2006-07 OUA – men

REGULAR SEASON

	EAST				WEST
	Carleton	19-3	32-4	Dave Smart	Windsor	16-6	22-9	Chris Oliver
	Ottawa	18-4	29-6	Dave DeAveiro	Brock	15-7	24-10	Ken Murray
	Toronto	15-7	21-10	Mike Katz	McMaster	13-9	20-12	Joe Raso
	York	15-7	23-11	Bob Bain	Guelph	12-10	15-18	Chris O’Rourke
	Queen’s	12-10	19-14	Rob Smart	Western	11-11	13-15	Brad Campbell
	Laurentian	6-16	9-19	Virgil Hill	Wilfrid Laurier	9-13	11-19	Peter Campbell
	Ryerson	6-16	8-23	Glenn Taylor	Waterloo	7-15	9-19	Tom Kieswetter
	RMC	1-21	1-32	Kevin Maguire	Lakehead	1-21	1-29	Scott Morrison

Playoff non-qualifiers:

       Lakehead Thunderwolves: Saad Beg, Ryan Precious, Paul Popo-ola, Jamie Searle, Dean Magierowski, Andrew Hackner, Chris Richards, Zack White, Hugh Mullaly, Matthew Nobles, Kieran O’Rourke, Matthew Verboom, Evan Woodland, Warren Thomas, Justin Dickens, Andrew Quirion, Isinki Massunker, coach Scott Morrison

       RMC Paladins: Andrew Macintosh, Dustin Widger, Lucas Goltz, Alex Whitaker, Michel Gosselin, Bryan Matthews, David Duizer, Douglas Priestley, Paul Hungler, Matthew McLeod, Eric Jonsson, Rich Whitfield, Josh Whiteside, Adam Asquini, coach Kevin Maguire

       Ryerson Rams: Ozren Opacic, Scott Neil, Luke Staniscia, Peter Veltmann, Mudhav Travedi, Khris Montaque, Igor Bakovic, Brandon Krupa, Boris Bakovic, Steven Williams, Ryan McNeilly, Joey Imbrogno, coach Glenn Taylor

       Waterloo Warriors: Luke Kieswetter, Matt Kieswetter, Jordan Hannah, Dan White, David Burnett, Reed Siemienuk, Oliver Quesnel, Ken Cassidy, Ben Frisby, Aaron Douglas, Michael Davis, Alan Goodhoofd, Matt Hayes, Joel Reinders, coach Tom Kieswetter

In the East quarterfinals, York dumped Queen’s 95-73 after leading 57-43 at the half. In the first half, the Lions shot well from beyond three-point range, going 10-of-22. In the second half, York concentrated on getting the ball inside to Foebel and the 6’10” centre delivered by scoring 16 of his game-high 21 points. Late in the game, the Lions closed out the victory with a pair of three-pointers by Evans, extending the lead to 27 points with six minutes left. Jordan Foebel led the Lions with 21 on 9-12 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 12 boards and 2 blocks. Tut Ruach added 20 on 8-14 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc and 6 boards. Amde Evans scored 14 on 4-6 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 assists. Daniel Eves added 13 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 8 assists. Rohan Steen scored 11 on 5-10 from the floor and 5 assists. Jason Hoult notched 9 on 3-4 from the arc. Eylon Zemer added 3, Matthew Terejko 2, Stefan Haynes 2 and Devon Smith 0. York shot 37-66 (.561) from the floor, 15-32 (.469) from the arc and 6-8 (.750) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 12 fouls, 9 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. Ryan Hairsine paced Queen’s with 17 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 5 boards. Cameron Eby added 16 on 7-13 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Mitch Leger scored 12 on 6-10 from the floor and 4 boards. Jordan Balaban notched 8 on 3-8 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Simon Mitchell scored 6 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 assists. Baris Ondul scored 5 on 2-9 from the floor and 6 assists. Daniel Peers-Hoegen scored 3, Kyle McCleery 3 and Chris Kaleshikoff 3, while Glen Smith, Justin Yoo and Jonathan Bath were scoreless. Queen’s (coached by Rob Smart) also included Marc-Andre Chagnon, Robert Shaw, Logan Rivers and Jack Lui. The Gaels hit 28-64 (.438) from the floor, 9-26 (.346) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 22 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 8 fouls, 10 turnovers and 5 steals.

       In the other East quarterfinal, Toronto pounded Laurentian 77-58 after leading 35-28 at the half. The game started off with high tempo and went back and forth. The Voyageurs played hard as they pressured the Lions defensive end. However, later in the half the Varsity Blues managed to elevate their intensity with key shots. The Voyageurs were unable to match their intensity and ended the first half with a 35-28 deficit. The second half saw the Voyageurs fall behind for good as the Varsity Blues caught fire. Laurentian Head Coach Virgil Hill said, “We didn’t shoot the ball well and we were not able to bounce back during the second half.” Dwayne Grant led Toronto with 16 on 7-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Mike De Giorgio added 15 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-7 from the line, 4 assists and 3 steals. Nick Magalas added 12 on 5-5 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Ben Katz scored 12 on 5-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 9 boards. Nike Williams scored 11 on 3-4 from the floor, 5-9 from the line and 3 blocks. Rob Parris added 4, Mohammad Safarzadeh 4, Nick Snow 2 and Mike Thomas 1, while Paul Sergautis, Ahmed Nazmi and Dave Stephens were scoreless. The Blues hit 30-53 (.566) from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 13-28 (.464) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 20 fouls, 14 turnovers, 10 steals and 5 blocks. Jason Brown paced Laurentian with 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 4-8 from the line, 5 boards and 4 steals. Brody Bishop added 9 on 3-10 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Lucas Wiebenga notched 9 on 2-8 from the floor and 5 boards. Paul Kovacs scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor. Matas Tirilis notched 6 on 4-4 from the floor and 6 boards. Darrell Drake added 5, Brady Bolan 2, Ben Blanc 2 and Omar Linder 2, while Ryan Vetrie, Bryan Davidson and Shane Bertolacci were scoreless. Laurentian (coached by Virgil Hill) also included Alex Whiteman, Craig Bauslaugh, Elvin Etcubanez and Rob Bellis. The Voyageurs shot 17-55 (.309) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 20-25 (.800) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 24 fouls, 15 turnovers, and 12 steals.

