REGULAR SEASON

EAST       WEST        
  Carleton 22-0 32-1 Dave Smart Windsor 17-5 19-7 Chris Oliver  
  Toronto 17-5 20-8 Mike Katz Brock 16-6 23-7 Ken Murray  
  Ottawa 16-6 25-11 Dave DeAveiro Guelph 13-9 15-12 Chris O’Rourke  
  Queen’s 14-8 15-9 Rob Smart Western 12-10 17-12 Brad Campbell  
  York  7-15  8-20 Bob Bain McMaster  9-13 10-15 Joe Raso  
  Ryerson  7-15  8-19 Glenn Taylor Wilfrid Laurier  8-14  8-16 Peter Campbell  
  Laurentian  4-18  5-26 Shawn Swords Lakehead  8-14 13-19 Scott Morrison  
  RMC  0-22  0-29 Kevin Maguire Waterloo  6-16 10-25 Tom Kieswetter  
                   

Playoff non-qualifiers:

       Lakehead Thunderwolves: Graeme Enns, Andrew Hackner, Dean Magierowski, Kyle McConnell, Paul Popo-ola, Kiraan Posey, Mathew Powell, Ryan Precious, Andrew Quirion, Jamie Searle, Warren Thomas, Matt Verboom, Zack White, Lerry Williams, Aaron Jackson, coach Scott Morrison

       Laurentian Voyageurs: Ben Blanc, Christopher Cull, Bryan Davidson, Darrell Drake, Chris Haddad, John Hood, Andrew Kay, Paul Kovacs, Omar Linder, David Otterbein, Mark Ramalho, Mike Raskevicius, Mata Tirilis, Alex Whiteman, coach Shawn Swords

       RMC Paladins: Charles Keita, Gavin Viray-Cox, Jermaine Small, Andrew Cuff, Simon Dakin, David Duizer, Chris Crowder, Matthew Zaranek, Nicolas Cooke, Cameron Spurr, Kyle Foules, Eric Jonsson, Matthew Wookey, coach Kevin Maguire

       Waterloo Warriors: Luke Kieswetter, Jordan Hannah, Dan White, David Burnett, Tim Rossy, Reed Siemienuk, Ken Cassidy, Ben Frisby, Cam McIntyre, Zemar Salim, Alan Goodhoofd, Matt Hayes, Sinclair Brown, Doug Fischer, Aaron Douglas, Doug Fischer, coach Tom Kieswetter

       In the East quarterfinals, the Ottawa Gee-Gees thrashed the Ryerson Rams 76-49. The Gee-Gees welcomed back point guard Josh Gibson-Bascombe from a knee injury and he quickly proved his worth by forcing a raft of turnovers that generated easy transition buckets and a 16-6 Ottawa lead. But Ottawa began to settle for perimeter jumpers in its halfcourt offence and Ryerson made them pay the price, containing the Gee-Gees to one-and-done shot opportunities to rally back within 25-21. Sean Peter, Gibson-Bascombe and Donnie Gibson, however, again began aggressively attacking the Ram zone with the penetration dribble drive, allowing the Gee-Gees to rebuild their lead to 39-27 at the half. The Gee-Gees unloaded the boom in the second half as they elevated their defensive intensity and Gibson continued to break the Ryerson zone by attacking the basket. Ottawa opened the frame with an 8-0 run and soon extended its lead to as many as 31 as Nemanja Baletic kept draining perimeter jumpers, promptly Ryerson coach Glenn Taylor to throw in the towel. Gibson-Bascombe said the Gee-Gees stuck to their game plan. “We just wanted to get defensive pressure on them all the time and make everything tough for them. It paid off in the end.” Baletic said the difference was that the Gee-Gees were able to get on the same defensive page in the second half. “We wanted to keep up our aggressiveness and we did that.” Coach David DeAveiro, meanwhile, was pleased that his troops found a measure of offensive rhythm. “When we play good defence, we can get into our running game and start to move the ball a bit better and get ourselves some easy shots.” Taylor, by contrast, said the Rams inexperience was evident. “Statistics don’t lie,” he noted of Ryerson’s 25 turnovers. “In the first half alone, Josh (Gibson-Bascombe) had 6 steals. You put all that together and it spells disaster. We were only down 12 at the half but it could have been a massacre.” Josh Gibson-Bascombe paced Ottawa with 20 on 8-16 from the floor, 4-5 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Sean Peter added 17 on 7-14 from the line, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 5 boards. Nemanja Baletic notched 15 on 6-14 from the floor, 3-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Dax Dessereault added 8 on 4-11 from the floor, 12 boards and 2 steals. Donnie