2015-16 OUA – men

REGULAR SEASON

	NORTH				CENTRAL
	Ottawa	17-2	30-7	James Derouin	McMaster	14-5	18-7	Amos Connolly
	Carleton	16-3	26-5	Rob Smart	Brock	13-6	21-7	Charles Kissi
	Laurentian	6-13	7-18	Shawn Swords	Lakehead	10-9	20-13	Manny Furtado
	Nipissing	4-15	6-18	Chris Cheng	Guelph	9-10	11-15	Chris O’Rourke
	EAST				WEST
	Ryerson	17-2	26-4	Patrick Tatham	Windsor	14-6	19-11	Ryan Steer
	Queen’s	11-8	15-14	Stephan Barre	Western	11-9	16-10	Brad Campbell
	Toronto	5-14	7-20	John Campbell	Laurier	9-11	11-16	Peter Campbell
	York	2-17	4-23	Tom Oliveri	Algoma	5-15	5-19	Thomas Cory
					Waterloo	1-19	1-24	Justin Gunter

        Shortly before the season, Carleton coach Dave Smart announces that he is taking a year’s sabbatical. Smart told the Ottawa Citizen that he contemplated accepting several American coaching offers before deciding that he wanted to close out his career with the Ravens, but only after taking a year’s sabbatical to coach his six-year-old son and periodically venturing south to learn new coaching tricks from friends who run American college programs. Smart said he originally intended to take a year off to spend more time with his father George, and his young children, Theo 6, and Gabriel 3. But after his 90-year-old father died of kidney failure last spring, Smart and his family faced a life-defining moment with respect to whether to accept an American offer, or stay in Ottawa and continue coaching the Ravens. “Yes, it’s nice to see what other (options) there are and see what other people are doing, but we wanted to stay at Carleton. We wanted to stay in Ottawa. We wanted our kids to grow up in Ottawa.” The issue was “did I want to try something new and did my family want to take that chance? … We came to the conclusion that Carleton is where I wanted to be long-term. With the sabbatical, we get to experience the other side and basically tell everyone, this is where we want to be.” Smart said he’d retain his duties as an assistant for the national senior men’s team and begin making forays to American schools such as Villanova, Northeastern, Michigan and Cincinnati, where he has developed relationship with their coaches. “I’ll spend time at their practices, spend time at their games and see how they do things. Nothing prolonged and then be back in Ottawa, doing things with my kids and spending time with some of the young guys on our team. But I’m not going to be at any (Raven) practices or any games.” Smart added that he’ll have no problem resisting the inclination to get back into the Raven’s Nest. “I have full trust in Rob. That’s part of why it’s easy. Various people do it (take a sabbatical) for different reasons. Some do it because they plan on moving on. I’m doing it because I plan on staying. Some people, it’s hard to do because they’re giving it to people who they’re friends with and they trust them. But this is family and I have totally trust in his ability to run the basketball side of the program. “I mean, I’m still going to be recruiting. I’m still going to be keeping relationship with the young kids. It’s still going to be my program but the basketball side for a year is going to be Rob’s and Dean’s (assistant Petridis), and with these guys, (assistants) Aaron Blakely, Aaron Chapman, Kevin (Churchill), Victor (Raso), it’s a little different. The trust level is off the charts. And I believe he’ll do a great job. He’s got a lot of talent. It’s young and it’s going to take some time but I have full confidence he’s going to get a lot out of that talent.” Meanwhile, Smart will get his coaching fix guiding son Theo’s club team. Already, Smart notes, “he’s getting better at coming off ball screens.”

        The Windsor Lancers announced that Chris Oliver is taking a sabbatical. In his absence, former Lancer captain and OUA all-star Ryan Steer will take over at the helm. While on sabbatical, Oliver will work with professional teams and basketball training academies around the world. “I am grateful for the opportunity the University of Windsor and department of athletics have afforded me to be able to immerse myself in a year of learning and sharing basketball around the world,” said Oliver. Steer, a teacher with the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, Steer, a Windsor native, will take a partial leave from his position. “I believe Ryan is a great fit to lead our program this year and to push the team to be the best it can be while I am away,” Oliver said. “I fully expect Ryan, our staff and the players to impact our program positively without skipping a beat.” Steer spent a season coaching alongside Oliver as an assistant in 2010 and helped lead that team to the CIS national championship tournament. He co-founded the Jr. Lancers program, an AAU travel basketball team for elite players from Windsor-Essex, Chatham and Sarnia. He also coached locally at the high school level at Holy Names, Villanova and Catholic Central. As a player with the Lancers, Steer was a two-time OUA all-star and captained the Lancers to their first OUA Championship in 28 years in 2006-07. He also played professionally for one season in Germany and helped coach a development team there.

        The Ryerson Rams announce that Roy Rana would take a year’s sabbatical. In his absence, lead assistant coach Patrick Tatham will take over as the interim head coach. Rana said he spend more time with his family, while also continuing his professional development by working with professional teams and basketball organizations around the world. “I am grateful to our team, staff and department in understanding and supporting my need to take time to concentrate on my family, re-energize and continue growing as a coach and person,” said Rana. “I’m very proud of the strong, positive culture we’ve built in our program and know we have the right leadership and character in our players and coaches to keep us operating at the highest level this upcoming season.” Rana joined Ryerson in 2009 and has turned the program into one of the best in the country. Each year since joining the Rams, Rana has increased Ryerson’s win total including this past season when the team tied the program record for most wins in a season with 17 (17-2). The Rams also won Ryerson’s first-ever medal at a CIS national championship by capturing bronze at the 2015 Final 8. “Ryerson University recognizes the significant contributions Roy has made to the men’s basketball program,” said Stephanie White, Associate Athletic Director at Ryerson. “He has changed the team culture and elevated the program onto the national scene. We are pleased to support Roy in his sabbatical and are excited that Patrick Tatham will serve as interim coach.” Tatham has served as an assistant coach with the Rams for the past four seasons, helping the team to two Final 8 appearances. In the summer of 2013, he assumed head coaching duties of the Rams during their international trip to China. Prior to Ryerson, Tatham was head coach for one season with Stoneridge Preparatory School in Simi Valley, California. He also served as manager with Team Canada at the 2013 Universiade Games in Russia and the Canadian Junior Men’s National Team at the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Brazil. “We believe Patrick is prepared to take on the leadership of our program and provide a smooth transition as the Rams prepare for another successful season,” said White.