       In the East semis, the Carleton Ravens reverted to form by dusting the York Lions 68-57. The Ravens avenged an 82-74 loss in last year’s OUA East final and a 95-81 pounding they suffered at the hands of the Lions late in the regular season by defending like a pesky fly at a Canada Day picnic that just keeps coming back, again and again. They got hands in the face of York shooters. Their defensive rotations and help defence was instantaneous. And above all, they played without doubt, looking focused, determined and poised from the start. “We had no choice” but to play with confidence,” said guard Stuart Turnbull. “It’s one and out, so you gotta come to play.” Rob Saunders added that “we tried to make it tough on everybody defensively and play the kind of defence that Ravens play,” added Rob Saunders. The Ravens dissected York’s 2-3 zone in the first half, as Turnbull did a sensational job of attacking the basket with the penetration-dribble-and-dish, usually to forward Jean-Emmmanuel Jean-Marie, for the open mid-range jumper. Carleton also dominated the boards, while defenders Ryan Bell and Rob Saunders were extraordinarily efficient in keeping the ball out of Lion playmaker Tut Ruach’s hands, and consequently, keeping York out of any kind of offensive rhythm. York rallied to within three early in the second half as the Ravens got in foul trouble. But Turnbull went back to work, dishing the ball to Osvaldo Jeanty and Aaron Doornekamp for buckets and hitting three free throws as the Ravens erupted with a decisive 15-5 run. Although York scrapped back to within nine down the stretch, Carleton had the answer from the charity stripe, hitting seven free throws in the final minute. “We practiced all week against the 2-3 zone and we went in with confidence against it,” said Jean-Marie. “We knew what we wanted to do.” Turnbull said the Ravens couldn’t have done a better job of executing their game plan. “I’m not sure which was the better feat: attacking the zone well, or playing great D. But we did both, so I guess they’re equal.” The Lions got a tremendous effort from 6’2” Amde Evans, who made several tough shots off the dribble, got to the rim a few times and led a brief York comeback in the second half that got the game back to 3 with about 15 minutes remaining but then disappeared from York’s offence. The Ravens answered the run as Turnbull and 6’2” Osvaldo Jeanty (10 points), scoreless in the first 25 minutes of the game, got going as Jeanty had 5 consecutive points and Carleton quickly restored their double-digit lead and built it to as much as 19 with under 10 minutes to play. Carleton continually pushed the tempo whenever possible and appeared to wear down the bigger slower Lions who basically ran out of gas once they got the game back early in the second half. Graduating senior 6’10” Jordan Foebel was generally winded and ineffective in this up-tempo game and left several easy shots inside short while missing his only 2 free throws. Tut Ruach finished with 14 points but the Ravens were able to limit his open looks. The Ravens won in characteristic fashion, defending, rebounding and exploiting mismatches and opponent’s weaknesses. Stuart Turnbull paced the Ravens with 19 on 6-14 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 6 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie added 18 on 9-19 from the floor, 13 boards and 2 assists. Osvaldo Jeanty scored 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Aaron Doornekamp scored 10 on 8-10 from the line and 7 boards. Rob Saunders notched 5 on 1-3 from the arc and 3 assists. Ryan Bell scored 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 assists. Mike Kenny scored 3, Kevin McCleery 1 and Daron Leonard 0. The Ravens shot 24-59 (.407) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 17 fouls, 11 turnovers, 9 steals and 2 blocks. Daniel Eves paced York with 17 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 6-7 from the line and 7 boards. Amde Evans added 14 on 6-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 steals. Tut Ruach scored 13 on 4-12 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 6 assists and 2 steals. Jordan Foebel scored 6 on 3-10 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 blocks. Rohan Steen added 4, Stefan Haynes 2 and Jason Houlet 2, while Matthew Terejko and Eylon Zemer were scoreless. York (coached by Bob Bain, assisted by Tom Oliveri) also included Nikita Curins, Zack Friedmann, Devon Smith, Wes Anderson, Bryan Banks and Aza Awan. The Lions shot 18-55 (.327) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 26 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 20 fouls, 11 turnovers, 8 steals and 4 blocks.

       In the other East semi, Ottawa edged Toronto 69-68. Fifth-year senior Alex McLeod hit a pair of free throws with 54.9 seconds remaining and sophomore Willy Manigat picked up a foul-laden and hobbled Josh Gibson-Bascombe with 18 points including 3-5 treys to lift the Gee-Gees a dramatic win over the Blues in a game that had 15 or more lead changes. The Blues had a chance to retake the lead with 25 seconds remaining but Mike Williams (co-game-high 18 points) missed a 15-foot turnaround and Jermaine Campbell grabbed the board. With a chance to push the lead to 3, Campbell missed the front end of the bonus but Ottawa held defensively, forcing a difficult 3 from Mike DeGiorgio at the buzzer which was well off the mark. The Gee-Gees extended a one-point halftime lead to 9 at 61-52 with 6:17 remaining highlighted by a Donnie Gibson trey and a strong take to the rim by Dax Dessureault. But the Blues would not quit as Mo Safarzadeh knocked his third 3 of the half after a conventional 3-point play by Ben Katz and instantly the Blues were back to within 3 at 61-58. There were 3 more lead changes as DeGiorgio hit a runner to put Toronto up 63-62, McLeod answered with a scoop but Katz got to the rim again and U of T led 65-64. 6’4” Gibson-Bascombe, saddled on the bench with 2 early fouls and playing on a severely sprained ankle, then knocked down a 3 and Ottawa regained a two-point lead that got the crowd in the game. But Dwayne Grant answered with a 3 of his own quickly to give Toronto the lead back at 68-67 and after Campbell missed an open 3 with 1:50 remaining, things looked good for the Blues. But they would not score again. Ottawa held and then McLeod got to the rim and was fouled, nailing both free throws for what was the final margin of victory. Toronto had leads as large as 5 in the first half and with Gibson-Bascombe limited to 8 minutes, the Blues appeared to have the momentum. But Manigat stepped up with 11 first-half points to give the Gee-Gees a narrow one-point lead at the break. Blues coach Mike Katz was trying to explain his team’s second one-point loss this year to the Ottawa Gee-Gees, and stopped in mid-sentence. “It was a great game. I just think it was a great basketball game and sometimes that’s what this is all about.” Gee-Gees coach David DeAveiro said “tonight was our night, who knows, it could have been their night. Another great game between Toronto and Ottawa. My hat goes off to U of T. They’re a great team, well-coached, they played hard. The games are going to be like this for the rest of the playoffs.” McLeod, who was scoreless in the first half, said “I was a bit nervous going in, which I shouldn’t have been. In the second half, I thought, you know what, if this is going to be my last game here, I’m going to go out on my terms.” Manigat observed: “Whatever works. Whatever combination works. That’s the beauty of going 10 deep. In this conference, you have to fight to the last second every single time.” DeAveiro said he kept throwing a fresh body at Toronto star Mike Williams. “Big Dax did a great job on him in the post.” Katz noted that “when it comes right down to it, we had the last possession to win the game. You can’t really ask for more. Ottawa always seems to step up and make the big plays — McLeod, (Gibson)-Bascombe. And Willy had a great game. He’s capable; I’ve seen it before.” DeAveiro said his heart was still racing after his troops nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the second half. “We shot 13-of-23 from the free throw line, which wasn’t good but we played good defence.” Willy Manigat led Ottawa with 18 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 5 assists. Curtis Shakespeare added 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 8 boards. Josh Gibson-Bascombe notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 2 steals. Alex McLeod scored 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Jermaine Campbell scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Sean Peter scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Donnie Gibson added 2 and Dax Dessureault 3, while David Labentowicz was scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 24-48 from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 13-23 (.565) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 11 fouls, 9 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. Mike Williams led Toronto with 18 on 7-12 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 3 boards. Ben Katz added 14 on 6-13 from the floor and 1-2 from the arc. Mohammad Safarzadeh added 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Dwayne Grant scored 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 4 assists. Mike DeGiorgio added 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 7 boards and 4 assists. Ahmed Nazmi added 3 and Rob Paris 2, while Paul Sergautis, Nick Snow and Nick Magalas were scoreless. Toronto (coached by Katz, assisted by Nat Graham, Rick Dilena, Jama Mahlalela, Tom Lyttle and Andrews Summerville) also included Anthony De Giorgio, Mike Thomas, Justin Holmes, Dave Stephens and Andrew Wasik. The Varsity Blues hit 27-58 (.466) from the floor, 8-15 (.533) from the arc and 6-8 (.750) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 16 fouls, 14 turnovers, 5 steals and 2 blocks.