Gibson added 8 on 4-13 from the floor and 4 boards. Marvin Bazile added 5, Bojan Dodik 2 and Vlad Pislaru 1. The Gee-Gees shot 32-83 (.386) from the floor, 4-16 from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 16 fouls, 9 turnovers, 14 steals and 4 blocks. Boris Bakovic paced Ryerson with 15 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Igor Bakovic notched 13 on 6-14 from the floor, 13 boards and 3 blocks. Brandon Krupa scored 7 on 2-8 from the field, 1-4 from the arc and 5 assists. Ryan McNeilly added 7 on 3-6 from the floor. Arsalan Jamil added 3, Chris Blouin 2 and Joseph Imbrogno 2, while Steve Williams, Luke Staniscia and Sanel Sehic were scoreless. The Rams (coached by Glenn Taylor) also included Steve Ryabinin, Madhav Trivedi and Stan Pace. The Rams shot 19-58 (.328) from the field, 4-13 (.308) from the arc and 7-11 (.636) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 13 fouls, 25 turnovers, 2 steals and 7 blocks.

       In the other East quarterfinal, the Queen’s Golden Gaels pounded the York Lions 74-57. The Gaels scored the opening basket 50 seconds into the game on a lay-up by Simon Mitchell and Queen’s would never trail. York tied the game at 5-5 and was down 10-9 midway through the first quarter but the Gaels went on a 9-5 run to close the period behind two layups from rookie Dan Bannister to lead 19-14 after 10 minutes. In the second quarter Queen’s clamped down defensively, holding the Lions without a point for the first 4:40, but the Gaels could only score four points during that time to lead 23-14. After a three-point shot by York’s Dalton Olinoski, Queen’s proceeded to score 16 of the next 22 points to lead 39-23 with 37 seconds left. The Lions hit back-to-back threes to close the half down 39-29. In the third quarter York continued to struggle against the tough Queen’s defence, scoring just nine points in the quarter. At the other end the Gaels were scoring almost at will and when Jon Ogden hit his second straight lay-up with 2:28 remaining, Queen’s led 51-35. Ogden hit a three-point shot with 15 seconds left in the period and the Gaels led 56-38 heading into the fourth. In the fourth quarter, Queen’s star Mitch Leger hit seven straight points in the first two minutes as the Gaels maintained their 18-point lead. Despite some great shooting by York guard Tut Ruach, the Gaels were able to build their lead as high 27. Mitch Leger paced Queen’s with 20 on 7-21 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 6 boards. Simon Mitchell added 18 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the lie, 5 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jon Ogden added 14 on 6-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 6 boards. Baris Ondul notched 12 on 5-8 from the floor and 2-4 from the arc. Daniel Banister added 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 5 boards and 5 assists. Travis Mitchell scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor and 6 boards. Tim Boyle, Nick Didonato and Rob Shaw were scoreless. The Gaels shot 29-62 (.468) from the floor, 7-29 (.241) from the arc and 9-11 (.818) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 12 fouls, 10 turnovers, 8 steals and 1 block. Tut Ruach led the Lions with 25 on 8-20 from the floor, 3-12 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 7 boards and 5 assists. Amde Evans added 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Dalton Olinoski added 5 on 2-7 from the arc. Eylon Zemer added 5, Matthew Terejko 4, Wesley Anderson 2 and Stefan Haynes 2, while Jason Hoult and Vadim Razenberg were scoreless. The Lions (coached by Bob Bain, assisted by Tom Oliveri) also included Chad Bewley, Nathan Carter, Alex Gurha, Augustine Obeng, Elliot Siemiatycki, Travis Francis, Stephan Haynes, Devon Smith and Aza Awan. York shot 19-56 (.339) from the floor, 8-30 (.267) from the arc and 11-16 (.688) from the line, while garnering 27 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 14 fouls, 11 turnovers, 5 steals and 1 block.

