2009-10 Ottawa – uSports men

(1)	Carleton	83
(8)	U.Q.A.M.	72	Carleton	82
(4)	Windsor	68	Saskatchewan	86	Saskatchewan	91
(5)	Saskatchewan	71					—–SASKATCHEWAN
(2)	Cape Breton	74
(7)	Calgary	82	Calgary	63	U.B.C.	81
(3)	U.B.C.	79	U.B.C.	77
(6)	Lakehead	58

So many potential knockout blows. So many reasons to fall flat on their face. But the 7th-seeded Calgary Dinos picked themselves up off the floor and punched back to upset 2nd-seeded Cape Breton 82-74 in the quarterfinals at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Miffed at being seeded seventh, the Dinos outlasted the Capers in perhaps the most physical CIS game in a decade. The Dinos, though, maintained their patience, effectively controlled the tempo and disrupted the Capers offence with a 2-3 zone and periodic full-court pressure. The trash-talking was almost as heavy as the hits as Calgary built an early 15-7 lead on the perimeter shooting of Robbie Sihota and Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson. The Capers appeared unable to find the seams in Calgary’s zone but Maryland-product Paris Carter sizzled from the perimeter as Cape Breton outmuscled the Dinos and rallied to take its first lead, at 35-32, on a trey by Massachusetts-product James Dorsey III. Cape extended its lead to seven before a late 7-2 run drew Calgary within 42-39 at the half. But Capers star Phillip Nkrumah popped his shoulder and his absence was sorely felt as the Dinos capitalized on sloppy Cape Breton ballhandling to open the second half with a 10-0 run bookended by a Sihota slam and 10-foot pull-up. Although Calgary’s decision making seemed to fall apart whenever Ogungbemi-Jackson left the floor and Dorsey nailed three from beyond the arc as Cape Breton rallied within two, Sihota hit a critical post-up and a putback as the Dinos pulled out the win. Sihota, who was chosen player of the game for Calgary, said the Dinos played with attitude. “We felt we were a little disrespected coming into the tournament and had a little something to prove. We played it the way we wanted to play it. The refs were letting us play. There was no calls both ways and we just had to play through some tough post play. We executed well and were patient. … It was a physical game. We had to play tough. But we expected that, once you get to nationals, it’s always physical. We were patient in the second half. We executed well both defensively and offensively.” Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren was pleased that his troops were able to play as physical and “dish it right back” to the Capers. “They have some great athletes. We couldn’t let them run all over the floor. We slowed down the game and I think it disrupted their tempo.” Charters lamented Calgary’s 29-4 edge from the free throw line and inability to react to Calgary’s shifting defences. “The guys kind of stood around a little bit and watched. We don’t play against much zone in our conference. We couldn’t get into the flow. … There was a big discrepancy in free throws. But full credit to them. They took us away from what we wanted to do.” All-star guard Jimmy Dorsey of Westminster, Maryland, was chosen player of the match for Cape Breton. Dorsey kept it interesting in the final quarter, hitting back-to-back long balls midway through the stanza to bring the Capers back to within three at 68-65. He cut the Calgary lead to two, at 73-71, with another three-pointer with two minutes left, and hit one last time from beyond the arc to make it a four-point affair, at 78-74, with 53 seconds to go. Robbie Sihota paced Calgary with 25 on 10-19 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 11 boards and 2 steals. Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson added 17 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3-5 from the line, 4 boards and 4 steals. Ross Bekkering scored 14 on 1-3 from the floor, 12-14 from the line, 6 boards, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Tyler Fidler added 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Jamie McLeod notched 8 on 1-4 from the floor, 6-7 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Terrence Blake added 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Dustin Reding added 2, while Lindsay Thouret and Andrew McGuinness were scoreless. The Dinosaurs hit 25-53 (.472) from the floor, 3-13 (.231) from the arc and 29-36 (.806) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 13 steals, 4 blocks, 20 turnovers and 13 fouls. Jimmy Dorsey paced Cape Breton with 19 on 7-14 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 4 boards, 2 assists and 5 steals. Paris Carter added 14 on 5-16 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Scott Jaspers-Fayer added 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-8 from the line, 7 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Lasario Burrows added 8 on 4-7 from the floor and 2 boards. Cameron John-Proctor added 8 on 4-5 from the floor and 2 boards. Ryan Roper scored 6 on 2-8 from the arc. Tremaine Fraser added 4 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 assists. Chris Noddle added 2, Aliosa Alilovic 2 and Phillip Nkrumah 2, along with 2 assists and 2 blocks. Mark McGarrigle was scoreless while nabbing 3 boards. The Capers hit 30-72 (.417) from the floor, 10-30 from the arc and 4-10 from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 8 steals, 4 blocks, 18 turnovers and 25 fouls.