       In the East final, Carleton defeated Ottawa 65-63. The Ravens defence put a death grip on Gee-Gee throats as 28-4 Carleton earned its fifth Ontario University Athletics East division postseason title in seven years while avenging a pair of regular season losses to their crosstown arch-rivals and qualifying for the CIS nationals in Halifax March 16-18. OUA East player of the year Osvaldo Jeanty said the Ravens won it with defence, as they typically do come playoff time. “We did what we had to do. We got stops and we rebounded and we made key plays at key times.” Outside of a few stretches, the defensive intensity was exceptional, added Stuart Turnbull. “And when it mattered, at the end, it was there. We were focused down the stretch.” Indeed, the defensive intensity and switches were exceptional in the scrappy first half. The Ravens broke to an early 14-5 courtesy of a 10-0 run featuring baseline drives by Turnbull and a trey by Jeanty. But Carleton’s shot selection suddenly became suspect, while the Gee-Gees elevated their defence as the garnet & grey clawed back, eventually notching 15 unanswered points, capped by three-pointers from Joshua Gibson-Bascombe and Donnie Gibson, over the final five minutes of the frame to take a 32-29 lead into the lockers. The Gee-Gees maintained a slim lead for most of the second half by effectively pounding the ball into the blocks to Jermaine Campbell and denying Carleton penetration lanes to the bucket. But the Ravens defence tightened the defensive screws when it mattered, scrapping back from a 44-41 deficit down the stretch with an 8-2 run and then pulling out the win down the stretch as Ryan Bell drained a trey, Stuart Turnbull a layup and a pair of free throws, and Jeanty three free throws. Ravens coach Dave Smart said his troops defensive effort was exceptional and compensated for periodically lacklustre offence. “I’m happy with the way we defended. Offensively, we got what we wanted. We just couldn’t make a shot. But we were getting good shots.” Gee-Gees coach David DeAveiro said the breaks didn’t go Ottawa’s way. “They were well prepared and both sides played their hearts out. But there were times we just couldn’t score against their tough defence and I didn’t think we got the calls down the stretch. My heart goes out to my kids. They played a hard-fought game against a great team.” Early on, it looked as if Carleton would run away with the game. With 4:13 to go until half time, Carleton led 29-17 and the Ravens had been steadily building that lead throughout the half. They had trailed briefly 4-5 then had a 10-point run which gave them a 14-5 lead. Ottawa U twice cut the lead to six, 17-11 and 19-13 but each time Carleton pulled away. However, the final four minutes were a complete turnaround. The Gee-Gees had a couple of fast breaks and – though they didn’t make both baskets – they did make the foul shots. Dax Dessureault made two for two. Then Josh Gibson-Bascombe went all the way down the floor, scored and made the foul shot. Soon the Gee-Gees had made a 12-0 run and tied the score with 1:18 to go, 29-all. At that point, Osvaldo Jeanty was fouled but missed both shots. But Ottawa failed to score and Carleton got the ball back with 25.4 seconds on the clock. Instead of running down the clock and taking the last shot Carleton shot, missed and allowed Ottawa a three-point shot at the buzzer. Having trailed by 12 with 4:13 to go, the Gee-Gees led by three 32-29 at half time. They had outscored Carleton a devastating 15-0 in the final four minutes of the half. The first part of the second half saw the teams trading baskets with the lead changing hands seven times in the and several more times being tied. Then Carleton slowly pulled away but there were still some strange moments. At one point after a throw-in, Jeanty was about to bring the ball up the floor when he lost his shoe. Since no one was guarding him his team mates had all gone down the floor. He had to call a time out to get his shoe back. However, each time Carleton seemed to be pulling away the Gee-Gees came back. With 8:53 to go it was tied 46-all. A minute and a half later it was still 46-all. Rob Saunders finally gave Carleton the lead, 48-46. Then Aaron Doornekamp hit two foul shots, 52-46. Jermaine Campbell got an offensive rebound and scored 52-50. The foul on him was the fourth on Doornekamp. Then Alex McLeod scored and tied the game 52-all. With 3:29 left, Jeanty got fouled on a three-point shot. He made the first and third. Carleton was up 54-52. With time running down on the shot clock, the Gee-Gees shot and missed and the ball went out of bounds. The shot clock went to 30 then to seven then back to 30 after a lengthy discussion among the three referees. However Carleton’s defence tightened and Ryan Bell stole the ball. With 2:13 to go Bell hit a three (he was three for four from three-point range). Carleton was up five, 57-52. Curtis Shakespeare cut the lead to three with two foul shots. Stuart Turnbull drove in for a lay-up. It was 59-54 with 1:32 to go. It was 59-57 with 1:18 to go and it was still 59-57 as the clock was down to 32.4 seconds. After Ottawa U failed to score, Jeanty was deliberately fouled. He made both foul shots. Carleton led 63-57. Gibson-Bascombe hit a three. Ottawa U pressed. Ryan Bell threw a strike down the floor to Stuart Turnbull, who was smashed away from the basket by Gibson-Bascombe. Turnbull made both foul shots – 65-60. In the last 3.2 seconds Ottawa U scored another three but the ball went in at the buzzer. Stuart Turnbull paced Carleton with 17 on 3-11 from the floor, 11-13 from the line and 2 assists. Aaron Doornekamp added 12 on 3-9 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 2 boards. Osvaldo Jeanty added 11 on 2-10 from the floor, 6-7 from the line and 4 boards. Ryan Bell added 9 on 3-4 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie notched 8 on 4-8 from the floor. Daron Leonard added 4 and Rob Saunders 2, while nabbing 5 boards. Kevin McCleery scored 2 and nabbed 4 boards. Shawn McCleery, Mike Kenny and Sheldon Stewart were scoreless. The Ravens hit 19-54 (.352) from the floor, 4-12 from the arc and 23-32 (.719) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 18 fouls, 10 turnovers, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Josh Gibson-Bascombe paced Ottawa with 15 on 5-16 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Jermaine Campbell added 9 on 2-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Alex McLeod scored 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Dax Dessureault scored 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 8 boards. Willy Manigat scored 8 on 3-9 from the floor. Curtis Shakespeare scored 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Donnie Gibson scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor. David Labentowicz added 2, while Sean Peter, Shawn Allen, Terry Hawryluk and Nemanja Baletic were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 22-64 (.344) from the floor, 9-19 (.474) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 23 fouls, 11 turnovers, 4 steals and 1 block.