       In the East semis, Carleton crushed Queen’s 96-44 to collect their 29th straight win against Canadian competition this season. Coach Dave Smart ran his personal winning streak against his alma mater to 20 games, and his personal streak against his elder brother Rob, who now coaches the Gaels, to eight games. In Dave Smart’s nine years at the helm, the Ravens have never lost to Queen’s, which in the late 1990s, passed on giving him the Gaels head coaching position. The Ravens dominated the Gaels with their trademark, ‘in-your-face’ defence, hounding Queen’s into a host of miscues and giving them little in the way of open looks at the basket. “It’s the playoffs, you have to defend,” said Stuart Turnbull. “Who’s not going to play hard on defence in the playoffs? You gotta get the boat going in the right direction.” The teams staged a three-point shootout in the first half as Queen’s collapsed its defence in the paint in a bid to prevent Aaron Doornekamp from dominating the blocks. Carleton responded by shifting into penetrate-and-pitch mode, kicking the ball out the perimeter, where they hit 9-of-16 from the arc. Six Ravens found the mark from the arc in the first half, led by Ryan Bell’s trio of treys. Mike Kenny added a pair, while Turnbull, Doornekamp, Jean-Emmanuelle Jean-Marie and Elliot Thompson notched singletons. By contrast, the Gaels used crosscourt passes to create their perimeter opportunities but Carleton’s perimeter and help defence was exceptional and they limited Queen’s to 6-of-14 from the arc. The end result? A 53-29 Carleton lead heading into the lockers. The Ravens were equally relentless on defence in the second half and quickly stretched their margin to 50. Queen’s was left reeling in confusion. Smart was elated with the intensity of the Raven’s defence. “When you defend like that, then offensively it takes a lot of the pressure off of you and you’re able to shoot the ball well.” Saunders said Smart had the Ravens well-prepared. “We knew it was going to be a tough game and Dave had us ready to play. There’s not much more to it than that.” Bell said the Ravens focused on defence in practice all week. “Dave got us riled up. We didn’t play well last week against Ottawa U and we wanted to show that we can play well on defence.” Rob Saunders paced Carleton with 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Stuart Turnbull added 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Aaron Doornekamp notched 14 on 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 7-7 from the line and 7 boards. Ryan Bell scored 11 on 4-7 from the floor and 3-6 from the arc. Kevin McCleery scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Mike Kenny scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor. Elliot Thompson added 6 on 1-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 3 boards. Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie notched 5 on 2-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Cole Hobin added 5 and Aaron Chapman 4, along with 5 boards. Daron Leonard scored 3 and Neal Dawson 2. The Ravens shot 32-63 (.508) from the floor, 15-31 (.484) from the arc and 17-20 (.850) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 19 fouls, 9 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks. Simon Mitchell paced Queen’s with 13 on 5-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nick Didonato added 8 on 3-6 from the floor. Mitch Leger added 5, Travis Mitchell 5, Jon Ogden 4, Baris Ondul 3, Tim Boyle 3, Daniel Banister 2 and Pat Beswick 1, while Rob Shaw and Alexander Murphy were scoreless. Queen’s (coached by Rob Smart) also included Joseph Nashed, Ryan Hairsine, Justin Yoo and Logan Rivers. The Gaels shot 15-52 (.288) from the floor, 6-24 from the arc, and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 16 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 21 fouls, 12 turnovers and 3 steals.