Tatham spent three seasons playing basketball overseas in Switzerland, Syria, Qatar and Germany following his collegiate career at Cleveland State University where he earned a B.A. in Communications. He was a member of the Canadian Junior National Team from 2002-2004, and was named Mr. Basketball Canada in 2002.

        Playoff non-qualifiers:

        Algoma Thunderbirds: Nikola Zorcic, Andre Barber, Jacob Clendinning, Brett Zufelt, Nathan Riley, Zach Buchan, Adam Benrabah, Cailum White, Sean Clendinning, Kristjan Lamont, Reng Gum, Eric Thompson, Jermaine Lyle, Jimmy Beland, Mithun Jainsankar, Nicholas Palazzi, Hakeem Jefferson, coach Ryan Vetrie, assistant Peter Chapman, assistant Taylor McAllister, assistant Matt Oliveira

        Guelph Gryphons: Daniel Dooley, Jonathan Wallace, Michael Friesen, Taylor Boers, Tommy Yanchus, Drew Walford, Kingslee D’Silva, Andrew Grant, Jack Beatty, Jean-Leandres Beugre, Martin Popiel, Love Joseph, Colin Corrigan, Ahmed Haroon, Nathan Klassen, Kieran Naus, Jan Schliemann, coach Chris O’Rourke, assistant Nick Pankerichan, assistant Konrad Surma, assistant Nick Rusich, assistant Allan Zhang

Nipissing Lakers: Michael Angenent, Joey Puddister, Marvin Ngonadi, Jordon Campbell, Jerron Rhodes, Jordan Roberts, Kalil Langston, Ismael Kaba, Wil Konybai, Kemel Archer, Marcus Lewis, D’Shawn Johnson, Chris Kolar, Marcos Clennon, coach Chris Cheng, assistant Peter Sambu, assistant Stephen Hong, associate Dustin Anthony

        Waterloo Warriors: Jon Ravenhorst, Matthew Gray, John Pagado, Dylan Phillips, Ben Davis, Bradon Francis-Jean-Pierre, David Bajic, Kristian Vande Kemp, Bradd Smith, Zachary Marchildon, Muhammad Anwar, Ahmed Ismail, Mike Pereira, Nathan Boon, Spencer Dobrik, Ali Validipak, coach Justin Gunter, assistant Troy Stevenson, assistant Bob Urosevic, assistant Kyle Deep, video coordinator Darren Bondy, director operations Brandon Brock

York Lions: Raheem Isaac, Shane Reader, Phillip Cunningham-Gillen, Gene Spagnuolo, Gehrig Carlse, Julio Vazquez, Nathan Culbreath, Tristan Newman, Jayden Frederick, Tommy Hobbs, Othneil Russell, Nana Adu-Poku, Jon Dulmage, Brandon Ramirez, Daniel Tulloch, Stefan Grujic, Jahvin Bridge, Matthew Carating, Nidum Chandrakumar, Shaquille Green, O’Neil Halstead, Gianmarco Luciani, Christopher Vasilache, coach Tom Oliveri, assistant Gerald Carlse, assistant Anthony Atletico, assistant Kojo Mensah, assistant Menelik Fernandez, student therapist Thaddeus Taylor, student therapist Rotem Itzhaki

        In the opening round, the 9th-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves edged the 8th-seeded Western Mustangs 60-58 and Henry Tan drained a trey with 8 seconds to play. Rookie Kache Kopec and Alex Robichaud fuelled the ‘Wolves in the first half, as they built a 15-5 lead after one quarter and a 32-20 lead at the half. Western stormed back early in the third, trimming the Lakehead lead to 44-39 after three quarters as Greg Morrow and Peter Scholtes awakened from slow starts. The Thunderwolves led 44-39 after three quarters. Despite struggling all game to find his rhythm, Florida-product Bacarius Dinkins converted a three-point play, and rejected a wide-open Western lay up in the final three minutes of play. Nick Burke also played a big role down the stretch, making a tough drive and finish in traffic to tie the game at 56 with under a minute to play. Following a Greg Morrow pull-up that put Western up by two, Burke was fouled on the ensuing play. Burke hit the first free throw, but missed the second. After a scramble under the basket for the rebound, Dinkins got the ball out to a wide-open Henry Tan, who buried the 3-ball to put the ‘Wolves back in front, 60-58 with 8 seconds left. A foiled lob play followed by a missed three by Western sealed the game. Thunderwolves coach Manny Furtado said “our guys competed and battled all night. It wasn’t pretty but we’ll take it. I just loved the way our guys never quit and kept on fighting for each other.” Mustangs coach Brad Campbell said “at no point were we going to go away and we kept developing a plan to get back into things. We just couldn’t finish in the last two minutes. We had some bad offensive possessions, a couple of non-conversions, gave up a layup and then didn’t grab the rebound on a free throw and gave up a three-pointer. It happens at the end of a game if you don’t finish it clean. … It was a tough last game

[for the seniors]