       In the West quarterfinals, the McMaster Marauders stomped the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 85-61. An early Marauder lead was quickly erased, as the visitors opened a 12-7 advantage six minutes into the game. The Maroon and Grey started to hit from downtown, and took a 36-31 lead into the locker room at the half. Out of the intermission, Laurier hung tough, trailing only 44-40 with just over 13 minutes to play. However, the Maroon and Grey seemed to decide enough was enough. Mac tallied 24 of the next 30 points, opening a 68-46 advantage, cruising to the easy win. 6’8” Adam Steiner shook off a tough first half with 7 points during a game-deciding 18-1 run. After Laurier’s fine 6’2” guard Jesse Macdonald knocked down a 3 to bring the Hawks back to within 5 with 10:45 remaining, Steiner scored the next 5 points and Martin Ajayi contributed some strong defense, transition looks and 3 points of his own as Mac completely took the game over. The Hawks hurt themselves with 7-17 shooting from the foul line and under 35% shooting from the floor, missing several easy layups in the first half when they took the play to Mac and had a chance to grab a large lead. Laurier’s All-Star forward Matt Walker, averaging about 16 ppg during the regular season, had a terrible afternoon going only 1-9 from the floor for 2 points. In the first half, the Hawks got their transition game going early and led 12-7 after the first seven minutes after freshman Justin Golob’s 3. Laurier kept their lead on the strong inside work of 6’7” Trevor Csima, who continually got free inside 5 feet off high-lows and with early offense. Mac stayed in the game on strong work on the “o” glass by Toms Lokmanis, finally taking a 22-20 lead with 7 minutes left in the half on a knifing move to the rim by Martin Ajayi. The Hawks had their troubles knocking shots down so McMaster went to a 2-3 zone and promptly went on a run culminating in Lokmanis turnaround in the post to give Mac their largest lead at 31-27. With just over 1 minute to play, Laurier’s fifth-year point guard Omar Miles, playing with a severely bruised heel, picked up his third foul promptly Golden Hawks coach Peter Campbell to go to a matchup zone but 6-4 John Obrovac hit his second trey of the half to give Mac a 36-31 lead going into the intermission. Marauder Martin Ajayi told the Hamilton Spectator that “everybody picked up the defensive intensity.” Marauders coach Joe Raso said “in the second half, we looked like the senior (rather than the younger) team. … We did the job on (Matthew) Walker. He didn’t get the looks. That was key.” Martin Ajayi led the Marauders with 26 on 9-15 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 8 boards and 7 assists. Adam Steiner added 23 on 3-9 from the floor, 6-9 from the line and 10 boards. John Obrovac added 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2 boards. Jason Scully scored 9 on 3-4 from the arc. Toms Lokmanis scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor and 6 boards. Jermaine De Costa notched 4, Mike DiClaudio 3, Mark Valvasori 3, Nathan Histed 4, Joe Polizzi 3, Geoff McLaughlin 2 and Andrew Losier 1. McMaster shot 30-62 (.484) from the floor, 12-22 (.545) from the arc and 13-23 (.565) from the line, while garnering 52 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 16 fouls, 11 turnovers, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Jesse Macdonald led Laurier with 17 points on 6-15 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc and 3-6 from the line. Trevor Csima added 14 on 6-6 from the floor, 2-6 from the line and 5 boards. Justin Golob added 8 on 3-10 from the floor. Omar Miles scored 6 on 2-8 from the floor, 8 assists and 3 steals. Andrew Pennycook added 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 8 boards. David Crowley added 4, Evan Eliason 2, Matthew Walker 2 and Mike Frijia 2, while Matt Eves and Andrew Pawliwec were scoreless. Laurier coach Peter Campbell said “they’re a better team than we are. They’re deeper. They have more experience. At no time time did our prime guy (Matt Walker) get involved in the scoring. That really hurt us. You need some weapons. Jesse McDonald did a great job but you can’t beat them with one guy scoring.” Laurier (coached by Peter Campbell, assisted by Alex Urosevic, Mike Quigley and Mark Lane, student assistant coach Adam Illman, manager Haley Caldwell, student trainers Jessica McLaughlin and Britta Badour, chiropractor David Orchard) also included Luke Sunderland, Andrew Peterson and Jeff Mitchell. The Golden Hawks hit 24-66 (.364) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 8-19 (.421) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 20 fouls, 9 turnovers, 4 steals and 3 blocks.

