But again, inconsistent play in the fourth gave Manitoba the advantage, outscoring TRU 22-9 to capture the victory.
 
Manitoba had three players in double figures. Jonar Huetaras (4th year, guard, Winnipeg, MB) had 23 points.  Kurtis Sansregret (3rd year, guard, Winnipeg, MB) had 22 points. While Kevin Oliver (4th year, forward, Winnipeg, MB) had 19 points.  Keith Omoerah (2nd year, guard, Winnipeg, MB) had 12 rebounds.
 
Schepp felt the difference in the game came down to a couple of individuals.  “ You know, Jonar came off the bench and was outstanding. He had zero last night (Friday, Jan 6 th against UBCO).  We have been struggling shooting the ball but he was very good for us.  He was really aggressive and turned the game around. I thought Kevin Oliver’s defence was amazing.  He was able to contain Justin King (TRU, 3rd year forward, Las Vegas, NV).   Even though Justin had 24 points and 13 rebounds, it could have been more if not for Kevin’s effort.”
 
King led the way for TRU and was named the “TRU Bookstore/McDonalds  Leader of the Pack  Player of the Game.”  Three other WolfPack players were in double figures.  Chas Kok (5th year, forward, Lynden, WA) had 15 points and 10 boards. Kevin Pribilsky (4th year, guard, Victoria, BC) chipped in with 14 points while Brett Rouault (2nd year, guard, Vernon, BC) contributed 10 points.
 
The WolfPack will continue their home stand next weekend (Jan 13-14) as they entertain the UBC Thunderbirds. The two games will be played at the smaller TRU Gym.   Manitoba will entertain Regina.

Source: Thompson Rivers Sports Info

VICTORIA - The No. 5 nationally ranked University of Victoria Vikes men's basketball team used strong transitional play to defeat the No. 6 nationally ranked Alberta Golden Bears, 83-77, at Ken and Kathy Shields Court at McKinnon Gymnasium in front of over 1,000 fans on Saturday Jan. 6.
 
With the win, the Vikes improve to 9-1 while Alberta slips to 5-4. UVic hosts two their final three regular season games next Friday Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. and Saturday Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. against the No. 9 nationally ranked Fraser Valley Cascades who lost 87-78 to Lethbridge on Saturday night.
 
On Saturday, UVic avenged a 2010-11 Canada West quarter-final series loss to the Golden Bears and rebounded from an 86-81 loss on Friday against the No. 4 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies. The Vikes were deserving of the victory.
 
Terrell Evans of Las Vegas, Nevada, provided some timely baskets in transition in the paint, but it was Michael Acheampong of Toronto who led the Vikes with 23 points on the night. Ryan MacKinnon of Comox, B.C., added 20 points along with four steals and four assists.
 
Acheampong and MacKinnon helped UVic to open up a 22-19 lead after the opening quarter, then a Ryan Erikson three-pointer - his first career CIS trey - made it 31-21 midway through the second stanza.
 
UVic would build leads of nine several times but Alberta clawed back, often led by the strong all-round shooting of six-foot-three guard Daniel Ferguson of Malton, Ont.. He led the Golden Bears with 26 points. Jordan Baker of Edmonton had a double-double for Alberta with 25 points and 12 rebounds along with four assists.
 
Alberta went on a 14-3 run to close out the second quarter and led 37-36 at the half. But in the third, UVic's depth helped them to regain the lead at 55-51, aided by two quick scores to close out the third quarter from Evans and MacKinnon.
 
The Vikes went on a 4-0 run to start the fourth quarter with Evans converting off a steal and then Anderson netting one on a fast-break, taking a pass from Evans and driving to the basket.
 
Ferguson continued to deliver timely shooting from outside and keep Alberta close, but UVic's effective transition and athleticism allowed them to stay out in front.
 
Leading 68-63 with four minutes remaining, UVic started to drive to the hoop and draw fouls. Alberta picked up its fifth team foul of the quarter with 2:45 remaining, putting UVic at the line in the bonus situation for easy points.

A three-pointer from Acheampong with just under two minutes left extended the lead to 75-67 and the Vikes never looked back.
 
In the end, UVic scored 18 points off turnovers, and they gave the ball away just eight times.

Source: Victoria Sports Info

The University of Manitoba Bisons men’s basketball team rang in the New Year with a bang, winning by 15 points over the UBC Okanagan Heat (80-65). The Heat were unable to disrupt the high-scoring, up-tempo Bison team and now sit at 1-6 in conference play. The Bisons move their winning streak to 3 with tonight's W, improving to 5-4 in conference play.
 
“I think that we left a lot of points off the scoreboard today that we should have finished,” commented Heat assistant coach Matt Heyworth. “They were consistent in their scoring and we had droughts of 4 or 5 minutes where we didn’t score.”
 

Bret Macdonald racked up an impressive 23 points on Friday night (photo by Vanessa Hodak)
 
The Heat kept the score tight in the first quarter but the Bisons blew past them in the second half, leading by almost 20-points for the rest of the game. Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp’s team played a strong game both offensively and defensively tonight, shutting down the Heat and maintaining their solid lead. All five starting Bisons scored in the double-digits tonight. Guards Kurtis Sansregret (3rd year, Winnipeg, MB) and Kevin Oliver (4th year, Winnipeg, MB) took off with 18 and 15 points each as well as 7 and 10 rebounds respectively.
 
Heyworth commented, “we had our strategy in place and it was pretty good when we were executing it, but we had to adjust to their pressure which they brought at the first half and we did a good job there. That was the main thing: stick to our original game plan.”
 
Heat head coach Darren Semeniuk attempted to pick up the pace and keep stride with the Bison attack, but despite the team’s best efforts, Manitoba ran away with the lead in the second half. Freshman Bret Macdonald (1st year, Port Coquitlam, BC) blew things up for the Heat, scoring 23 points for his team as the only Heat player to score in the double digits. Heading into tonight’s game Macdonald was the league’s leader in 3-point field goal percentage (58.3 percent). Yassine Ghomari (3rd year, Vancouver, BC) was shut down for most of the game scoring only 9 points, down from his average 19.2 points per game.
 
“The Wesmen are going to pressure us a lot. They’re very athletic,” said Heyworth. “They’re going to look to put defensive pressure on us. Our last game against them was in Winnipeg so they’ve seen us, we’ve seen them, the teams know each other. Our game plan will be to handle their pressure with ball reversal, making sure that we are not stationary on offense and retain lots of player movement.”
 
The Heat host the University of Winnipeg Wesmen Saturday at 8 p.m. at UBC’s Okanagan campus. The University of Manitoba Bisons will visit the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Saturday at 7 p.m. Both games will be broadcasted live at canadawest.tv.
 
HEAT NOTES: At 5’10” Brad Quevillon is the shortest player on the Heat roster, yet led the team in rebounding tonight with 5, tied with Simon Pelland…Bret Macdonald scored 23 points, a high of his young career…Bret is still shooting over 50% from three on the year; he went 3-6 tonight, making his current percentage on the year 55.6% ….Yassine Ghomari has scored in double digits every game this season up until tonight; he finished tonight with just 9.

Source: UBC Okanagan Sports Info