       In the other East semi, Ottawa edged Toronto 63-60. The score remained tight throughout the game, with Ottawa nursing a 23-18 advantage into the first break, which became a 31-31 deadlock by the halftime buzzer. Toronto maintained a lead through the third quarter, keeping the Gee-Gees off the scoreboard for the first four-and-a-half minutes of the period and briefly holding a nine-point lead. Ottawa had shaved Toronto’s advantage to 45-43 by the final intermission. Trading the lead back and forth with their guests in the final frame, Toronto entered the final minute of play with a slim 60-59 advantage but 6-9 Dax Dessureault converted a pair of clutch free throws with 40 seconds remaining to give Ottawa the lead for good and the Gee-Gees held the Blues scoreless for the final 2:30 of the game. With just under 3 minutes remaining and the game tied at 57, Blues 6’8” Nick Snow blocked a shot inside and in the ensuing break, 6’3” Mike Degiorgio found 6’2” Rob Paris open in the right corner for a clutch 3 that gave the Blues a three-point lead. On the next possession, Dessureault followed up a miss with a clutch put-back tip to bring the Gee-Gees back to within 1 and the Gee-Gees held Toronto on the final 4 possessions of the game, setting up his big pair of free throws. Snow had a clean look at a baseline jumper to give the Blues the lead with just under 20 seconds to go but could not convert and later 6’3” Donnie Gibson knocked down another pair of free throws when U of T fouled. Degiorgio and Paris then each missed tough 3’s to tie as the game ended. With the game tied at halftime at 31, the Blues used some solid “d” leading to easy transition scores and clutch 3-point shooting by Degiorgio to grab a nine-point lead at 42-33 and it appeared the Blues were on their way. But Dessureault and 6’3” Sean Peter helped rally the Gee-Gees to even things late in the fourth quarter. Ottawa had jumped out to an early 5-point lead but could not gap the Blues any further despite a 15 point first-half from 6’4” Josh Gibson-Bascombe, who also added 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 6 steals but appeared to tire down the stretch from playing virtually the entire game. Ottawa tried to established Dessureault inside but the big center struggled in the first half, missing all 6 of his shots, most of which came in low post isolations on Snow. Without the threat in the post, Gibson-Bascombe took over on the perimeter, nailing 3 3’s in the first half including an elbow jumper at the buzzer to knot the score. But Dessureault got it going late in the game when it counted and the Gee-Gees “d” stiffened enough to hold the Blues down. Josh Gibson-Bascombe paced Ottawa with 19 on 7-20 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards, 5 assists and 6 steals. Dax Dessureault notched 15 on 6-14 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Sean Peter notched 13 on 3-11 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 7 boards. Donnie Gibson added 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. David Labentowicz added 4, Nemanja Baletic 3 and Marvin Bazile 2, while Vlad Pislaru was scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 22-63 (.349) from the floor, 4-14 (.286) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 11 fouls, 9 turnovers, 9 steals and 4 blocks. Robert Paris paced Toronto with 16 on 6-15 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Mike Degiorgio added 13 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 6 assists. Nick Snow scored 12 on 6-13 from the floor, 13 boards and 3 blocks. Ahmed Nazmi added 7 on 3-13 from the floor and 9 boards. Nickolas Magalas notched 5 on 2-3 from the floor and 6 boards. Paul Sergautis scored 5 on 1-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 9 boards and 2 assists. Andrew Wasik added 2. The Blues (coached by Mike Katz, assisted by Rick Dilena, Ben Katz and Jama Mahlalela) also included Anthony Degiorgio, Drazen Glisic, Justin Holmes, Sebastian Magalas, Michael Thomas and Joseph Munn. Toronto shot 24-66 (.364) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 6-9 from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 11 turnovers, 1 steal and 5 blocks.