       In the other West quarterfinal, host Guelph dumped Western 69-61. Outscoring the visiting Mustangs by 22 points in the last 9 minutes, Guelph got a solid team defensive effort and great finishes from 6’4” Nick Pankerichan, 6’7” Duncan Milne and league All-Star Aron Bariagbre. Down 14 with 9 minutes remaining, Guelph went to 4 guard lineup plus Milne and forced the Mustangs into perimeter shots as Western did not get the ball inside with any consistency down the stretch. It didn’t help the ‘Stangs cause that 6’6” Brad Smith was in foul trouble all day before finally leaving with his 5th with about 6 minutes remaining. As well, 6’3” OUA West Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Andrew Wedemire battled fouls and left the game after banging heads with Bariagbre. “That was hard to swallow,” said coach Bradley Campbell. “We played pretty well for 30 minutes, then made some rebounding mistakes and did a couple of other things that let them back in the game. We learned a great deal this year and being in a playoff game was a learning experience as well. We played well for a while in a playoff atmosphere and . . . they’re hungry for more. There’s no doubt in my mind we don’t lose if we play this game at home. But we didn’t. The kids were disappointed, but we told them that considering where we’ve come from, before the season started if we were told we’d be 11-11, we’d feel pretty good. They were still very positive about the season and about next year. The guys were already talking about starting to work for next year. You like to hear that as a coach.” Western held the lead for the first 30 minutes of the game, but the Gryphons turned up their defense and outscored the Mustangs by 22-points in the final 10 minutes of the second half. Western opened the game strong holding the Gryphons scoreless in the opening three minutes with a 9-0 run. The Gryphons fought their way back to get within two points (14-12) midway through the first half as part of a 10-5 Gryphons run. But that’s as close as the Gryphons would get in the first frame as the Mustangs went into the break leading 31-23. The Mustangs opened the second half on fire, shooting three consecutive three-pointers to take a 40-29 lead at the 15:14 mark. With 10 minutes remaining and a 14-point lead, it looked as if the Mustangs were going to run away with it. But the Gryphons responded. Sparked by a four-guard lineup, Guelph outscored the Mustangs by 22 points in the last nine minutes of the game. At the 4:30 mark, Aron Bariagabre scored in the paint and converted on the foul shot for a three-point play giving the Gryphons their first-lead of the game (54-53). On the next possession Duncan Milne grabbed a Mustang-rebound and Nick Pankerichan scored a three pointer to give the Gryphons a 57—53 lead. The Gryphons maintained the lead throughout the last minutes and were clutch from the free-throw line down the stretch. Aron Bariagabre paced Guelph with 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Duncan Milne added 16 on 7-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 5 boards. Nick Pankerichan notched 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Jr. Bailey scored 9 on 4-12 from the floor and 5 boards. Sebastian Kasiuk added 7 on 2-3 from the floor and 3-3 from the line. Jay Mott scored 6 on 1-3 from the arc and 5 boards. Borko Popic added 2, while Charles Agyemang, Jonathan Gurnham and Luke Nevar were scoreless. The Gryphons hit 24-59 (.407) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 17-25 (.680) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 19 fouls, 13 turnovers, 5 steals and 1 block. Jason Milliquet paced Western with 14 on 4-11 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 3 assists. Matthew Curtis added 14 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 7 assists. Alan Paron notched 8 on 4-7 from the floor and 9 boards. Danny Jeon added 7 on 3-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Adam Ruickibie notched 5 on 2-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Andrew Wedemire scored 5 on 1-1 from the arc and 2-3 from the line. Dave Wilson scored 4, Jordan Smith 2 and Bradley Smith 2, while Jonathan Semira and Brett Lawrence were scoreless. Western (coached by Brad Campbell) also included Cameron Gordon, Guy Ferguson, Jeff Newnes, Matthew Hunter and Tarek Khalid. The Mustangs shot 23-60 (.383) from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 7-15 (.467) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 26 fouls, 14 turnovers, 4 steals and 3 blocks.

In the West semis, McMaster defeated host Brock 87-71 as Martin Ajayi scored 37. The cocky Ajayi appeared motivated by the selection of Badger Brad Rootes as the West MVP. “You can have all the individual awards you want,” said Ajayi. “I just want to get a ring at nationals. Only a certain amount of people are judging player of the year. Let the crowd and other people decide. They can give it to somebody else. It makes no difference. I’m in my last year, so my goal from the beginning wasn’t to win the scoring title or any of that stuff. We want to win nationals.” Ajayi dominated the second half, hitting seven consecutive three-point shots. His 37 points was just three shy of Jim Noble’s school record — achieved during a regular-season game. “That may be as good a half of basketball (30 points by Ajayi) as I’ve ever seen by a Canadian university player,” said Badgers’ 17-year veteran coach Ken Murray. Mac head coach Joe Raso said the Marauders, who trailed 36-33 at the half, wore the Badgers down and Ajayi was simply sensational. “Marty took care of it at both ends (offensively and defensively). What a great performance. And he did it in the context of who we are. We made an adjustment at halftime and it freed him up for a bunch of shots. We’re the only team to win a game here this year (Mac won all three conference starts).” Rootes, who finished with 21 points, was spitting blood and had shortness of breath from an internal injury when a teammate fell on him in the second half. “We’re concerned,” Murray said. “It isn’t a normal injury. It’s serious.” Murray called Ajayi’s performance “the greatest half of basketball by a CIS player.” The game’s opening minutes featured great shooting by both teams, and few fouls. By the midway point of the first half, the respective defenses started to exert themselves, and the action tightened up. By the intermission, the home side held a 36-33 advantage. The difference was the Marauders’ inability to hit from long range, finishing 0-for-7 from beyond the three-point arc. It was a different Marauder team that emerged from the locker room. Led by Ajayi, the Maroon and Grey took 54-50 lead, seven minutes into the half. But Rootes wouldn’t go down without a fight, and in one incredible stretch (of many), Ajayi and Rootes traded 5 straight 3-point shots between them, leaving many in the gym with their jaws dropped. Brock was poised to make one final run, but unfortunately for them, Rootes was forced to the sidelines, after he hit the floor, and was inadvertently fallen on by one of his teammates. Rootes valiantly tried to play through it, but when he started to spit up blood, he was pulled from the contest with a suspected broken rib. The loss of Rootes was too much for the Badgers, as Mac pulled away in the final few minutes. The Marauders, who missed all seven of their 3’s in the first half and then their first five 3’s of the second half, went on a 21-14 run in the first 7 minutes of the second half as Ajayi hit 3 consecutive treys partially offset by Badgers Brad Rootes, who tried to match Ajayi with consecutive 3’s of his own to keep Brock close. With Mac up 51-50, Ajayi’s 3rd 3 started a game-deciding 25-11 run culminated by a steal and breakaway dunk by Toms Lokmanis causing Brock to call a timeout with Mac leading at 76-61. The Badgers had an opportunity to interrupt the run at 64-58 after a Rootes 3 but Chris Keith missed a pair of free throws and then fouled after the second miss and Adam Steiner made both free throws at the other end and the Badgers rarely threatened from there. With about 5 minutes remaining, Rootes left the game with an injury and did not return. Ajayi then put the final nail in Brock’s coffin by hitting another pair of back-to-back 3’s, the second with the shot clock winding down to lift Mac’s lead to 82-65. Martin Ajayi paced McMaster with 37 on 11-20 from the floor, 7-12 from the arc, 8-13 from the line, 3 boards and 6 assists. Adam Steiner added 18 on 8-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Toms Lokmanis notched 10 on 5-9 from the floor, 9 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. John Obrovac scored 8 on 4-12 from the floor and 4 boards. Nathan Histed added 4, Joe Polizzi 4, Mike DiClaudio 2, Mark Valvasori 2 and Jermaine Da Costa 2, while Jason Scully, Andrew Losier and Geoff McLaughlin were scoreless. The Marauders hit 35-66 (.53o) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 10-19 (.526) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 10 turnovers, 10 steals and 3 blocks. Brad Rootes paced Brock with 21 on 7-13 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3-7 from the line, 8 boards and 4 assists. Owen White added 19 on 9-14 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Mike Kemp scored 9 on 2-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards. Chris Keith scored 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 6 boards. Jesse Tipping added 7 on 3-5 from the floor. Scott Murray scored 5 on 1-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Brent Burtney scored 1, while Omar Kadray, Sam Brefo, Phil Poulin, David Swinden and Matt Bassett-Spiers were scoreless. Brock also included Jakub Stika. The Badgers shot 25-58 (.431) from the floor, 8-21 (.381) from the arc and 13-24 (.542) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 13 fouls, 18 turnovers, 8 steals and 1 block.