. They’ve been outstanding in our program. They’ve been pillars and put in all kinds of work. I’m just really disappointed for our five seniors that they had to go out this way, but sometimes that’s the way it works.” Bacarius Dinkins paced the Thunderwolves with 15 on 7-17 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Alexandre Robichaud added 14 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Kache Kopec added 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Nick Burke added 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-10 from the line and 9 boards. Henry Tan notched 7 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 4 boards, while Darnell Curtin, Quincy Johnson, Brandon Persad, Jack Bull, Mike Theodore and Antony Flores were scoreless. The Thunderwolves hit 24-58 (.414) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 6-13 (.462) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, 4 assists, 5 steals, 14 turnovers and 14 fouls. Greg Morrow paced the Mustangs with 17 on 7-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 11 boards and 2 assists. Peter Scholtes added 15 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 4 boards. Tom Filgiano added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 4 boards. Jedson Tavernier added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 3 steals. Alex Coote notched 6 on 2-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Anthony Spiridis added 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards, while Nikola Farkic was scoreless. The Mustangs hit 22-55 (.400) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 9-17 (.529) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 2 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 6 steals, 9 turnovers and 14 fouls. The Mustangs (coach Brad Campbell, assistant John Curcio, assistant Mo Haidar, assistant Ryan Morwald, manager operations Alex Russell, manager scouting Ray Kim, trainer Dylan Tannyan, trainer Alexander Restrepo, graduate assistant Hayley Finn, graduate assistant Quinn Henderon, graduate assistant Igor Stjepanovic) also included Elliott Dooley, Eric McDonald, Bronson Fridal, Ian Smart, Chris Fitzgerald, Alex Otzyv and Michael Simonetta. …………………………………………………… The 5th-seeded Windsor Lancers clipped the 12th-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs 82-73 as fifth-year guard dominated the floor, scoring 13 in the first quarter and 21 by the half, and eventually finishing with a double-double. The game was tight from the start. With the score being tied five times and the lead changing 12, both teams scored 24 points in the paint while the Lancers doubled up on points off of turnovers, 18-9. Laurentian, however, took advantage of their bench scoring 14 points with their reserves, while the Lancers relied on their starting five. The Voyageurs led 21-18 after one quarter and 37-36 at the half. The Lancers led 56-52 after three quarters. Alex Campbell paced the Lancers with 37 on 13-21 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 9-10 from the line, 10 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Isiah Osborne added 18 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Tyler Persaud added 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Marko Kovac notched 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Mike Rocca added 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Lucas Orlita was scoreless on 0-6 from the floor and 0-4 from the arc. Micah Kirubel was also scoreless. The Lancers hit 28-62 (.452) from the floor, 7-26 (.269) from the arc and 19-21 (.905) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 11 turnovers and 15 fouls. David Aromolaran led the Voyageurs with 25 on 10-18 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 3 boards, 9 assists and 2 steals. Sam Hirst added 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Joseph Sykes added 12 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 8 boards. Nick Simon notched 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. J.D. West added 4 on 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 assists. Anthony Iacoe scored 3 on 1-8 from the floor and 1-6 from the arc. Theo Thomas added 2 on 1-3 from the floor and 3 boards. Lex Van Iperen notched 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 4 boards, while Mustafa Abdi was scoreless. The Voyageurs hit 26-60 (.433) from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 14-20 (.700) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 15 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Laurentian Voyageurs (coach Shawn Swords, assistant Aaron Sidenberg, assistant Ken Wallenius) also included Darcy Watt, Alexander Henry-Iriarte, Michael McQuarrie, Stefan Simpson, Juac Aguer and Tristan Rienstra. …………………………………………………… The 6th-seeded Brock Badgers slammed the 11th-seeded Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 98-80 after leading 23-22, 42-35 and 67-57 at the quarters. Dani Elgadi paced the Badgers with 29 on 13-17 from the floor, 3-3 from the line, 11 boards, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Johneil Simpson notched 21 on 9-16 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Ryan Bennett added 20 on 7-13 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Zachary Angelini scored 10 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 7-10 from the line. Matt Marshall added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 4 boards and 9 assists. Nolan Mackenzie added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nate Gardner scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 4 boards. Tyler Brown added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 assists. Colin Connors added 2, while Elijah Green, Kane Annesley and Mitch Saunders were scoreless. The Badgers hit 37-68 (.544) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 19-22 (.864) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 25 assists, 8 steals, 3 blocks, 13 turnovers and 24 fouls. Matt Chesson paced the Golden Hawks with 17 on 7-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Garrison Thomas added 15 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 7 assists. Fifth-year guard Will Coulthard added 14 on 3-17 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 6-9 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Chuder Teny notched 12 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 5-6 from the line. Simon Mikre scored 8 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Vlad Matovic added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Owen Coulthard scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Ivan Bilandzic added 2, along with 2 boards, and Simon Polan-Couillard 1, along with 4 boards, while Sydney Davis was scoreless. The Golden Hawks hit 24-66 (.364) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 24-37 (.649) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks, 12 turnovers and 20 fouls. The Golden Hawks (coach Peter Campbell, assistant James Campbell, assistant Derek Ramalho, manager Daniella Orsi, student trainer Jennifer Fallon) also included Luke Allin, Navraj Randhawa, Nonso Anyakwo and Joseph Fo. …………………………………………………… In the last opening round match, the 7th-seeded Queen’s Gaels whipped the 10th-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues 87-70 to earn their first playoff win in six years. A corner trey from Sammy Ayisi capped off a 9-4 run to start the game for the Gaels. Andrew Mavety and Mike Shoveller also notched treys, while Miroslav Jaksic countered with three field-goals of his own, to help the Blues remain within reach of the Gaels at 17-15 after one quarter. Toronto took the lead just over two minutes into the next period, and Devin Johnson pushed the advantage up to five with a trey of an inbounds. A dunk by Tanner Graham and lay-up by Ryall Stroud brought the teams even for the third time in the second quarter. Graham nailed three consecutive treys and Mark Paclibar a trey as the Gaels took a 7-point lead with two minutes left in the second quarter. They led 38-28 at the half. Ayisi began the second-half with a trey, and Graham followed that with four more points, the last two off a dunk off a baseline drive. The Gaels extended their lead to 18 before Toronto responded with a 9-2 run. But the Gaels kept draining perimeter jumpers and soon had the lead at 20. Toronto’s Miroslav Jaksic scored seven straight but Queen’s responded with a 10-0 run, including back-to-back transition lay-ups from Mavety, and took a 67-43 advantage into the final quarter. The Blues put together an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead down to 16 before a lay-up by Ayisi ended the run and Queen’s coasted to the win. “In the middle portion of the game, it was a combination of good defence and good offence,” said Gaels coach Stephan Barrie. “In those middle two quarters, we were having strong offensive possessions, easy scores, and solid defence. So you take control of the game that way. In the middle part when we took over, our game was simple. Easy passing, moving the ball and it was great, but we have to be a little more consistent throughout the game. Our defense in finishing the game I wasn’t happy with at all. We lost our focus in the last part, and obviously the message to the guys is if you do that on Saturday for four minutes, you’re not in the game. We need 40 minutes instead of 32.” Ryall Stroud led the Gaels with 20 on 7-13 from the floor, 6-8 from the line, 14 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Tanner Graham added 14 on 6-12 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 5 steals. Andrew Mavety added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Mark Paclibar added 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 4 boards. Sukhpreet Singh added 10 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 5 assists. Sammy Ayisi added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Mike Shoveller added 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Jesse Graham added 4 on 2-2 from the floor, 2 boards and 2 assists. Mike Blumel added 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-3 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Vincent Wood added 1, along with 2 boards, while Russell Winters and Ross Vrana-Godwin were scoreless. The Gaels hit 32-64 from the floor, 11-25 (.440) from the arc and 12-23 (.522) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 10 steals, 5 blocks, 14 turnovers and 23 fouls. Devin Johnson paced the Varsity Blues with 20 on 4-19 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 11-12 from the line, 11 boards and 2 steals. Daniel Johansson added 13 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 8 boards. Miroslav Jaksic added 13 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 5 boards. Manny Sahota added 7 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc and 2 boards. Wilson Torres added 7 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Chase Ruttenberg added 4 on 2-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 5 boards. Devon Williams added 2 on 0-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 assists. Sage Usher added 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nikola Paradina added 2, while Oluwaseun Olutogun, Justin Boutilier, Nicholas Morris and Kwasi Oti-Awere were scoreless. Oti-Awere nabbed 3 boards. The Blues hit 23-73 (.315) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 21-33 (.636) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 8 steals, 1 block, 13 turnovers and 23 fouls. The Varsity Blues (coach John Campbell, assistant Mike De Giorgio, assistant Ryan Robinet, assistant Jerome Brown, assistant Aleem Hassanali, strength & conditioning Adrian Lightowler, strength & conditioning assistant Marcus Yolevski, therapist Nirtal Shah, student therapist Michael Garcia, student therapist Estaban Clavijo, student therapist Jason Lam, student therapist Erik Angeli) also included Kevin Leander Fiabema and Christopher Barrett.