       In the East final, Carleton clocked Ottawa 75-56. The Ravens broke to an early 22-13 lead on the basis of solid team defence and the perimeter shooting of Rob Saunders and Doornekamp. But the Gee-Gees began successfully finding the lanes for entry passes to Dax Dessureault in the blocks and were rewarded with a 9-0 run. Saunders nailed another trey and then Ryan Bell and Mike Kenny bombs as the Ravens clawed back to a 31-30 lead at the half. The Ravens quickly took command in the second half, capitalizing on an unsportsmanlike foul against Dessureault and a technical against Ottawa coach David DeAveiro to rip off a 10-0 run. Sean Peter kept the Gee-Gees within reach with several aggressive drives but with Doornekamp dominating the blocks and the Ravens defence hounding the Gee-Gees into a state of near-total exhaustion, Carleton romped to the comfortable win. Aaron Doornekamp keyed a game-deciding 24-9 run to end the third quarter and 6’4” Ryan Bell harassed 6’4” Josh Gibson-Bascombe into a raft of miscues. The Gee-Gees scored the first 4 points of the third quarter to lead by 3 at 34-31 and when 6’9” Dax Dessureault blocked Doornekamp’s shot inside, the Gee-Gees appeared to have the momentum. But Gibson-Bascombe dribbled into traffic and turned it over, starting a 10-0 Ravens run that essentially decided the game. Doornekamp was instrumental in the run including a pair of free throws on an unsportsmanlike call against Dessureault when the pair got tangled up on the floor and Dessureault appeared to retaliate long after the whistle sounded. Gibson-Bascombe had one final flurry, scoring 4 consecutive points and when 6’3” Donnie Gibson converted a jumper, the Gee-Gees were back to within 5 at 45-40 but then Carleton iced the game with a 10-3 run to end the quarter leading by 12. The deeper Ravens rotated players in consistently and were the much fresher side when it counted as several Gee-Gees appeared winded by late in the third quarter. Sean Peter said the Gee-Gees had nothing left in the tank. “It was a tough loss. We were all tired by the end. I’m not going to lie. They really outworked in the second half.” Rob Saunders said the Ravens capitalized on their depth. “That’s the plan, to go as hard as you can. We never get worried about getting tired, that’s for sure.” Aaron Doornekamp added that the Ravens are finally rounding into defensive form. “For the first time, we played defence and that what happens when we do. We make it tough on other teams.” Coach Dave Smart said “it’s always a war when we play them because both teams are insanely competitive,” Smart said. “We just kept coming at them. And I’m happy with the way we defended.” Aaron Doornekamp paced Carleton with 19 on 7-20 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 steals. Stuart Turnbull added 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 5 boards and 4 steals. Neal Dawson added 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie notched 11 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Rob Saunders scored 9 on 3-4 from the arc, 8 boards and 3 assists. Ryan Bell scored 5 on 2-8 from the floor, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Mike Kenny added 5 and Kevin McCleery 2, while Elliot Thompson, Cole Hobin, Daron Leonard and Aaron Chapman were scoreless. The Ravens hit 29-73 (.397) from the floor, 7-17 (.412) from the arc and 10-11 (.909) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 19 fouls, 10 turnovers, 13 steals and 3 blocks. Sean Peter led Ottawa with 14 on 4-13 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-8 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Donnie Gibson added 12 on 4-8 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Dax Dessureault notched 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Josh Gibson-Bascombe added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 5 assists and 3 steals. Nemanja Baletic added 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 3 boards. David Labentowicz, Bojan Dodik, Ben McLeod, Vlad Pislaru and Marvin Bazile were scoreless. The Gee-Gees (coached by David DeAveiro, assisted by James Derouin) also included Justin Bell, Jamie Corinaldi, Jacob Gibson-Bascombe, Stefan Lawrence, Aaron Rados, Alex Wright, Alex Ethier and Kahlil Butler. The Gee-Gees hit 20-46 (.435) from the floor, 4-11 (.364) from the arc and 12-19 (.632) from the line, while garnering 22 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 16 fouls, 18 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.