       In the other West semi, Windsor clipped Guelph 69-61 after rallying from an early 10-point deficit. Windsor held Guelph to just 13 points in the last 13 minutes of the half to lead by 6 at the intermission and then grabbed leads as large as 11 in the second half. Still, the game was a struggle as with 9 minutes remaining Windsor led by only 1 at 43-42 and being played at Guelph’s pace. Unfortunately for the Gryphons, 6-8 Duncan Milne was whistled for a dead ball foul after slamming Windsor’s Greg Allin to the floor after a Guelph bucket. The Lancers then exploded on a 12-2 run from which the Gryphons could not recover. The Lancers overcame a rough start against the Gryphons, who used their size advantage to push Windsor around. Kevin Kloostra scored 12 points down the stretch and Greg Allin goaded Guelph’s Duncan Milne into a game-changing technical foul with 8:51 left. Milne threw Allin to the floor with Windsor up by a single point at 43-42. His smack down sparked a 13-4 Lancers’ run for a 56-46 lead. “We don’t really get along with the Guelph guys,” Allin said. “He was talking to me and I said bring it and he did. Thanks a lot Mr. Milne.” Milne, at 6-8 and 220 pounds and teammate John Ross Bailey, at 6-9 and 245 pounds, had their way in the paint for much of the game. Windsor coach Chris Oliver reached into his bench for freshman Tyler Carey to provide some defensive spark which he did. “We weren’t defending really well and he gave us great energy,” said Oliver. The Lancers also got a solid effort from reserve guard Corey Boswell. “It was tough,” Kloostra said. “Every team brings their best for the playoffs and they brought it at the beginning of the game. We were just way too excited.” The Lancers settled down for a 14-0 run as the first half wore down, allowing them to nurse a 33-27 lead at the break. “They were over-excited you could tell,” Oliver said. “They were doing a lot of uncharacteristic things. Offensively, especially, they settled down.” The Gryphons called it a “tough, hostile environment.” The technical “definitely, changed momentum,” said a soft-spoken Milne, who threw Windsor’s Greg Allin to the ground to earn the foul. “We were within one point and after that it slipped away from us.” Milne, centre J.R. Bailey and guards Aron Bariagabre and Nick Pankerichan were hounded by an aggressive Windsor defence that held the Gryphons to one of their worst offensive performances of the season. “I think that was the difference,” Pankerichan said of Windsor’s bothersome frontcourt defence. “I felt we were composed the majority of the game, but when they went on that run, that frustrated us, myself included. I was looking at the ref too much and not worrying about playing. But we missed a lot of shots and we just didn’t perform.” Gryphons coach Chris O’Rourke said of the technical “In the end, with that much time left, it didn’t decide the game, but it certainly changed the momentum. I think the frustration came from our inability to shoot the three. Offensively, we had one guy in double figures. We needed three.” Oliver said that “especially in the second half we did a much better job defensively. “(Corey) Boswell and (Ryan) Steer kept the ball in front so there wasn’t a lot of penetration.” And it was Steer who carried the load offensively, too, scoring seven consecutive points in the first half, all but erasing the eight-point deficit. “Sometimes you just have to let players play and he was the guy that decided he was going to get us back in the game,” Oliver said. “And he did that. Guelph is a very good team, and they really came after us. They did a great job in the first five or 10 minutes. I think we were a little over-excited.” It was Windsor’s first home playoff game in 19 years. “It’s tough,” O’Rourke said of the loss. “You’re never satisfied. There are no moral victories. We wanted to win, to get to Nationals. And if you’re capable of doing it and you don’t, then it’s very disappointing.” Kevin Kloostra paced Windsor with 21 on 6-12 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Ryan Steer added 21 on 8-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 assists and 3 steals. Rich Allin scored 15 on 6-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 7 boards. Greg Allin scored 6 on 2-7 from the floor and 7 boards. Corey Boswell scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 5 boards. Greg Surmacz scored 1 on 0-4 from the floor and 8 boards. Matt Handsor, Tyler Carey and Kyle Kane were scoreless. The Lancers hit 24-50 (.480) from the floor, 4-11 (.364) from the arc and 17-27 (.630) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 16 fouls, 11 turnovers, 7 steals and 3 blocks. John Ross Bailey led Guelph with 21 points on 10-15 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 9 boards. Aron Bariagabre added 9 on 4-13 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 steals. Duncan Milne scored 8 on 4-6 from the floor and 5 boards. Nick Pankerichan scored 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 assists. Charles Agyemang added 5, Sebastian Kasiuk 5, Borko Popic 5 and Jay Mott 2, while Jonathan Gurnham and Luke Nevar were scoreless. Guelph (coached by Chris O’Rourke, assisted by Chris Dooley, Pat Dooley, Mike King and Toffer Treiguts, manager Jonathan Moscatelli, trainer Colin Wallace) also included Zack Nevar, Ebe Haile and Samuel Toluwase. The Gryphons shot 25-60 (.417) from the floor, 4-14 (.167) from the arc and 7-9 (.778) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 21 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 2 blocks.

