CIS men's basketball Wednesday roundup: Warriors upset cross-town rivals Golden Hawks

The CIS ranked No. 8 X-Men were able to earn a decisive 87-68 victory over the Cape Breton Capers Wednesday night in Cape Breton. Bol Kong continued his strong play from last weekend for the X-Men and rattled off a season high 32 points for the blue and white. The X-Men were able to hold AUS leading scorer Jimmy Dorsey to only 12 points in the game.

The X-Men came out of the gate flying, mounting a 28-11 lead after one quarter of play. Kong had 13 points in the first quarter to lead the blue and white. The second quarter was much of the same for the X-Men as they outscored the Capers 27-17 to take a commanding 55-28 lead into the dressing room at half-time.  Jordan Clarke had eight points in the second quarter for the X-Men who played well defensively throughout the opening half.

Coming off an impressive 49 point performance in a win over Acadia last weekend, Capers Jimmy Dorsey was held to only six points in the first half by the StFX defense, all of which were scored in the first quarter.

The Capers seemed to wake up in the second half however, as they were able to outscore the X-Men in the final two quarters by slim margins. In the third quarter the Cape Breton outscored StFX 19-17 as Julian Smith had eight points for the hosts.  The Capers once again outscored the X-Men 21-15 in the fourth quarter as Smith once again led his team with six points, adding to his team high 15 points in the game.

Ultimately this game was won in the first half, as the X-Men mounted too big of a lead for the Capers to come back on. The final score was 87-68 for the X-Men.

Kong played his best game to date for StFX scoring a game-high 32 points and adding eight rebounds and a pair of steals. Terry Thomas continued his consistent play with 17 points and seven rebounds for the blue and white, while Jordan Clarke scored 12 and added four assists.

Jeremy Dunn contributed 10 points in the X-Men victory, along with four rebounds and three steals, and Tyrell Vernon dished nine assists and had five steals while adding four points to the X-Men tally.

Smith topped the Capers score sheet with his 15 points and four rebounds, while Doresy and Meshack Lufile each scored 12 points in the losing effort. Lufile also pulled down eight rebounds.

Looking at the numbers, the X-Men shot 44.4% from both field goal and three-point range, along with 78.9% from the free throw line. The Capers were able to shoot 37.3% from field goal range, 29.6% from three point range and 76.9% from the free throw line.

The victory moves the X-Men into sole possession of first place in the conference with a 13-4 record and 34 points. The Capers still sit in third place with a 10-7 record and 30 points, two points up on fourth place Acadia. Next on the schedule for the X-Men is a pair of games in Newfoundland to take on the eighth place Memorial SeaHawks (1-15) this Saturday and Sunday, February 18-19. The Capers next see action this Saturday in Halifax against the fifth place Dalhousie Tigers (7-9). 

Source: StFX Sports Info

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – The Brock University men's basketball team (9-12 OUA West) lost for the fifth consecutive game dropping a 78-72 decision to the Windsor Lancers (14-7 OUA West) Wednesday night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.

Brock led by one at the half 30-29 and trailed by one after three quarters 54-53.

With Brock leading 64-63 with 3:53 remaining, Windsor took advantage of five Brock turnovers going on a 12-2 run leading 75-66 with 30 seconds remaining. Windsor would knock down 8-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final minute.

The Lancers had four players in double figures led by Josh Collins who led all scorers with 21 points including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 8-for-10 from the free throw line.  Rotimi Osuntola Jr. contributed with 19 points including 4-for-6 from three-point range. Lien Phillips added 15 points and 15 rebounds for the double-double. Jahmal McQueen rounded out the Windsor leaders with 10 points and six boards in the victory.

Leading the Badgers was senior Mark Gibson (Toronto, Ont.) who recorded 16 points and nine rebounds. Senior Andrew Kraus (Markham, Ont.) contributed with 14 points and seven assists which included 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Rounding out the Brock leaders were juniors Tshing Kasamba (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Didi Mukendi (St. Catharines, Ont.) who added 14 and 13 points respectively in the loss.

For the game, Windsor shot 38.7% (24-for-62) from the field, 40.9% (9-for-22) from beyond the arc and won the game at the free throw line shooting 77.8% going 21-for-27. Brock shot 45.3% (29-for-64) from the field and 57.1% (12-for-21) from downtown. They were just 2-of-3 from the charity stripe.

After Windsor head coach Chris Oliver was warned in the first quarter for arguing fouls, Brock was called for 23 fouls to Windsor's five in the final three quarters. Brock did not go to the free line the entire second half.

The Badgers end the OUA regular season at home Saturday, February 18th at 3pm when they host the Waterloo Warriors. Brock will honour their three graduating seniors Andrew Ferguson, Jay Fleming and Andrew Kraus.

Source: Brock Sports Info

WATERLOO, Ont. - The Waterloo Warriors have put together some good games recently, especially on the offensive front. On Wednesday night they upset their cross-town rivals, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 96-95. Mike Wright (Burlington/Assumption) hit the winning three point shot with 1.7 seconds remaining to capture the win.

The game was close all night long, with seven lead changes and nine ties. Waterloo led at half time, by just a single point at 47-46.

Waterloo would hold a slim lead throughout the entire second half until a Kyle Enright three tied it up at 87-87 with just 1:50 left to play. Waterloo turned it over on the next possession, giving Laurier the opportunity for the lead.

Four times Laurier would take a two point lead, with Waterloo tying it each time until the final three point shot. Mike Wright (Burlington/Assumption) scored three times and dished off under the hoop to Greg Filgiano (Markham/Holy Trinity) for the other basket.

For the game, Mike Wright (Burlington/Assumption) hit for 23 points and had 8 assists. Zach Angelini (Hamilton/St. Thomas More) provided 18 points and 9 rebounds. Cam McIntyre (Kitchener/Kitchener C.I.) hit for 17 points until a heavy fall had him leave the game with 6:26 remaining.  In addition to a late game tying bucket, rookie Greg Filgiano (Markham/Holy Trinity) had five blocked shots.

For Laurier, Kale Harrison led the way with 26 points. Matt Buckley and Kyle Enright hit for 20 points each.

Waterloo closes out the season with a trip to St. Catharines on Saturday afternoon to face the Brock Badgers at 3pm.

Source: Waterloo Sports Info

LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs nearly pulled off an upset that would have sent ripple effects through the OUA playoff outlook, but could not quite get over the hump in a 90-79 loss to the visiting Marauders of McMaster University. On Senior Night, Ryan Barbeau led all scorers with 34 points.

After playing to a 19-19 tie to end the first period, the Mustangs slow began to build a lead early in the second period until a late-period run put the Marauders up by seven. With 17 ticks remaining on the clock, McMaster’s Adam Presutti nailed a 3-pointer but Barbeau answered right back seconds before the buzzer with a trey of his own. At the half, the Mustangs faced only a 44-40 deficit.

After trailing by as many as 12 points in the third period, the Mustangs fought back to within four points thanks to a Charlie Drouin layup and a subsequent 3-pointer from Barbeau pulled them to within points of the lead. However, a string of Western missed foul shots and turnovers through the remainder of the game saw McMaster’s lead swell to as much as 15 in the waning minutes of the game.

Western’s Quinn Henderson provided 10 points and eight rebounds, while teammate Peter Scholtes dropped in 13 points of his own. Despite shooting nearly 50-percent in both halves, the Mustangs were cold from beyond the arc, hitting only four of 18 attempts.

The University of Western Ontario will be in action again on February 18th when it travels to Windsor for a 4:00pm tipoff.

Source: Western Sports Info