        In the all-Thunder quarterfinal, the wildcard T-Birds gouged the T-Wolves 79-58 after national coach of the year Kevin Hanson delivered one of those “inspirational” half-time chats which elevated U.B.C.’s adrenalin level and defensive ball pressure. Neither squad made much noise from the floor early as they struggled to find their shooting touch and often coughed-up the ball, either because of mental miscues. UBC painstakingly built a 19-16 lead on mid-range jumpers by Brent Malish and Blain Labranche but then appeared befuddled when the T-Wolves started fighting through ball screens. Lakehead promptly ripped off a 16-3 run and led 32-26 at the half. Post Kumar Burke elevated the T-Birds defensive intensity and U.B.C. stole six balls during the decisive 21-0 run to open the second half. U.B.C. took the lead on a driving bucket by Josh Whyte and kept aggressively attacking with the penetration-dribble and while Greg Carter finally stemmed the bleeding as he knifed for a layup, the T-Birds had long since found their rhythm and Malish had effectively neutralized Yoosrie Salhia in the post. “I did get a little animated at half time,” admitted Hanson. “We extended (our defence) a little more. … We weren’t really pleased with our play in the first half but, obviously, we’re really pleased with the way the guys responded after the break.” Burke said the T-Birds had the “jitters early. It’s a big stage, you know and we played pretty bad. But then we said why not pick it up and do it.” Lakehead coach Scott Morrison said once U.B.C. “got rolling in the third quarter, we got a little panicky and went away from our game plan of going inside and started throwing up some wild shots. … We dropped our intensity on (defence) in the second half. They beat us on the hedge and created shots for themselves.” He went on to add, “Once they got rolling, we got panicky.” Salhia said the T-Wolves inexplicably “dropped our defensive intensity. I can’t explain it.” Blain LaBranche of Edmonton, also a fifth-year guard, put an exclamation point on the Birds’ dominating third-frame performance hitting a three-pointer at the buzzer that made it 57-43 UBC after three quarters. Josh Whyte was chosen player of the game for UBC, while Yoosrie Salhia earned the laurels for Lakehead. The first quarter started off slow, as both teams struggled trying to find their offence. After some turnovers from both sides, UBC finally found their rhythm as they took a 10-4 lead. But Lakehead battled back, led by Salhia, who had five points. UBC led 15-14 at the end of the first quarter, as both teams struggled with nine turnovers combined. After a slow start, Lakehead caught fire in the second quarter. Jones hit three-pointers from the corner on consecutive possessions to give the Thunderwolves a 24-19 lead. Following this, UBC’s LaBranche and Lakehead’s Ryan Thomson of Oakville, Ont., continued the hot shooting from beyond the three-point line. With five minutes left before the break, the game slowed down as a number of fouls were called and players from both teams headed to the foul lines. UBC’s Denny Dumas of Surrey, B.C., drove the lane and scored with under a minute left, pulling the Thunderbirds within six points. As the teams ended the first half, the Thunderwolves remained in front 32-26. Both teams shot well under 50 per cent in the first half, making it a defensive battle. The Thunderwolves also kept Whyte in check, keeping him to only four shots in 13 minutes of playing time. The third quarter started much differently than the first two as UBC scored five points in the first 40 seconds. They continued to dominate on offence as they scored in five of their first six possessions. As UBC gained momentum, Lakehead’s shooting woes continued. They went over seven minutes with scoring a basket. UBC’s defence was mainly to blame for this. At one point, the Thunderbirds stole the ball and scored off the transition on three straight plays. Lakehead finally found some offence as they scored nine points in the next few minutes, but could not stop the Thunderbirds, who scored 30 points in the quarter and had six steals on the defensive end. Early in the fourth, Burke had the play of the game, with a towering two-handed jam that brought much of the crowd to their feet in the opening minute. The Thunderbirds put the game away early in the fourth, leading by as many as 19 points. Lakehead didn’t have an answer defensively for UBC. Blain LaBranche led UBC with 17 on 6-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Josh Whyte added 13 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Brent Malish notched 10 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 4 boards. Graham Bath added 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 4 boards. Kamar Burke scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor, 6 boards and 2 steals. Nathan Yu added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2-4 from the line. Kyle Watson scored 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-5 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Denny Dumas added 6 on 2-2 from the arc. Alex Murphy scored 3 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 2 boards, while Melvin Mayott was scoreless. The T-Birds hit 28-52 (.538) from the floor, 6-12 from the arc and 17-23 (.739) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks, 12 turnovers and 23 fouls. Joseph Jones paced Lakehead with 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 7 boards. Yoosrie Salhia added 12 on 5-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-4 from the line and 3 boards. Greg Carter added 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Jamie Searle scored 5 on 1-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Matt Nagy added 4, Ryan Thompson 3, Brendan King 3, Cameron Hornby 3, Anthony McIntosh 3 and Andrew Hackner 2, while Sebastian Kasiuk and Matthew Schmidt were scoreless. The Thunderwolves hit 19-57 (.333) from the floor, 7-28 (.250) from the arc and 13-21 (.619) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 1 assist, 6 steals, 11 turnovers and 24 fouls.