       In the West quarterfinals, the Guelph Gryphons defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 69-59. The Hawks opened the scoring on their first possession but the Gryphons took the lead with a basket followed by a three pointer. After a Laurier basket to tighten the score, Guelph went on an 8-0 run to move out in front. The Hawks came back with a 13-2 run of their own to retake the leads. A pair of Guelph free throws tied the game at 17-17 to end the 1st quarter. The teams traded baskets to open the 2nd quarter but the Gryphons were able to go on a 10-2 run to open the gap up again. An 8-2 Guelph run later in the quarter gave the Gryphons an 8-point lead, 37-29, going into half time. First-year Golden Hawk, Kale Harrison simply could not miss in the opening 20 minutes to keep his team in the contest. The Stratford native bounced 17 points down the hole, shooting 6-for-8 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the first half. A 9-4 Laurier run in the opening minutes of the third quarter brought the Golden Hawks to within three points (41-38). But the Gryphons responded with their own 13-3 run in the last minutes of the third, led by 11 from Pankerichan. The Gryphons continued to lead the fourth quarter but the Golden Hawks were relentless with a full court press, creating a string of baskets capped off by a 3-point shot by Matthew Walker making the score 60-54- Gryphons with four minutes remaining. But it was as close as Laurier would get. “Duncan (Milne) and Nick (Pankerichan) were huge for us today. Nick did it at both ends of the court for us and that’s what you have to count on your fourth-year guys to do,” commented head coach Chris O’Rourke. “The difference in the last four games was our play down the stretch and ability to keep control of the game. We’re doing a better job of maintaining our lead and we’re playing better defense.” O’Rourke added that Duncan Milne “played like an all-star, he played like a captain. He played like our best big man.” Milne said “I’m very confident in myself right now. I’m confident in my teammates and what we can do.” Pankerichan said “I got open looks (against Laurier) because of Duncan. “He’s such a big presence inside, they focus on him so much.” Peter Campbell said his troops couldn’t stop Milne on the offensive glass. “We knew exactly what he does and we didn’t stop him from doing it. It was easy to say from where I sit and harder for the players to do out on the court. Our guys probably didn’t think those shots were an open look for three, but (Pankerichan) sure did.” Nick Pankerichan paced Guelph with 26 on 6-13 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 9-10 from the line, 9 boards and 2 steals. Duncan Milne added 22 on 9-15 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 8 boards. Borko Popic notched 9 on 4-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Michael Petrella added 6 on 2-7 from the floor, Charles Agyemang 3, Adam Bering 2 and Jay Mott 1, while Sebastien Kasiuk, Jonathan Moscatelli, Nick Walters and Luke Nevar were scoreless. The Gryphons shot 23-60 (.383) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 18-24 (.750) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 14 fouls, 15 turnovers, 7 steals and 2 blocks. Kale Harrison paced Laurier with 23 on 8-14 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 6 boards. Matthew Walker added 15 on 6-13 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Trevor Csima added 8 on 4-9 from the floor and 8 boards. Dominique Brown notched 6 on 3-5 from the floor. Austin Walsh added 2, Jesse Macdonald 2, Andrew Pennycook 2 and Conor Meschino 1, while Justin Golob was scoreless. Laurier (coached by Peter Campbell, assisted by Mike Quigley and Alex Urosevic, manager Jessica Cadenhead, student trainer Britta Badour, chiropractor David Orchard) also included Matthew Buckley, David Crowley, Brandon Greenwood, Michael Mcdonald, Nick St. John, Matt Eves and Matt Donnelly. The Golden Hawks hit 24-65 (.369) from the floor, 2-14 (.143) from the ac and 9-10 from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 17 fouls, 18 turnovers, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