        In the quarterfinals, the top-seeded Ryerson Rams gored the 9th-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves 93-71. Ram guard contained Lakehead’s Bacarius Dinkins, which allowed Ryerson to romp to the win. “We played Lakehead earlier in the year, so I studied tape on him and his tendencies and then applied it to the game tonight,” said Green. The Thunderwolves led 23-19 after one quarter when Rams coach Patrick Tatham shifted Green onto Dinkins. Ryerson promptly built a 50-34 lead by the half. “I’m always preaching defence, after giving up 23 points in the first I was not impressed. So, we hunkered down, and stopped giving up easy buckets to him at the rim and then held them to just 11 points in the quarter,” said Tatham. Ram Adika Peter-McNeilly said “we didn’t really follow the game plan in the first, but in the second we did a better job of containing them in transition with the two-point guards they have.” In the third quarter, Lakehead mounted a bunch of mini runs and trimmed the deficit to 11 at the 1:15 mark. But Tatham made a wholesale lineup change back to the starters, and a Manny Diressa three-ball swung the momentum back and the Rams led 67-51 after three quarters. Green got hot again at the beginning of the fourth, swishing jumpers from the baseline and blocking Dinkins attempts at the other end to lock up the 21-point victory. “I just think that it’s that playoff mindset right now, and everyone has got to understand that every game is going to be a grind. Our rest is going to be crucial and at the same time everyone has to know that it’s not going to be easy and it’s all gonna be about guts and glory,” said Tatham. “It’s a great opportunity to play at home for an OUA championship, and the motto we’ve been going with all year is being uncommon. We’re hoping we can continue that uncommon approach and then next Friday and Saturday we will win an OUA championship at home.” Thunderwolves coach Manny Furtado said “our guys competed all year and tonight was no different. I’m really proud of how we grew together over the year and steadily improved. We’ll learn from tonight and this season and be better for it next season.” Adika Peter-McNeilly led the Rams with 19 on 7-17 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Ammanuel Diressa added 19 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 4-7 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Kadeem Green added 17 on 8-12 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Adam Voll added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Aaron Best added6 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. J.V. Mukama added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 6 boards. Juwon Grannum added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 4 assists. Roshane Roberts added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Filip Vujadinovic added 3 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 steals. Theodrose Demeke added 2, Derrick Allahyarian 2 and Andy Agyepong 1. The Rams hit 35-74 (.473) from the floor, 9-27 (.333) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 9 turnovers and 24 fouls. Bacarius Dinkins led the Thunderwolves with 25 on 10-21 from the floor, 5-8 from the line, 12 boards and 2 blocks. Henry Tan added 15 on 4-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7-12 from the line, 2 assists and 2 steals. Nick Burke added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Alexandre Robichaud added 8 on 2-9 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Kache Kopec added 6 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Darnell Curtin added 3 on 1-2 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 steals. Quincy Johnson notched 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Mike Theodore added 2, along with 2 boards, and Jack Bull 1, while Brandon Persaud, Michael Poirier and Antony Flores were scoreless. Poirier nabbed 2 boards. The Thunderwolves hit 24-60 (.400) from the floor, 4-17 (.235) from the arc and 19-30 (.633) from the line, while garnering 43 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 17 turnovers and 22 fouls. The Thunderwolves (coach Manny Furtado, assistant Kyle Tang) also included Kyle Estalilla, Nicholas Burke, Nick Soulias, Chris Howell, Mor Menashe, Matthew Mustapic, Taner Parrington, Tomas Santana-Flores, Dwayne Chong and Wais Mohamed.