        The 5th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies survived a furious second-half charge by the 4th-seeded Windsor Lancers and prevailed 71-68. Saskatchewan took a quick 7-1 lead and then doubled up the Lancers 24-12 after a quarter as Troy Gottselig controlled the boards. Windsor appeared awestruck, a step slow on defensive transitions or rotations, and almost reluctant to scrap for loose balls and rebounds. The Huskies soon extended their margin to 44-27 at the half as Showron Glover pilfered a pair of balls for layups and the bigger, beefier Saskatchewan front-line played ping-pong on the offensive glass, batting the ball back and forth between themselves until someone tipped it in. Saskatchewan built their lead to 22 in the second half, outworking and outhustling Windsor for rebounds while dissecting the Lancers defence with crisp passing. Isaac Kuon and Andre Smyth began draining treys and Windsor elevated its work ethic to rally within 69-68 with two minutes to play. Gottselig posted-up for a bucket and the Lancers missed seven open looks from the arc in a futile bid to force overtime in the final 1:51. The last opportunity came at the buzzer when Andre Smyth’s desperate attempt from centre court missed to the left. By pressing the ball game, we wore ourselves down and that allowed them to get some open shots and get back in the game,” said Huskie guard Michael Linklater. Coach Greg Jockims said the Huskies “tightened up” in the second half. “But defensively, we set in the tone in the first and got them on their heels. Then they turned the tables on us and we needed to get going to the basket harder. … We just couldn’t make shots in the second half. It’s good to get through the first game. Tomorrow we’ll be more relaxed. Defensively we really set the tone in the first half. We attacked them and got foul opportunities.” Windsor coach Chris Oliver said Lancer wounds were self-inflicted. “I’m proud of our guys for responding in the second half but at the end of the day, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s still a loss. … And it leaves a bitter taste. Turnovers and missed foul shots cost us the game. Being down 17 is not unusual for us, so coming back was not a surprise. I really appreciate the character of this team.” Fifth-year guard Michael Linklater of Saskatoon was named Saskatchewan player of the game, while Isaac Kuon earned the laurels for Windsor. Glover got his first two fouls of the game early, giving the Huskies no option but to bench him. The Huskies continued to be an offensive threat without Glover and started pulling away from the Lancers. The Lancers struggled to make baskets drop, missing everything from long threes to easy bunnies. Kuon was not looking his best, missing all his shots in the first quarter and looking gassed early in the game. The excitement picked up halfway through the quarter as both teams started to hit some shots from beyond the arc. For the Lancers, it was rookie Lien Phillip of St. Mark’s, Grenada, who put up some points from within the paint with a couple of nice hook shots.

With 16 seconds remaining in the quarter, the ball in Husky territory and Jockims yelling at his team to keep the ball for one last shot, the Huskies managed to get a nice drive and dish play by veteran Linklater for an easy bucket. On the baseline inbounds play, Glover stole the ball from the Lancers and put up an easy layup to allow the Huskies to double Windsor in points going into the second quarter. The second quarter started with the momentum in the Huskies’ favour and would continue to the halftime buzzer. The Lancers initially played sloppy on the offensive and defensive end, creating turnovers and giving the Huskies transition opportunities while at the same time unable to put a dent in the Huskies’ lead. As the quarter was winding down the Lancers developed a chip on their shoulders, stepping up defensive play and not letting the Huskies get any uncontested looks. But at the end of the quarter it would again be the Huskies on top, outscoring the Lancers 20-15 and finishing the first half of play with a 44-27 lead. Coming out of the halftime break, the Lancers had a chance to regroup, fighting the Huskies shot for shot in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Kuon came out strong hitting back-to-back threes, but the Huskies exploited his over aggressiveness on defence getting him in foul trouble. With only minutes into the quarter Kuon, the only player to be able to make anything happen for the Lancers, sat down with four fouls. But Smyth took his spot and hit back-to-back threes to get the Lancers within 15 points before the Huskies took a time out. Windsor picked up the pace on the offensive end showing a slight momentum shift. The Lancers were not ready to hang up their hats and call it a game, slowly chipping away at Saskatchewan’s lead. The fourth quarter started with a momentum shift in the Lancers’ favour. With Kuon back on the floor the Lancers picked up the pace and ran the floor in transition. Windsor was less tentative, jumping on every loose ball and fighting in desperation. Despite missing shots, the Lancers were persistent on the offensive glass getting second and third opportunities and bringing it to within five points with half a quarter left to play. Windsor’s hustle was rewarded as they closed the gap to within one point in the last two minutes of play. Saskatchewan on the other hand could not make shots drop all quarter but would hit a clutch shot to increase the lead to three with 14 seconds remaining in the game. Showron Glover paced Saskatchewan with 16 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 12-13 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Michael Linklater added 11 on 2-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 8 boards, 4 assists and 6 steals. Nolan Brudehl notched 11 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 7 boards. Troy Gottselig added 10 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 2 blocks. Michael Lieffers notched 8 on 4-5 from the floor and 7 boards. Duncan Jones scored 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 6 boards. Clint Unsworth added 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-5 from the line and 3 boards, while Patrick Burns, Trevor Nerdahl and Trudon Bofoya were scoreless. The Huskies hit 18-58 (.310) from the floor, 3-16 (.188) from the arc and 32-41 (.780) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 10 steals, 6 blocks, 20 turnovers and 20 fouls. Isaac Kuon paced Windsor with 17 on 5-15 from the floor, 4-10 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 8 boards and 4 steals. Andre Smyth added 14 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 3 steals. Enrico Di Loreto added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-5 from the line and 3 boards. Lien Phillip notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-5 from the line and 13 boards. Nigel Johnson-Tyghter added 4 on 2-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 0-3 from the line, 3 boards and 2 blocks. Josh Collins scored 3 on 1-10 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 4 boards, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Matt Handsor added 3, Monty Hardware 3 and John Woldu 2, while Corey Boswell and Justin Wiltshire were scoreless. The Lancers hit 23-73 (.315) from the floor, 11-33 (.333) from the arc and 11-21 (.524) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 14 steals, 4 blocks, 16 turnovers and 24 fouls.