       In the other West quarterfinal, Western rallied from a 4-point deficit with 12 seconds to play to defeat McMaster 82-81 on a free throw by 6’3” Alex Brzozowicz with 3.9 seconds remaining. The Marauders held a four-point lead until Mustangs 6’1” sharpshooter Jason Milliquet knocked down a long 3 from at least 8 feet behind the arc with 12 seconds left to knot the score. On the ensuing Marauder possession, 6’2” guard Tyrell Vernon drove the lane and launched a runner that came off. Off the ensuing rebound, the ball caromed into the corner where it was retrieved by Brzozowicz who was inadvertently ploughed into by Mac’s 6’7” Mouchtar Diaby and forced out bounds, eliciting a foul call. Andrew Wedemire scored 13 points in the third quarter to give the Mustangs a four-point lead entering the fourth. But the Marauders came back to outscore the ‘Stangs 21-14 until the final moments when it fell apart. The Mustangs jumped out to an early 15-7 lead five minutes into the contest. At the end of the first quarter, the home side led 25-19. The game went back and forth throughout the second quarter, with the ‘Stangs holding a lead, until junior guard Jason Scully caught fire for the Maroon and Grey. Scully knocked down a 17-footer, and a minute later, his long range three-pointer gave the Marauders their first lead since the opening minute of the game, 40-39. After Scully connected once again from beyond the arc, Mac headed to the locker room with a 45-44 advantage. Midway through the third quarter, McMaster led 60-52, and seemed to have the ‘Stangs on the ropes. But sophomore forward Andrew Wedemire tallied seven of the next 12 Western points, as the home side ended the third quarter on a 12-0 run, to retake the lead, 64-60. Freshman guard Tyrell Vernon connected from beyond the arc to get Mac back on the scoresheet, cutting the margin to a single point, 64-63, early in the fourth quarter. But Western held the lead, by as many as six points, until Vernon hit another long-range bomb to put the Maroon and Grey ahead once again, 79-78, with 2:21 to play. Leading 81-78 in the final minute, the Marauders were whistled for fouls in two consecutive possessions, setting the stage for Milliquet, who calmly drained another three-pointer, to knot the score at 81, with 22 seconds on the clock. Following a timeout, Mac held for the final shot, with an attempt to win in it in regulation. The Marauders designed a play for Vernon, but his shot wouldn’t fall. The ball headed out of bounds as remaining seconds ticked away, but Marauder Mouctar Diaby was called for a controversial foul with three seconds to play, with the Western player against his own end line facing toward the wall. It was a puzzling call to say the least, especially since the official in much better position did not make it, but rather, the call was made by an official who did not have the best vantage point. Western guard Alex Brzozowicz was sent to the line. After missing the first shot, he hit the second. Vernon quickly advanced the ball up court, but his long shot at the buzzer bounced off the rim, and the Mustangs escaped with the win. It was Western’s first playoff win in six years. “At this time of the year, however you win, is a good win,” said Mustangs coach Brad Campbell. “We’ll take it. Phenomenal shot at the end to tie it. Then obviously we got a bit of a lucky call on a scramble, but it was a great rebound on Alex’s part. Then he made the shot. We know we didn’t play well, especially defensively. But we gutted it out and in playoff basketball, that’s what it’s all about.” Brzozowicz said the controversial call was solid. “I was right on the baseline and his momentum carried him into me,” Brozozowicz said. “He fouled me. I just blocked the first miss out. When you take as many free throws as I do in practice, you think the next one is going to go in.” Even when his team was down by as many as eight, Brozozowicz added. “Not when you have a guy like Jason Milliquet. Never, ever, ever do you panic. He’ll hit it, every time,” Brozozowicz said. Milliquet shared the credit for the shot. “I had a pretty good look at it. I’m getting open looks because they’ve got to be worried about everyone else on the floor. It’s everyone else working hard to get open. If it wasn’t me it would have been someone else. It felt pretty good when I let it go. But that’s not what kept us in it. Our intensity on defence, we kept pushing, kept pushing. That’s what kept us in the game.” Campbell gave Wedemire credit for keeping things close. “Andy carried through a rough period in the third quarter. He had 13 points, five rebounds. He was a huge spark. Andy’s been battling all sorts of injuries. He was hurt last week with a hip problem. He had a leg fracture earlier this year. He’s barely practiced for us this week or this year. But he had a helluva third quarter. He’s a competitor and he came to play. “No one on our team has won a playoff game. That’s huge to begin with. Being able to win a close one in that heart-stopping fashion, is good for Wednesday because if we are going to be successful Wednesday, it’s also going to be a close one. We have to learn how to win the close ones. That’s something we were able to do today.” Mac coach Joe Raso could only shake his head in disbelief. “I