       In the West final, host Windsor defeated McMaster 75-58 before an overflow crowd of 2,800 at the St. Denis Centre. “It’s incredible,” said Oliver who beat his mentor, McMaster coach Joe Raso. “All the hard work these guys have put in over the last two years is translated into what they accomplished tonight. “The Lancers would not be denied Saturday. Kloostra was a believer in Oliver’s plan. “We’ve got the talent to go to Halifax,” he said. “We didn’t want to wait until 2009 or whatever it is.” A university initiative called the Full Court Press is aimed at upgrading the Lancers enough to win a national title in 2009, exactly 40 years after their last one. Kloostra didn’t feel like waiting. His three-point shot was like a stake to the heart of the Marauders Saturday after they had clawed their way out of a 25-point hole. It put Windsor in front 63-49 with under five minutes to go. In the closing moments, Oliver pulled his starters off the court and greeted each one with a bear hug. As the game drew to a conclusion, a chant of ‘Halifax’ rose up from the crowd. As experienced as they were, the Marauders were no match for the physical presence of Rich and Greg Allin, the sheer will of point guard Ryan Steer and the deft scoring touch of Kloostra and Surmacz. Oliver, after six years as an assistant to Raso, said “I was almost in tears talking to Coach Raso at the end of the game. I am just so honoured to have been a part of that program. They are so classy and that’s why this means so much.” Windsor took advantage of some chilly shooting by Mac in the opening half, for a 37-18 halftime lead. The Lancers outscored Mac 20-7 over the final eight minutes of the half, as the Marauders shot a dismal 27 percent from the floor. “Those eight minutes were key,” said Raso, as his team dug itself a big hole. “Ultimately you don’t want to make mistakes and we made a pile of them in that stretch. Just too many mental lapses.” Windsor extended its lead in the second half to 50-27 before Mac mounted a furious run behind star guard Martin Ajayi to close within 11 at 56-45 with seven minutes remaining. But a clutch three-point shot by Windsor’s Kevin Kloostra stopped the bleeding, and the McMaster never got closer than 12 points after that. Kloostra said the Windsor game plan was to contain Mac’s Ajayi. “He’s such a great player, we didn’t want to let him get off. He can make shots from anywhere, but we made it tough for him.” Knowing the Mac penchant for comebacks, Oliver was pleased his team was able to withstand the Marauder rally, saying: “When you play McMaster you have to match their intensity. They made a run, but we got a basket that settled things down. Them not shooting well in the first half helped, but we played good defence and were really active on the boards.” On losing to his former protégé, Raso said, “Chris has taken a little bit from everywhere to become his own man. He’s done a great job and his team has been the most consistent all year.” The Marauders hit a three-point shot to open the contest, but that was the only lead they would enjoy. Windsor bounced back to lead 24-16 with 6:24 to play in the opening 20 minutes, before scoring 13 straight points, to extend the margin to 21. At the half, the Lancers led 37-18, and looked to be in complete control. The difference stayed constant throughout most of the second half, before the Maroon and Grey made one last run, cutting the deficit to 11 points, 56-45, with 8:45 on the clock. But Windsor wouldn’t let Mac get a taste of momentum, hitting the big shot when it was needed to go on to the win. Kevin Kloostra paced Windsor with 20 on 7-15 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Greg Surmacz added 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 5 boards. Rich Allin scored 11 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards and 3 assists. Corey Boswell scored 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3 boards and 4 assists. Ryan Steer scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 5 assists and 4 steals. Greg Allin scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 11 boards. Matt Handsor added 3 and Tyler Carey 2, while Conor Allin, Kevin Cameron, Monty Hardware and Kyle Kane were scoreless. The Lancers hit 27-63 (.429) from the floor, 7-22 (.318) from the arc and 14-15 (.933) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 16, 14 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block. Martin Ajayi paced McMaster with 18 on 5-17 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 4 boards, 7 assists and 3 steals. Adam Steiner added 16 on 6-14 from the floor, 4-5 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Nathan Histed added 7 on 3-5 from the floor. Jason Scully scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor. Mark Valvasori added 5, Michael DiClaudio 2, John Obrovac 2, Joe Polizzi 2 and Toms Lokmanis 2, while Andrew Losier, Geoff McLaughlin and Jermaine De Costa were scoreless. The Marauders hit 21-59 (.356) from the floor, 5-22 (.227) from the arc and 11-13 (.846) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 17 fouls, 12 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks.

       In the Wilson Cup final, host Windsor dumped Carleton 84-75 before a rabid crowd of 3,500 at the St. Denis Center. Kevin Kloostra hit for eight consecutive points, including a pair of long treys, late in the first half to give the Lancers a 9-point lead which they protected for much of the second half. It marked the first time in 27 years that Windsor had won the Ontario title. Kloostra stake Windsor to an early 24-17 lead. Carleton responded, as forward Aaron Doornekamp knocked down some big three pointers to bring Carleton even at 29-29. Windsor continued their hot shooting, as point guard Ryan Steer and Kloostra continued to make shots, as the Lancers built a 47-39 halftime lead. In the second half, the Lancers came out on fire as they dominated the Ravens both in the post and from outside. Windsor’s Greg Surmacz was outstanding in the second half, as he scored from the post and grabbed a number of big rebounds to help the Lancers build a 76-61 lead. The Ravens tried to mount a late comeback, as they cut the lead to six at 78-72, but the Lancers made some clutch free throws down the stretch as they earned the 84-75 victory. Greg Allin and Rich Allin were tremendous defensively, as they controlled the paint and finished with 12 combined rebounds. Reserve guard Corey Boswell did a great job controlling Carleton’s Osvaldo Jeanty, as he held him to only 11 shots in the game. “Our defence locked them down,” Steer said of Windsor’s effort against the four-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport champions. Greg Surmacz said “it’s all about pride. It’s an OUA championship and this city hasn’t seen one in a while. That banner is going to hang there forever and our name is going to be on that trophy forever.” Moser winner Osvaldo Jeanty said “we’ve hit rock bottom. We couldn’t stop them. They played so well offensively. We didn’t rebound, we didn’t shoot with confidence and we couldn’t stop them. We have no choice but to come back from that. We’re national champions. We’re going to go out like national champions.” The lead changed hands four times early in the first half and was tied twice. Windsor however continually pulled ahead by about four points then Carleton closed the gap. Mid-way through the half way, Kevin Kloostra put on a shooting display which gave the Lancers a lead they never relinquished. With about four seconds on the shot clock, he hit a three from the corner. The next time down the floor he hit another three. When Windsor got the ball back he hit a two. That was eight straight points. It gave Windsor a nine-point lead – and the Lancers held onto that lead until the half. At half time, Windsor led 47-39. Kloostra didn’t stop there. He hit the opening shot of the second half to give the Lancers an 11-point lead and Windsor gradually built on that lead until it was up 17 with five minutes left in the game. By then Windsor was starting to show signs of serious foul trouble as several Windsor players had trouble guarding their Carleton opponents. Corey Boswell, for example, was beaten several times by Osvaldo Jeanty and Kloostra could not keep up with Ryan Bell. At one point Bell faked right, cut left and caught Kloostra flat footed. But the Lancers were far enough ahead that the fouls ended up not mattering that much. Although Rich Allin and Ryan Steer each ended the game with four fouls only Boswell fouled out – and that was with 29 seconds left on the clock. Carleton did get six more points than Windsor on foul shots but that was not enough to close the gap. Late in the game Carleton started pressing. They put on a 12-2 run and forced Windsor to call some consecutive time outs. The 17-point lead shrunk to 78-72. And there was still 1:42 to play. But as time ran out and Windsor slowed down play the Ravens were forced to start fouling. The problem was the Ravens had only three personal fouls. They had to make four more before Windsor went to the line. Kevin Kloostra paced Windsor with 23 on 7-18 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Ryan Steer added 19 on 6-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3-7 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Greg Surmacz notched 16 on 7-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 11 boards and 5 assists. Matt Handsor scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Corey Boswell notched 8 on 2-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Greg Allin scored 7 on 27 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Rich Allin added 2 and Tyler Carey 1, while Conor Allin was scoreless. The Lancers hit 27-58 (.466) from the floor, 14-23 (.609) from the arc and 16-23 (.696) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 26 assists, 24 fouls, 8 turnovers, 5 steals and 1 block. Osvaldo Jeanty paced Carleton with 25 on 7-11 from the floor, 5-6 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 6 boards and 5 assists. Stuart Turnbull added 16 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Aaron Doornekamp notched 13 on 3-14 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Daron Leonard added 9 on 3-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie notched 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 6 boards. Ryan Bell scored 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 assists. Kevin McCleery added 2 and Rob Saunders 1, while Mike Kenny was scoreless. The Ravens hit 21-58 (.362) from the floor, 11-19 (.579) from the arc and 22-29 (.759) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 22 fouls, 9 turnovers and 5 steals.