        In the last quarterfinal, the lesson came hard and fast for the top-seeded Carleton Ravens: never take a lower seed for granted. Still, the Ravens stuck to their basic game plan, protected the defensive boards with just enough diligence and discipline as they needed, while maintaining their poise against the unexpected threat. They were eventually rewarded with an 83-72 victory over the 8th-seeded Universite du Quebec @ Montreal Citadins before an announced attendance (presumably on the basis of tickets sold to date) of 11,696. The Citadins broke to a 7-4 lead on perimeter buckets by Jules Diagne and Arthaud Plesius. But Carleton’s plans soon became evident and altogether fruitful. With a height advantage at nearly every position, they began pounding the ball inside to Kevin McCleery and Kyle Smendziuk. They even found McCleery on the front end of a transition runout and soon had the lead at 16-12. Their close-outs on perimeter shooters remained a trifle lackadaisical, though, and UQAM punished them for it. Plesius drained another trey as the Citadins regained a 17-16 lead. Rookie Tyson Hinz countered with a bucket off a 360-degree spin in the blocks, the Ravens defence forced a 24-second shot clock violation, Hinz hit a short jumper, Willy Manigat a trey and Aaron Chapman a fallaway 10-footer as Carleton exploded for nine unanswered points to take a 25-17 lead after one quarter. The Citadins countered with a run of their own. Adil El Makssoud worked free for a putback rebound, Plesius added another trey and Kevin Bitondo a free throw as UQAM clawed within 25-23. Manigat countered with a pair of treys and Elliott Thompson added another as Carleton started to get its perimeter game on track with a measure of crisp inside-outside ball movement. McCleery posted up for another bucket as Carleton pushed its lead to double digits for the first time. The Citadins continued to play catch-and-shoot on the perimeter and Mathieu Landry started hitting McCleery hard and often in the blocks. But the Ravens maintained a comfortable 8-12-point margin and then took their biggest lead of the half, at 46-33, as Kenny hit another trifecta. Eric Cote-Kougnima responded with a trey but Kenny duplicated the response to give Carleton a 49-36 lead heading into the lockers. Thompson kept aggressively attacking with the penetration dribble and the Ravens kept limiting the Citadins to one-and-done scoring opportunities by cleaning the defensive glass as Carleton slowly began pulling away in the third frame. They extended their margin to 20 on a pull-up jumper by Thompson and an aggressive drive by Manigat for a layup before the Citadins drew within 72-54 after three quarters on late jumpers by Plesius and Cote-Kougnima. Although Cole Hobin hit a series of tough buckets and the Ravens stiffened their defensive intensity by a notch, the athletic Citadins kept using their superior foot speed to break down Carleton’s help defence and drew within 12 with two minutes to play. It took a great deal of fortune to overcome what could best be described as a “bad performance,” said post Kevin McCleery. “We didn’t play well at all. We didn’t do anything we needed to. That won’t be good enough to beat anyone else in the tournament and I’m surprised that it was good enough to beat them cause we did not do what we planned to, defensively especially, but offensively as well. We didn’t react well to anything when they switched up things on us. We started playing scared.” Mike Kenny graded the Ravens performance as a “C, at best. I don’t know how many O-boards we gave up (10). But we gave up way too many. If we do the same tomorrow against a big Saskatchewan team, we’re going to be in big trouble. I know I didn’t take them for granted. I think we just didn’t play a good game.” Ravens coach Dave Smart said “we showed our youth. We were really uptight and played very uptight and we’re going to have to figure out a way to mature in a day. They don’t give you any easy points and they never take a possession off. It’s hard to judge in terms of some of our frustration because, some of it, they caused it, in terms of how hard they played. I just thought our youth showed and it’s a little worrisome.” UQAM coach Olga Hrycak said “McCleery hurt us early. We did our best in the second half to take the ball away from him, made a few changes. … I think I’m going to go recruit a little bit more size. … I thought it could have been a lot closer. McCleery hurt us inside. But we made a few changes in the second half to take the ball out of his hands. They did a good job on my number 22 (Adil El Makssoud), they took away his game. As well, you can’t win a game with bad free throw shooting. That hurt us pretty bad.” Kevin McCleery paced Carleton with 17 on 6-10 from the floor, 5-7 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Elliot Thompson added 14 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 3 boards. Willy Manigat scored 14 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Cole Hobin scored 12 on 5-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Michael Kenny scored 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 2 assists. Kyle Smendziuk added 8 on 3-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Tyson Hinz added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Aaron Chapman added 2, while Luke Chapman, Anthony Ashe and Greg Faulkner were scoreless. The Ravens hit 31-52 (.596) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc and 15-21 (.714) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 15 turnovers and 18 fouls. Arthaud Plesius paced UQAM with 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Eric Cote-Kougnima added 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 3 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Adil El Makssoud notched 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 3-7 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Jules Diagne added 11 on 3-9 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 3 boards. Kevin Bitondo scored 9 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-5 from the line and 2 boards. Kevin Levy scored 2 on 1-1 from the floor and 2 boards. Mathieu Landry added 2, while Olivier Hudon was scoreless while nabbing 3 boards. Thierry Justin, Paul-Emile Colas and Rasheed Nouinambaye were scoreless. The Citadins hit 26-55 (.473) from the floor, 9-21 (.429) from the arc and 11-23 (.478) from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 6 steals, 1 block and 11 turnovers and 25 fouls.