        The 5th-seeded Windsor Lancers nipped the 4th-seeded McMaster Marauders 79-78. The Lancers broke to an 18-4 lead as Alex Campbell kept drilling jumpers and Tyler Persaud dominated the glass. They led 23-15 after one quarter but struggled with turnovers in the second as the Marauders rallied to knot the score at 40 heading into the lockers. The Lancers led 65-61 after three quarters and built their lead to seven with two minutes remaining and withstood a late Marauders rally. Alex Campbell led the Lancers with 33 on 12-23 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 5 boards and 3 steals. Isiah Osborne added 18 on 8-19 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Tyler Persaud added 12 on 6-10 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 11 boards. Marko Kovac notched 10 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Mike Rocca scored 5 on 2-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Lucas Orlita added 1, while Micah Kirubel was scoreless. The Lancers hit 32-67 (.478) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 9-16 (.563) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 12 steals, 2 blocks, 16 turnovers and 18 fouls. Troy Joseph led the Marauders with 18 on 7-13 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Lazar Kojovic added 13 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 2 boards. David McCulloch added 11 on 4-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Trevon McNeil added 10 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4 boards, 8 assists and 2 steals. Leon Alexander added 10 on 5-11 from the floor and 0-5 from the arc. Connor Gilmore added 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Rohan Boney added 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Aaron Redpath added 4 on 0-6 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. The Marauders hit 27-63 (.429) from the floor, 9-33 (.273) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 7 steals, 6 blocks, 18 turnovers and 15 fouls. The Marauders (coach Amos Connolly, assistant Seth Wearing, assistant Roy Kybartas, assistant Tom McChesney, assistant Joe Jones, analytics Scott Hastie, manager Rod Bynum) also included Chris Thompson, Jason Quiring, Matt Quiring, Danylo Kostecki, Markus Hasse-Kollarits, Andre Toic, Andrew Holmes, Marko Grahovac, Jan Hirjak, Lucas Marsden, Karol Derech and Elliot Ormond.

        The 2nd-seeded uOttawa Gee-Gees survived a 73-72 scare from the 7th-seeded Queen’s Gaels. Queen’s led 60-59 with five minutes to play when Mike L’Africain took command for the Gee-Gees, driving for a layup, while nailing a trey, an eight-foot runner and a putback, and dishing the ball inside to Brody Maracle for a bucket. The Gaels kept draining treys and then took a 72-71 lead when Sukhpreet Singh went coast-to-coast for a layup. He then hit the front end of a one-and-one to give the Gaels a 72-71 lead with 10.3 seconds to play. But L’Africain had the answer in the form of a driving layup with 1.1 seconds to play as uOttawa pulled out the win. Twelve of L’Africain’s points came in the fourth quarter as Ottawa held off the Gaels. “It was just a fight. We have a lot of playoff experience but this was just one of those games that we had to win with our hearts because Queen’s gave us everything they had,” said swingman Caleb Agada. “Our crowd had our back the whole night, and I’m so proud to be a Gee-Gee right now. We’re completely comfortable giving Mike the ball at the end of the game with complete faith.” L’Africain hit a buzzer-beater out of a timeout to send Ottawa into the locker room with a 39-29 halftime lead.  Queen’s closed the gap to 44-40 with 6:03 to play in the third quarter as Sammy Ayisi sparked the offence off the bench. With 6:19 to play in fourth, Tanner Graham gave the Gaels their first lead from the line, 60-59. L’Africain took the ball to the hoop on successive possessions to put the Gee-Gees back on top. The fifth-year senior then canned a three-pointer, seeming to give Ottawa the momentum before Andrew Mavety answered at the other end, 67-64. Mavety added a deep two as Queen’s let it fly from long range. Mike Shoveller shut down Brody Maracle in the paint on Ottawa’s second-last possession of regulation. Mavety had a chance to win it for Queen’s with 1.1 seconds remaining but missed his final three-point attempt from corner, banking off the side of the backboard.  “We really just couldn’t get into any rhythm offensively. They stayed home on our shooters and we had trouble finishing at the rim. It’s crazy that the last one did go in because there had to be a dozen that went in-and-out tonight,” said Gee-Gees coach James Derouin. “Queen’s played a phenomenal game, and I’m proud of the guys for staying with it.” The Gee-Gees led 19-8, 39-29 and 57-49 at the quarters. Mike L’Africain paced the Gee-Gees with 27 on 11-27 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 5 assists. Caleb Agada added 18 on 7-23 from the floor, 0-7 from the arc, 4-6 for the line, 15 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Matt Plunkett added 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals. Brody Maracle added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, and 4 boards. Mehdi Tihani added 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Nathan McCarthy added 6 on 3-7 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 blocks, while Vikas Gill, Mackenzie Morrison and Brandon Robinson were scoreless. Gill nabbed 6 boards. The Gee-Gees hit 29-77 (.377) from the floor, 8-27 (.296) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 7 steals, 5 blocks, 12 turnovers and 19 fouls. Sukhpreet Singh led the Gaels with 19 on 6-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Tanner Graham added 15 on 6-17 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Mike Shoveller added 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 14 boards and 3 blocks. Andrew Mavety added 10 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 2 steals. Sammy Ayisi added 8 on 4-5 from the floor, 3 boards and 3 assists. Ryall Stroud scored 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Marc Paclibar added 2, while Jesse Graham, Russell Winters, Vincent Wood and Mike Blumel were scoreless. The Gaels hit 28-57 (.491) from the floor, 5-11 (.455) from the arc and 11-19 (.579) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks, 14 turnovers and 15 fouls. The Gaels (coach Stephan Barrie, assistant Jermaine Small, assistant Robin Dzierniejko, assistant Goce Andrevski, director operations Idan Itskovich, strength & conditioning Colin McAuslan, coordinator therapy Vicky Wiltshire, recruiting coordinator Alex Dominato, retention coordinator Sara Ali) also included Mike Mullins, Patrick Street, Ross Vrana-Godwin and Cameron McKinnon.