       After the season, Ryerson fired athletic director David Dubois and interuniversity sports manager Terry Haggerty. Officials declined comment, saying the decision was “private and confidential.” Dubois had been AD since 2001, and Haggerty manager for the past four years, after 22 years at the helm of the Rams basketball program.

       Laurentian coach Virgil Hill resigns to return to Vancouver where his family resides. Hill played for Simon Fraser and then moved to become an assistant for the Clansmen under coach Jay Triano. Originally from Sarnia, Ontario, who played for some very strong Sarnia Northern high school teams in the mid-1980’s before accepting a scholarship to Simon Fraser in Burnaby, BC when the Clan was a member of the NAIA, also spent several summers on the coaching staff and as guest coach in stable of teams including student and junior national teams in Canada’s National basketball program. Hill was at the Voyageurs helm for 7 years. “I am grateful for the opportunity that Laurentian University has provided me with to grow both as a coach and a person. I have enjoyed the past seven seasons immensely working with the student athletes, assistant coaches, faculty and staff. It is now time for me to focus on my family and be reunited with them in BC. I would like to thank all of the individuals that have supported me and the team over the past seven years and I wish the program much success in the future.” Hill took over the head coaching position before the start of the 2000-2001 season and went on to lead the Voyageurs to the playoffs in six of seven seasons reaching the OUA East quarter final five times and the OUA East semifinal once. He leaves with a career conference record of 60-94 and an overall record of 90-141, while coaching many Voyageurs to OUA all-star awards and CIS academic all-Canadian awards. “We are extremely grateful for Coach Hill’s commitment and dedication over the last 7 years and wish him all the best in his future endeavours. This was an extremely difficult decision for Virgil and we respect his thoughts and wishes. While leading our men’s program, Coach Hill continued to strive for excellence in a very tough East Conference and will leave a well-structured and detailed program,” stated Director of Athletics Peter Hellstrom. Hill is replaced by former Voyageur and one-time national team player Shawn Swords, who had playing pro ball in Europe (most recently French division 2 squad Mulhouse). The graduate of Ottawa’s Woodroffe High toiled for Laurentian between 1992-97 earned all-conference laurels four times and was an assistant to Peter Campbell in 1998. Athletic director Peter Hellstrom called him a “true Voyageur.” Swords noted that “I’ve been shooting in this gym consistently for the last 10 years,” he said. “So, it’s not a shock being back here, but it’s a shock that now I’m the coach.” Swords said that Hill’s 90-141 record, with just one OUA semi appearance was the product of improvements in the league. “That the team was struggling a bit, but it wasn’t due to the players or (Hill) as a coach necessarily. The conference got a lot better awfully fast. It’s the best conference in the country now. I’m excited. It’s going to be hard, but if it wasn’t hard, why would anyone want the job?”

       Western announces that Brad Campbell will be made the permanent coach. Campbell guided the Mustangs to an 11-11 record and an OUA playoff berth as interim head coach last season. “I couldn’t be more pleased to continue as the head basketball coach here at Western,” Campbell said. “As a former player and coach, I understand the tradition and the expectations of the program. I consider myself honored to continue the legacy of great Western coaches such as Doug Hayes and Craig Boydell.” The former Mustang forward replaced 14-year bench-boss Craig Boydell this season, leading Western to their first post-season berth in four years. Western lost to Guelph in the OUA West divisional final. “We have been evaluating the men’s basketball coaching situation for the past several months,” said Michael Lysko, Director of Sports and Recreation Services at the University of Western Ontario. “This past season provided Brad with the opportunity to begin to put his own stamp on the program, and we were pleased with the progress he made, both in terms of game preparation and recruiting. We are looking forward to Brad’s contribution to re-establishing our men’s basketball program as one of the top programs in the CIS.” A former player under both Boydell and five-time CIS champion coach Dave Smart (Carleton University) while a student at Nepean High School in Ottawa, Campbell is well versed in the sport.

The co-bronze medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Josh Gibson-Bascombe; Jermaine Campbell; Dax Dessureault; Willy Manigat; Alex McLeod; Curtis Shakespeare; Donnie Gibson; David Labentowicz; Sean Peter; Shawn Allen; Terry Hawryluk; Nemanja Baletic; Jamie Robinson; Alex Wright; Alexandre Duford; Alex Ethier; coach David DeAveiro; assistant James Derouin

       The co-bronze medalist McMaster Marauders: Martin Ajayi; Adam Steiner; Nathan Histed; Jason Scully; Mark Valvasori; Michael DiClaudio; John Obrovac; Joe Polizzi; Toms Lokmanis; Andrew Losier; Geoff McLaughlin; Jermaine De Costa; Aminu Bello; Anthony Bishop; Nicola Fadayel; Jermaine De Costa; Eric Magdanz; Jason Scully; coach Joe Raso; assistant Amos Connolly

The runner-up Carleton Ravens: Osvaldo Jeanty; Aaron Doornekamp; Ryan Bell; Stuart Turnbull; Rob Saunders; Jean-Emmanuelle Jean-Marie; Kevin McCleery; Shawn McCleery; Mike Kenny; Daron Leonard; Sheldon Stewart; Luke Chapman; Derek McConnery; Abdul Kosar; Jordan Pleet; Graeme Scott; coach Dave Smart; assistant Taffe Charles; assistant Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Bill Arden; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Andy Stewart; therapist Bruce Marshall; therapist Adam Davies; manager Paul Blackman; SID David Kent; athletic director Drew Love

       The champion Windsor Lancers: Kevin Kloostra; Greg Surmacz; Ryan Steer; Greg Allin; Rich Allin; Kyle Kane; Matt Handsor; Kevin Cameron; Corey Boswell; Tyler Carey; Monty Hardware; Conor Allin; Jonathan Burnett; Jason Bulgin; Marlon Ewell; Stevan Ljuljdurovic; coach Chris Oliver; assistant Barry Amlin; assistant Anthony Rizzetto; assistant Jamie Stewart; athletic director Gord Grace; SID Elisa Mitton