        The axis of power and supremacy in Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s basketball shifted west as a pair of Canada West squads advanced to Sunday night’s title bout. In one semi, the 3rd-seeded British Columbia Thunderbirds collected a 77-63 win over the 7th-seeded Calgary Dinos. The Thunderbirds and Dinos familiarity with one another’s offensive sets was evident early and they struggled to find much in the way of an open look as a result. Although post Ross Bekkering was forced to the bench as a result of a pair of quick fouls, the Dinos built a 19-13 lead primarily on the perimeter shooting of Tyler Fidler. But when Robbie Sihota became the second Dino to get in quick foul trouble, U.B.C was able to get the tempo in their favour by ratcheting up their defensive intensity and repeatedly stepping into the passing lanes to pilfer the ball for runout layups in a 21-9 run to close out the half. U.B.C. began to gain a measure of separation from the Dinos as they took a 46-32 lead on timely shooting from Nathan Yu and by aggressively crashing the offensive glass to obtain second-chance opportunities. Bekkering posted-up for a trio of buckets as Calgary scrapped back with an 8-0 run. Then Kamar Burke went to work. He ignited a monumental momentum shift with a momentous slam dunk, added two more quick buckets on a runout and a putback, dished an assist and grabbing two tough boards as U.B.C. took command with 12 unanswered points. The lead was soon 21 and Calgary never recovered. “That dunk turned the game around,” said UBC point guard Josh Whyte. “It was just a big uplift and we just went with it.” U.B.C. coach Kevin Hanson said his T-Birds successfully elevated the tempo with their defensive pressure. “That got us going. And then in the second half, we got the offence going as well. Our defence gave us a chance by keeping us in it. We also got some points off turnovers and rebounded the ball very well. … Both teams got into foul trouble in the first half. Ross got going in the third but we were eventually able to contain him. I thought our defence was solid. We got some offensive rebounds in a timely fashion. After the game last year against Carleton we set some goals, and we’re going to use those tomorrow. But it doesn’t matter who we end up playing.” Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren said the early foul trouble of stars Bekkering and Robbie Sihota undid the Dinos. “It hurt our tempo. It hurt our ability to score. It’s our ability to defend. It just felt like the gods were against us. … We have a good group of young kids. They played very well. We held ourselves in it and I’m very proud of the guys. Sometimes it looked like we could change the momentum of the game. They worked very hard, right to the buzzer and I’m very proud of them.” Bekkering said “we felt prepared and the group was in a good state of mind. We stayed competitive throughout the game. In the second half, we brought energy and had many big plays but couldn’t string them together. It’s a tough loss.”  Defence prevailed in the opening quarter as the conference rivals combined for only 11 points (6-5 UBC) in the first six minutes. Calgary opened up a six-point lead late in the frame but a Whyte three-pointer cut the margin to 16-13 after 10 minutes. UBC slowly came back in the second quarter and took the lead for the first time since early in the contest with 3:30 remaining when Murphy made it 24-23 with a spectacular drive to the basket. Murphy took over from there and added seven points before the break to send UBC to the locker room ahead 34-28. He made it 26-23 with a pair of free throws, 31-26 with a long two from the right corner, and closed out the half with a buzzer-beater from beyond the arc. Free throws were a big difference in the second frame as the T-Birds converted eight of 12 chances while the Dinos were only sent to the line twice, and missed on both occasions. In the third, Whyte gave UBC its first double-digit lead of the night going 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to make it 42-32. He hit two more free throws moments later to increase the margin to 12 points, and the T-Birds were up by 14 soon after following a layup by Nathan Yu. Calgary responded with the next eight points, including seven by Bekkering, and the score after 30 minutes was 46-40 UBC. The Dinos were within four after Bekkering opened the final stanza with a thunderous dunk, but Burke answered with a dunk of his own, which started a 12-0 UBC run that gave the T-Birds their biggest lead of the duel, at 58-42. Whyte all but sealed the victory with a three-pointer that made it 63-44 with five minutes on the clock. Kamar Burke was chosen player of the game for UBC, while Ross Bekkering earned the laurels for Calgary. Josh Whyte paced UBC with 16 on 3-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 7-8 from the line and 5 boards. Kamar Burke added 14 on 6-12 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 13 boards and 3 steals. Alex Murphy scored 14 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 3 assists. Blain Labranche added 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Nathan Yu scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 7 boards. Kyle Watson notched 8 on 4-6 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 steals. Brent Malish added 2, Graham Bath 2 and Melvyn Mayott 2, while Denny Dumas and Balraj Bains were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 26-57 (.456) from the floor, 5-17 (.294) from the arc and 20-29 (.690) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 9 steals, 2 blocks, 11 turnovers and 24 fouls. Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson paced Calgary with 16 on 6-10 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Ross Bekkering added 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 4 boards. Dustin Reding scored 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 2 boards. Jamie McLeod scored 6 on 2-11 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Tyler Fidler scored 6 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 6 boards. Robbie Sihota scored 6 on 3-16 from the floor, 0-3 from the line and 7 boards. Terrence Blake scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Dan Tilleman added 4, while Lindsay Thouret, Jordan Flagel and Andrew McGuinness were scoreless. The Dinos hit 23-65 (.354) from the floor, 5-20 from the arc and 12-23 (.522) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 5 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 15 turnovers and 24 fouls.