        In the last quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Carleton Ravens rolled the 6th-seeded Brock Badgers 90-52 as Connor Wood blistered the nets. Wood drained a trio from beyond the arc, as well as a pair of mid-range jumpers, while Kaza Kajami-Keane added a pair of treys, as Carleton exploded to a 26-4 lead, while forcing eight turnovers, including several shot clock violations, with their bulldog defence. Johneil Simpson rallied the Badgers by aggressively attacking of the dribble, the Badgers kept effectively crashing the offensive glass for second-shot opportunities while countering with a 12-0 run. Gavin Resch re-ignited the Ravens’ offence with a trey, though, while Stanley Mayambo and Guillaume Payen-Boucard each added a pair of free throws before Wood drove for a layup off a 360-degree spin, drilled a trey, then hammered a fallaway 17-footer before knifing for his 24th point of the half (single-handedly outscoring the Badgers, who notched 22) as Carleton rebuilt its lead to 26. Wood drained his fifth trey of the night, from 27 feet, as Carleton built its lead to 29 and coasted to the win. “I just started making shots, so I just rolled with it,” said Wood. “I hope it keeps coming in the rest of the playoffs.” Ravens coach Robbie Smart said Wood was phenomenal. “We just kind of went with what he was doing. … Our defence was all right but we’ve got to address our rebounding.” The Ravens led 26-6, 46-22 and 67-34 at the quarters. Point guard Kaza Kajami-Keane said “if we defend like we did tonight, we put ourselves in a situation to win. Offence will come – it’s all about defending and rebounding.” Ravens coach Rob Smart Jr. said “our guys rebounded and defended well tonight. We played freely and attacked well on the offensive end – credit to Connor for his big performance.” Badgers coach Charles Kissi said “we had an incredible season and such tremendous growth. I’m so proud of what we have been able to accomplish. We took big steps this year and I’m looking forward to the steps we take next. Thank you to the University, to the greatest fans in the CIS, our athletic department and to the Niagara Region for your support. We will continue to fight towards our ultimate goal of that national title.” Connor Wood notched a career-high 37 on 13-18 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 6 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Guillaume Payen-Boucard added 11 on 4-8 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Stanley Mayambo notched 8 on 0-5 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Cameron Smythe added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Ryan Ejim added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Gavin Resch scored 3 on 1-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 steals. Mitchell Jackson added 3 on 3-4 from the line. Mitchell Wood scored 2 on 0-2 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 2 boards, while Marcus Anderson, Tajinder Lall and Sheldon McIntosh were scoreless. Anderson nabbed 6 boards. The Ravens hit 29-65 (.446) from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 24-28 (.857) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 12 steals, 8 turnovers and 21 fouls. Johneil Simpson led the Badgers with 24 on 8-21 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Dani Elgadi added 10 on 1-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 8-10 from the line, 6 boards and 2 steals. Matt Marshall added 6 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 6 boards. Nolan Mackenzie added 4 on 1-6 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Tyler Brown added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Mitch Saunders added 2, Elijah Green 2, along with 2 boards, Tristan Thompson 1, along with 2 assists, and Nathaniel Gardner 1, while Ryan Bennett, Colin Connors and Zachary Angelini were scoreless. Bennett nabbed 4 boards and Angelini 3, while Connors dished 2 assists. The Badgers hit 16-66 (.242) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 22 turnovers and 22 fouls. The Badgers (coach Charles Kissi, assistant Brian Mulligan, assistant Joel Whitty, assistant-recruiting Joel Delcarmen, manager Miguel Grande, manager of events Tori Kuchar, marketing Bawe Nsawe, manager operations Matthew Paladino, therapist Joe Kenny, academic adviser Ken Gill) also included Woods Brown, Kane Annesley and Shemar Mensah.

        In the semis, the top-seeded host Ryerson Rams crushed the 5th-seeded Windsor Lancers 96-77. The Rams electrified the supportive crowd at the Mattamy Centre early as Ammanuel Diressa drained a trio from beyond the arc to give Ryerson a 21-17 lead after one quarter. The Rams kept attacking off the dribble, while containing Windsor’s Alex Campbell and Mike Rocca, as they took a 49-42 lead at the half. J.V. Mukama came off the bench and got red-hot from the arc as the Rams took command in the third quarter, after which they led 74-55. “His ability to shoot the basketball at six-seven, six-eight (feet tall) is unheard of,” said Ryerson coach Patrick Tatham. “He’s a secret weapon for us and he just came with it today.” Ram forward Aaron Best said “any time that our guards were trying to play straight up ‘D’ and (Windsor) would get to the rim, we trusted that Kadeem was going to be there to make that finish hard for any opposing player. Kadeem played a big role in our defensive effort tonight and he was the anchor for our defense.” Tatham noted that facing Carleton in the final would be inspirational. “We’ve played one game against Carleton this year. We beat them pretty badly (here) at home so I know there’s some sort of revenge in their blood ready for us tomorrow. We want to make history and we gotta go in tomorrow… with the same defensive intensity, the same mindset and try to do something big for our school.” Jean-Victor Mukama paced the Rams with 23 on 7-8 from the floor, 5-5 from the arc, 4-7 from the line and 8 boards. Ammanuel Diressa added 18 on 6-16 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 4 assists. Aaron Best notched 18 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 11 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Adika Peter-McNeilly added 16 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 2 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Kadeem Green added 12 on 6-16 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 12 boards and 5 blocks. Roshane Roberts added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Filip Vujadinovic added 4 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line, while Juwon Grannum, Andy Agyepong and Adam Voll were scoreless. Voll nabbed 3 boards. The Rams hit 31-69 (.449) from the floor, 12-26 (.462) from the arc and 22-30 (.733) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 9 steals, 6 blocks, 15 turnovers and 16 fouls. Isiah Osborne paced the Lancers with 21 on 6-18 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 6-10 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Mike Rocca added 18 on 6-14 from the floor, 4-9 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Alex Campbell added 15 on 5-18 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 13 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Marko Kovac notched 11 on 4-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Tyler Persaud scored 6 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 4 boards. Micah Kirubel added 3 on 1-1 from the arc. Lucas Orlita added 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 4 boards, while Kahame Msiska was scoreless. The Lancers hit 25-75 from the floor, 14-37 (.378) from the arc and 13-20 (.650) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 10 steals, 1 block, 11 turnovers and 20 fouls.