        There really wasn’t anything mystical about what the 5th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies did to the top-seeded Carleton Ravens in the other semi. The Huskies simply gave the Ravens a taste of their own game: chasing down rebound after rebound, diving for loose balls, standing firm and resolute on the defensive end of the floor and blistering the nets from the three-point arc. The result? An 86-82 win, “the biggest win in Huskie basketball, ever, in history,” said Saskatchewan post Troy Gottselig. Guard Michael Linklater, who drained six treys, said the Huskies simply executed the game plan effectively. “I just got open shots. We can hit open shots too.” Both squads seemed mirror images of one another from the start. The Ravens notched four putback rebounds, including a pair by Elliott Thompson, as they built an early 14-11 lead. They were equally efficient on the defensive glass but the Huskies started draining perimeter jumpers and clawed back to take a 25-24 lead after one quarter. A Michael Lieffers putback and a slam off a penetrate-and-dish from Showron Glover appeared to inspire the Huskies and they soon began outhustling the Ravens for loose balls and taking advantage of lackadaisical Raven close-outs on perimeter shooters while building their margin to 35-29. The Huskies opted for single coverage on Kevin McCleery in the post but didn’t suffer for it as he struggled to find his touch and Saskatchewan extended its edge to 46-37 at the half as Linklater dropped a pair of treys in the final minute, Saskatchewan’s 7th and 8th trifecta of the half. By contrast, Carleton was 1-of-8 from the arc. The Ravens opened the second half with an 8-2 run but Gottselig hit a 15-footer and a trey, Linklater drilled two more bombs and Lieffers collected another putback to give the Huskies a 62-47 lead. Cole Hobin, though, wouldn’t quit and started aggressively attacking the basket as the Ravens slowly whittled the lead. Hobin, Thompson and McCleery each notched a pair of buckets as Carleton exploded for a 12-2 run to rally within 71-69. Lieffers and Nolan Brudehl responded with offensive putbacks but still, the Ravens refused to fold, cutting the margin to 78-77 with 1:41 to play on a pair of free throws by Kyle Smendziuk. Lieffers hit a bucket in the blocks and then Linklater hammered his sixth trey with 38.1 seconds on the clock to give Saskatchewan an 83-77 lead. McCleery notched a putback before Glover and Linklater iced the win at the free throw line. A Kenny trey at the buzzer was immaterial. “That was just two teams going at it and I thought the key for us was that we maintained our aggressiveness,” said Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims. “We punched a heavyweight champion and they punched back and then we punched back and we got the last punch in. … It was two very good teams. We took a swing. They swung back. It was a back and forth game. We just had the final punch. The keys were rebounding and defending. When you get into these battles you can’t win them all. It was a hostile environment out there but we stuck together. We chose not to double [Kevin] McCleery. We decided we weren’t getting beat by the 3-ball tonight. We were definitely not letting them beat us that way tonight. I thought we rebounded well and when we were stopped on the drive we kicked it back out to the perimeter.” Gottselig spent hours studying McCleery’s moves on tape. “He likes that turnaround jumper and the right-handed hook. I shut him down from coming into the middle, got a hand up in his face. I mean, he’s not going to make them all.” McCleery said Saskatchewan’s size was an obstacle. “We battled but we haven’t seen a team as big and strong as that.” Carleton coach Dave Smart said the Ravens struggled in a few areas. “We physically didn’t get to a lot of loose balls. There were a lot of opportunities that they got and that’s a credit to them. And we were 2-for-17 from the three, for a team that shoots the ball very well. And that’s a credit, again, to the way they defend. They were able to cover Kevin with a hard double-down …. And that it made it tough for us to get the normal easy looks from the three that we’re used to. We were trying to keep them out of the paint but we struggled with it. We didn’t physically get to a lot of loose balls and they got some opportunities. We went 2 for 17 from the three for a team who usually shoots well. That’s a credit to the way they defend. They didn’t double Kevin which took away the easy three we usually get. They’re a great basketball team. You have to play well to beat a team like that. I’m extremely proud of what he’s (Kevin McCleery) been able to accomplish over the last five years. He’s a good player, but he’s an even better person. One of my proudest moments is that our guys have just lost a chance at the national championship and 13 guys are picking the cups up off the floor… they’re great kids. I couldn’t be prouder of this team but we’re obviously disappointed about the loss.” Michael Linklater was chosen player of the game for the Huskies, while Eliot Thompson earned the laurels for Carleton. Linklater was back at it in the third quarter. His fourth three-pointer of the game made it 56-47 Saskatchewan and his fifth, on his seventh attempt from beyond the arc, put his team ahead 60-47 with 5:24 left in the period, which ended 69-57. The Ravens opened the fourth on a 6-0 run to get back to within six points, and a bucket by McCleery cut the margin to three, at 72-69, with seven minutes remaining. Carleton was once again within three with 2:35 left on the clock following a pair of Thompson free throws, found itself within one, at 78-77, with 1:40 to go, after Kyle Smendziuk hit two foul shots of his own. After Lieffers restored Saskatchewan’s three-point cushion with a basket inside and Carleton failed to score on its ensuing possession, Linklater all but sealed the victory with his sixth trey of the match, which made it 83-77 Saskatchewan with 38 seconds left. McCleery muscled his way under the Huskies basket to add two points for Carleton. The Ravens then fouled Glover with 19 seconds remaining, but the all-star guard made no mistake and went 2-for-2 from the line. Linklater put the icing on the cake grabbing a huge defensive rebound on Carleton’s next possession. He was fouled, and made one of two free throws. Michael Linklater paced Saskatchewan with 25 on 9-17 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Showron Glover added 18 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-10 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 5 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Michael Lieffers notched 13 on 5-7 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 11 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Troy Gottselig added 13 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 4 boards. Nolan Brudehl added 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Duncan Jones added 5 on 2-7 from the floor. Trevor Nerdahl scored 3 and Clint Unsworth 1, while Preston O’Brien and Patrick Burns were scoreless. The Huskies shot 30-69 (.435) from the floor, 12-31 (.387) from the arc and 14-20 (.700) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, 14 turnovers and 23 fouls. Eliot Thompson paced Carleton with 23 on 9-16 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 9 boards. Kevin McCleery added 20 on 10-21 from the floor and 8 boards. Cole Hobin notched 19 on 8-18 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Michael Kenny scored 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 1 assist. Kyle Smendziuk scored 4 on 1-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Tyson Hinz scored 2 on 2-2 from the floor. Aaron Chapman added 2, while Luke Chapman and Willy Manigat were scoreless. The Ravens hit 33-72 (.458) from the floor, 2-17 (.118) from the arc and 14-16 (.875) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 3 assists, 8 steals, 3 blocks, 9 turnovers and 20 fouls.

        Big games are supposed to have a major turning point, a critical juncture when the outcome tips in one direction or another. It came early in the final as the 5th-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies exploded for 14 unanswered points in the opening quarter and rode the margin to their first W.P. McGee Trophy by dusting the 3rd-seeded University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 91-81 in an all-Canada West title bout. And it may have come even earlier than that. In fact, tournament MVP Troy Gottselig said, it started when the Huskies ventured to Ottawa last October “and learned how much work we had to do if we wanted to realize our dreams and win a national title.” Guard Michael Linklater added in the floor bedlam following the win that “we wanted to see what we had to do to achieve this moment. It took a lot of hard work, determination and teamwork.” That goal actually began to seem possible after wins over U.B.C. and Calgary in the Canada West playoffs, added Gottselig. “We just began to believe that we could be a great team. We just kept doing what we do. That was our motto coming into this championship, to do what we do.” Point guard Showron Glover said the Huskies confidence eventually became boundless. “I knew what kind of team we had from the beginning. But the other guys needed to learn. You’ve seen us play. You’ve seen us play. We just kept attacking. The difference was us being together. We just brought our game and spread it from there, as a family. Canada is not so bad. We the champions.” Kamar Burke hit a pair of tough buckets in the paint and took a charge, while Josh Whyte picked the ball for a runout and drilled a 15-foot jumper as the Thunderbirds broke to a 12-4 lead. Gottselig, though, notched an old-fashioned three-point play, a trey and two free throws to ignite the critical 14-0 Saskatchewan run. He added another trey, while Glover collected a second steal and runout as the Huskies extended their margin to 30-19 and began to take control with crisp ball movement and superior boardwork. With panic settling into the U.B.C. ranks and the Thunderbirds forcing or rushing shots, Saskatchewan took a 45-31 lead into the lockers on late treys by Duncan Jones, Glover and Linklater. The Huskies maintained their defensive intensity and pushed the margin to 52-35 on a Michael Lieffers slam off a Glover steal. Brent Malish drilled a trio from beyond the arc and Burke another as the Thunderbirds whittled the lead to eight but Linklater hit a tough, hand-in-the-face runner to end the third quarter. Still, the Birds wouldn’t quit. They cut the margin to five on a Melvyn Mayott trey but Linklater, Glover and Trevor Nerdahl responded with bombs and the Huskies contained their nerves down the stretch to hang on for the win. Saskatchewan coach Greg Jockims said tempo proved the difference. “I was a little concerned if we’d have the legs because we have to play at high energy. Probably about four or five minutes, we got our wheels turning at full speed and that kind of stymied their confidence a little bit and really got us going and it carried the game from there. … It’s so hard to win this tournament. Not only do you have to be a good team, but you have to be mentally tough and injury free. And it all lined up for us this year. I was concerned about our energy, with three back-to-back games against really good teams. But we maintained a level of intensity and played well. Our fitness has been a strong point of our game.” U.B.C. coach Kevin Hanson said the 14-0 first quarter run set the T-Birds on their heels. “This whole tournament, I thought we struggled offensively. We just played at a tempo we don’t normally play. They slowed us down and took us out of what we wanted to do.” Showron Glover was chosen player of the game for Saskatchewan, while Kamar Burke earned the laurels for UBC. Burke said “it doesn’t matter if you score 20 points or how well you play if you lose,” Burke said. “We didn’t get it done. We’re really upset right now.” Down 12-4 early on, Saskatchewan went on a 14-0 run, capped off by a Jones three-pointer, and never trailed again in the match. Lieffers closed out the opening quarter with a thunderous dunk to make it 20-16 Huskies after 10 minutes. The Huskies scored the first five points of the second period and Glover opened an 11-point gap, at 30-19, with a spectacular drive to the basket. Glover hit from beyond the arc to make it 40-27 with 2:32 left before the break, and Linklater followed moments later with a three of his own for a 14-point advantage, at 43-29. Saskatchewan took a 45-31 lead into the locker room. Back from the intermission, Lieffers made it a 17-point affair, at 52-35, with a monstrous dunk. UBC crawled back to within 11 points, at 59-48, and was within 10 with under a minute left in the third period following a Bath layup. Bath was sent to the charity stripe moments later and hit both free throws to cut the margin to 65-57 with 30 seconds on the clock. After three, Saskatchewan was up 67-57. UBC once again came back to within eight points early in the final quarter, and trailed 71-65 with 6:46 remaining following a pair of Alex Murphy free throws. Mayott hit from long range to make it 73-68, but Glover and Trevor Nerdahl responded with back-to-back treys to restore an 11-point Saskatchewan cushion with just over five minutes left. With three minutes to go, Murphy made two more free throws to make it 79-73. A Burke three made it a five-point game at 81-76, but Linklater immediately responded with a bomb to put the Huskies ahead 84-76, with 1:50 on the clock. The T-Birds moved back to within five, at 84-79, when LaBranche completed a three-point play with a free throw, but Gottselig sealed the victory with a steal followed by a spectacular dunk with exactly one minute on the board. “This is the pinnacle of my coaching career and one of the pinnacles in these guys lives,” said Jockims. “Obviously, we are very excited. There’s so much work that goes into this and there’s also a little bit of luck, too. Since Christmas we’re playing as well as anybody in the country and we hit this tournament in stride. We had a close three games and we made plays in the fourth quarter and won it.” Gottselig said that “to be honest, at the start of the season, I didn’t believe that we could do it. Two years ago, we had a great team and we thought we were going them but we just didn’t have the team that we have now. We’ve got guys that can put the ball in the hoop, and it comes down to who’s a team, who comes together and who’s got the best chemistry coming down the stretch.” Kamar Burke said “they were hitting open threes all games and that was killing us. We knew they could put the threes in transition but we didn’t do anything to change.” Showron Glover paced Saskatchewan with 28 on 8-18 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 10-12 from the line, 10 boards and 6 steals. Troy Gottselig added 22 on 7-12 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 6-7 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Michael Linklater added 20 on 7-14 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 5 boards. Duncan Jones added 10 on 3-7 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Michael Lieffers notched 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 13 boards, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Trevor Nerdahl added 3 and Nolan Brudehl 2, while Clint Unsworth was scoreless. The Huskies hit 30-63 (.476) from the floor, 10-27 (.370) from the arc and 21-33 (.636) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 13 steals, 2 blocks, 11 turnovers and 26 fouls. Josh Whyte paced UBC with 16 on 8-18 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 6 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals. Kamar Burke added 16 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 12 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Blain Labranche added 12 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 5 boards. Graham Bath scored 11 on 3-6 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 2 boards. Melvyn Mayott notched 11 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Brent Malish scored 9 on 3-5 from the arc and 2 boards. Alex Murphy added 4 on 0-2 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Balraj Bains added 2 while Denny Dumas, Kyle Watson and Nathan Yu were scoreless. The Thunderbirds hit 28-69 (.406) from the floor, 8-25 (.320) from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 7 steals, 2 blocks, 18 turnovers and 23 fouls. Saskatchewan finished 26-7 on the season.