        In the other semi, the 3rd-seeded Carleton Ravens dispatched the 2nd-seeded uOttawa Gee-Gees 82-74 and avenge a pair of regular season losses. The Ravens led 18-11, 39-29 and 63-47 at the quarters. “We stressed defence and rebounding tonight; that’s what helps us build confidence,” said Ravens co-captain Gavin Resch. “It’s really nothing different than what we do heading into every game.” Ravens coach Rob Smart Jr. said his troops did a good job of containing OUA player of the year Mike L’Africain. “I knew we had some match-ups that were good, but (L’Africain) is one heck of a player and he’s had a heck of a season – I did not think that was going to happen (tonight).” Carleton trailed 11-4 early but closed out the quarter with a 14-0 run, capped by a trey from Resch. The fifth-year guard added two more treys as Carleton extended its lead to 10 at the half. Resch pilfered the ball for a runout and then Guillaume Payen Boucard blocked a shot to further lift the Ravens and they soon had the lead at 22. The Gee-Gees rallied in the fourth quarter as Brandon Robinson hit back-to-back 3-treys to cut the Carleton lead to 79-71. With tensions rising in the final minutes, a skirmish between the two sides nearly led to bench-clearing meeting at the baseline following a pair of Ravens free throws. Tempers soon calmed and the Ravens pulled out the win. “Anybody that knows basketball knows you gotta make (shots) when it’s in reach and that’s when it counts,” said Gee-Gees coach James Derouin. “And for whatever reason we weren’t able to do that. And that’s when the gap became 20, 22, 23 (points) there in the third quarter. We just couldn’t get a thing to fall. … We had a great start, and we had some missed opportunities. There are some good lessons there. Once we got on our heels we really fell back. You have to be able to take the runs and fight back. The air went out of the balloon a little bit early and it affected our energy.” Player of the game Connor Wood said “it definitely feels great… to beat them. They’re our rivals so it always feels great to beat them and get that win. I feel like we did a good job of trying to make him take tough shots. As long as we keep doing that, we should be pretty good.” Derouin told the National Post that “we started out great. They took a punch and I felt there were some missed opportunities early. Once we got on our heels, we really fell back, we stopped moving the ball, stopped competing. And then another run, 10-0 run right out of the gate in the third quarter. There are going to be runs like that and you’ve got to sustain it, fight back, and I thought when the air got out of the balloon there early, the crowd grew quiet on a neutral site. You could really see it. It affected our energy and we couldn’t recover from that.” Connor Wood paced the Ravens with 18 on 7-13 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Gavin Resch added 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc and 3-3 from the line. Guillaume Payen-Boucard added 13 on 4-11 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 7 boards. Cameron Smythe added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 6 boards. Ryan Ejim added 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 4 on 1-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 10 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Mitchell Wood added 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 5 boards. Stanley Mayambo added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Marcus Anderson added 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Tajinder Lall, Yasiin Joseph and Mitch Jackson were scoreless. The Ravens hit 28-62 (.452) from the floor, 5-15 from the arc and 21-29 (.724) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks, 15 turnovers and 25 fouls. Caleb Agada led the Gee-Gees with 22 on 6-17 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 5 steals. Nathan McCarthy added 14 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Vikas Gill scored 10 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Brandon Robinson notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor and 3-6 from the arc. Brody Maracle added 6 on 1-3 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 3 boards. Mike L’Africain added 5 on 1-18 from the floor, 1-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Matt Plunkett added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 6 boards. Mackenzie Morrison added 2 and Mehdi Tihani 1, along with 2 boards, while Calvin Epistola was scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 23-71 (.324) from the floor, 11-37 (.297) from the arc and 17-24 (.708) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 10 steals, 2 blocks, 17 turnovers and 24 fouls.

        In the bronze medal match, the 2nd-seeded uOttawa Gee-Gees clipped the 5th-seeded Windsor Lancers 90-77. The score was knotted at 19 after one quarter. The Gee-Gees led 44-38 at the half and 63-55 after three quarters. “We did it together today,” said Caleb Agada, who was chosen player of the game. “We all knew we had to step up. Being at nationals is a gift and not everyone gets that chance.” Forward Matt Plunkett said “we came out with a win or go home attitude. We knew that we had to get back on track. “We’ve had a good season and we feel that we’ve put ourselves in a good position to be considered [for the at large berth].” Agada said “we talked about getting back to the way we play and from the opening tip you saw the ball movement, you saw us playing together offensively which was good to see.” Caleb Agada paced the Gee-Gees with 23 on 9-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 12 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals. Matt Plunkett added 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 2 boards. Brody Maracle notched 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Mike L’Africain scored 11 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Brandon Robinson added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Nathan McCarthy notched 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Vikas Gill added 4 on 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Calvin Epistola added 3 on 1-4 from the floor and 2 assists. Mehdi Tihani notched 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Mackenzie Morrison added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 5 boards, while Malick Turenne was scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 33-67 (.493) from the floor, 12-34 (.353) from the arc and 12-19 (.632) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 9 steals, 1 block, 11 turnovers and 13 fouls. Alex Campbell paced the Lancers with 24 on 8-17 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards and 4 steals. Isiah Osborne added 20 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 8-9 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Mike Rocca notched 17 on 6-16 from the floor, 5-14 from the arc, 8 boards and 4 assists. Tyler Persaud added 11 on 5-12 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Micah Kirubel added 3 on 1-2 from the arc. Lucas Orlita added 2 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 4 boards, while Marko Kovac and Kahame Msiska were scoreless. Kovac nabbed 2 boards. The Lancers hit 26-67 (.388) from the floor, 12-36 from the arc and 13-15 (.867) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 12 turnovers and 19 fouls. The Lancers (interim coach Ryan Steer, assistant Matt Devin, assistant Geoff Parent, recruiting coordinator Barry Amlin) also included Vincenzo Caccavo, Damian Persaud, Mitch Farrell, Nik Vegli, Randy Oriakhi, Pim Hurkmans, Tobi Ojajuni and Mat West.