The men’s championship returns to Halifax next year but it appears that the draw will not feature three regional tournaments to determine qualifiers other than conference champions. Executive board member Gord Grace says the CIS will take up the issue in June but “it’s a longshot” to be implemented for 2010-11. Grace added that it would be unfair to Halifax organizers to change the format at a late date and noted that there are many schools that are concerned about the added cost of flying teams to regional qualifiers. But the CIS will likely adopt a new requirement that next year’s tournament include a bronze medal game. Men’s basketball is the only sport without one and while many argue that if bronze medals are good enough for the Olympics, they should be good enough for men’s hoops. The National Association of Basketball Coaches, though, has long opposed bronze-medal games on the grounds that teams would find it burdensome after exhausting semi-finals a day earlier.

The all-tourney team featured MVP Troy Gottselig (Saskatchewan); Kevin McCleery (Carleton); Kamar Burke (UBC); Showron Glover (Saskatchewan); and Michael Linklater (Saskatchewan)

The co-bronze medalist Carleton Ravens: Kevin McCleery; Cole Hobin; Michael Kenny; Elliot Thompson; Kyle Smendziuk; Tyson Hinz; Willy Manigat; Aaron Chapman; Greg Faulkner; Anthony Ashe; Luke Chapman; Derek McConnery; Scott Ring; Kevin Churchill; Dan Penner; Thomas Scrubb; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Shawn McCleery; strength and conditioning Andy Stewart; therapist Bruce Marshall; manager Kyle Vezzaro; nutritionist Harinder Ghuman; athletic director Jennifer Brenning; manager intercollegiate program Bob Rumsheidt; sports information Christina Atallah

The co-bronze medalist Calgary Dinosaurs: Ross Bekkering; Robbie Sihota; Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson; Tyler Fidler; Lindsay Thouret; Dan Tilleman; Jamie McLeod; Jordan Flagel; Andrew McGuinness; Trevor Debolt; Dustin Reding; Patrick Walker; Terrence Blake; coach Dan Vanhooren; assistant Craig Anderson; strength & conditioning Ken Wong; manager Dean McCord; athletic therapist Bonnie Sutter; student therapist Christine Atkins; athletic director Kevin Boyles; SID Ben Matchett

The silver medalist University of British Columbia Thunderbirds: Blain Labranche; Josh Whyte; Kamar Burke; Kyle Watson; Melvyn Mayott; Graham Bath; Nathan Yu; Balraj Bains; Brent Malish; Denny Dumas; Alex Murphy; Chad Posthumus; Akeem Pierre; coach Kevin Hanson

The champion Saskatchewan Huskies: Troy Gottselig; Showron Glover; Michael Linklater; Michael Lieffers; Duncan Jones; Nolan Brudehl; Trevor Nerdahl; Clint Unsworth; Preston O’Brien; Patrick Burns; Trudon Bofoya; Jeremy Svenkeson; John Rochon; Adam Wendt; Chris Unsworth; coach Greg Jockims; assistant Nathan Schellenberg; assistant Barry Rawlyk; trainer Melissa Neilands; trainer Angela Schultz; trainer Yojo Smoiski; athletic therapist Rhonda Shishkin; athletic therapist Adrienne Stinson; strength and conditioning coach Bruce Craven; athletic director Basic Hughton; SID Nicole Betker