        In the final, the top-seeded Ryerson Rams defeated the 3rd-seeded Carleton Ravens 73-68 to capture their first OUA title in school history. “It’s big for the university, it’s big for all of us, it’s big for all of the alumni, for all of the players that played here,” said player of the game Aaron Best. “It’s huge because it’s a testament to the work that everybody put in. Not just everybody on this team but everybody’s who’s played for this team since the beginning.” The Rams trailed 18-13 after one quarter and 40-27 at the half after being battered on the boards (16-0 Carleton in second chance points).  “I basically said, ‘we gotta play together and we gotta own the glass’,” Rams interim coach Patrick Tatham said. “If we own the glass in the second half, the game is over and sure enough, they came out and owned the glass in the second so kudos to the guys.” Ryerson rallied to knot the score at 13 after three quarters and Carleton soon found itself in foul trouble. Back-and-forth all the way, a free throw by the Rams’ JV Mukama with ten seconds left made it a four-point game and sealed the victory. “The crowd (was) unreal,” said Tatham. “At one point I felt my skin trembling because it was so loud and I think that kind of pushed the guys over the top once we tied it at… 55. Once we got that, I mean, it was just all downhill from there. We were just kind of rolling.” Ravens coach Rob Smart Jr. said “early on we let them go to some of their strengths, but we also got into some foul trouble and stopped attacking. We got tentative and you can’t do that against a good team. … We looked fairly good in stretches (tonight), but if you’re going to win games from here on in, you need to play a full game.” Connor Wood was chosen player of the game for Carleton. Aaron Best paced the Rams with 21 on 6-13 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 5 boards. Adika Peter-McNeilly added 16 on 2-9 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 11-13 from the line, 8 boards and 5 assists. Jean-Victor Mukama notched 11 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Kadeem Green added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 8 boards and 6 blocks. Juwon Grannum added 7 on 3-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards. Ammanuel Diressa notched 6 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Roshane Roberts scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards, while Adam Voll and Filip Vujadinovic were scoreless. The Rams hit 21-53 (.396) from the floor, 6-22 (.273) from the arc and 25-32 (.781) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 5 steals, 9 blocks, 17 turnovers and 19 fouls. Connor Wood paced the Ravens with 20 on 7-13 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Gavin Resch added 14 on 5-14 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 assists. Ryan Ejim notched 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Guillaume Payen-Boucard added 8 on 0-11 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 8-8 from the line and 7 boards. Kaza Kajami-Keane added 7 on 3-15 from the floor, 0-6 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Cameron Smythe notched 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Mitchell Wood added 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 assists, while Stanley Mayambo and Marcus Anderson were scoreless. Anderson nabbed 3 boards and Mayambo 2. The Ravens hit 22-76 (.289) from the floor, 9-30 (.300) from the arc and 15-18 (.833) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 7 steals, 3 blocks, 13 turnovers and 28 fouls.

        Midway through the season, Wilfrid Laurier coach Peter Campbell announced that he would retire after 16 years at the Golden Hawks helm and a 34-year career on the sidelines. “When the decision was made to hire Peter, an individual who had been a head coach at the national level and had so much success at Laurentian University, it served notice that Laurier was serious about competing in basketball,” said Wilfrid Laurier Director of Athletics and Recreation Peter Baxter. “He came as advertised right from the beginning, helping to return Laurier basketball to a level it hadn’t been at since the 1960’s and 70’s. His focus from the start was on the student-athlete, developing them academically and athletically. When you are chosen on multiple occasions by Basketball Canada to represent your country and chosen by your peers across the nation as President of the CIS Basketball Coaches Association, it speaks volumes to his high reputation, leadership and contributions to the sport of basketball in Canada.” Campbell was replaced by uOttawa assistant Justin Serresse. “Justin has dedicated himself to the goal of becoming a head coach and I have no doubt that he will be a great success,” said Gee-Gees coach James Derouin. ”He was with me from day one and made a major impact on not only the program and our players but the entire Service here at uOttawa. He will be greatly missed and we wish him all the best at Laurier.”  

The bronze medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Vikas Gill; Calvin Epistola; Mehdi Tihani; Caleb Agada; Mackenzie Morrison; Matt Plunkett; Brandon Robinson; Mike L’Africain; Andrew DeGroot; Nathan McCarthy; Malick Turenne; Brody Maracle; Noel Jones; Zachary Traer; Ethan Degazio; Tanner Stuedle; Sean Stewart; coach James Derouin; assistant Justin Serresse; assistant Clarence Porter; assistant Kris Dale; strength & conditioning David Labentowicz; student therapist Claudia Nafaa; student therapist Lily Tran; SID Jen Elliott

The silver medalist Carleton Ravens: Gavin Resch; Sheldon McIntosh; Connor Wood; Tajinder Lall; Jake Newman; Mitchell Jackson; Cameron Smythe; Mitchell Wood; Stanley Mayambo; Guillaume Payen-Boucard; Marcus Anderson; Kaza Kajami-Keane; Anthony Pate; Ryan Ejim; Yasiin Joseph; William Kohler; Glenn Thelemaque; interim coach Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Aaron Blakely; assistant Kevin Churchill; assistant Aaron Chapman; assistant Victor Raso; assistant Richard Anderson; assistant Greg McManus; therapist Bruce Marshall; athletic director Jen Brenning

The gold medalist Ryerson Rams: Andy Agyepong; Ammanuel Diressa; J.P. Kambola; Roshane Roberts; Jean-Victor Mukama; Adam Voll; Filip Vujadinovic; Theodrose Demeke; Aaron Best; Jupvir Atwal; Tevaun Kokko; Adika Peter-McNeilly; Juwon Grannum; Derrick Allhyarian; Kadeem Green; interim coach Patrick Tatham; assistant Sheldon Cassimy; assistant Dipesh Mistry; administrative assistant Mikaela Berza; video coordinator Nooh Abdi; manager Jon Gerow; student therapist Darren Noriel