felt we should have been the team going to the free-throw line at the end of the game,” Raso said. “Mouctar went up for the rebound but couldn’t get more than a hand on it because his other hand disappeared. If Mouctar was at the free-throw line, that call doesn’t get made.” Vernon said “we ran a play and when I went up for the layup I felt everything was fine. It just didn’t go my way. Unfortunately, the foul decided the outcome of the game … you just have to roll with the punches.” Raso added that “it was disappointing. We played one of our better games. I thought we had done enough to get it done.” Bradley Smith paced Western with 21 points on 9-22 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 3 boards. Jason Milliquet added 18 on 6-9 from the arc. Andrew Wedemire scored 16 on 5-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 5 boards. Matthew Curtis scored 11 on 3-10 from the floor, 5-5 from the line and 9 boards. Alex Brzozowicz notched 9 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 6 boards and 4 assists. Adam Ruickbie scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 6 boards and 4 assists. Ryan Barbeau notched 2 and Colin Laforme 1, while Brett Lawrence, Jordan Smith and Alan Paron were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 27-67 (.403) from the floor, 9-19 (.474) from the arc and 19-27 (.704) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 24 assists, 16 fouls, 14 turnovers, 5 steals and 2 blocks. Tyrell Vernon paced McMaster with 15 on 5-15 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Andrew Losier added 13 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Terry Licorish scored 13 on 6-20 from the floor, 11 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Mouctar Diaby notched 11 on 4-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Joe Polizzi scored 8 on 4-5 from the floor and Jason Scully 8 on 3-3 from the floor. Matt Wilusz added 5, Jermaine De Costa 4, Aminu Bello 2 and Brett Day 2, while Eric Magdanz was scoreless. The Marauders (coached by Joe Raso) also included Anthony Bishop, Geoff McLaughlin, David Willenbrecht, Deon Haidar and Ibrahim Bamba. The Marauders shot 30-79 (.380) from the floor, 7-18 (.389) from the arc and 14-17 (.824) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 23 fouls, 11 turnovers, 4 steals and 1 block.

       In the West semis, the Brock Badgers edged the Guelph Gryphons 78-74. The Badgers held off a late Guelph comeback attempt with clutch free throw shooting. Brock was in control up 13 with just over 3 minutes remaining when 6’4” Jay Mott had a conventional 3-point play that started a 10-0 run that brought Guelph back to within 3 at 70-67 with just under a minute to play. But 5’10” Brad Rootes was fouled by Mott after an up-fake on the baseline in a somewhat controversial call that left Mott on the floor nursing a sore jaw. Rootes made the first and missed the second free throw but 6’8” Dusty Bianchin grabbed the rebound and Brock proceed to close the game out on the foul line. Brock was completely in control of the game for 37 minutes, leading by 9 at halftime and then extending to a double-digit lead by pounding the ball inside to 6’7” Owen White in the third quarter. The Badgers got balanced scoring inside and out. Scott Murray hit his second 3 of the half in transition off a nice feed from Rootes to give the Badgers their largest lead just before the break. Rootes had scored the final 4 points of the first quarter during a 5-0 run which broke a 15-15 tie to give Brock the lead after 1. The Badgers led 41-32 after 20 minutes. In the fourth quarter, Brock led by as many as 15 (68-53), before the Gryphons went on a 14-2 over a seven-minute period trailing 70-67 with 1:22 left in regulation. The Badgers would connect on six straight free throws in the final 20 seconds to secure the victory. Owen White, who dominated the second half, said “I was a little bit quicker than them, so they were having trouble staying on me. They started double-teaming me and that helped us out (getting other players open). “Guys were spaced nice it was easy to find them.” The Loyalist College transfer added that he was helped by the additions of 6-foot-7 Dusty Bianchin and 6-foot-6 Mike Muir to the Badgers roster – it allows him to play his own game. “It frees me up and I don’t have to bang with the big guys. I can go to my four-spot, so it’s nice from that standpoint.” Guelph trimmed the margin to three points with 24.3 seconds to go, but Bianchin and Rohan Steen both hit two free throws and White capped it off with two of his own with 3.7 seconds left. Guelph’s Borko Popic made the score look a little closer than it was, hitting a three-point shot from half-court at the buzzer to trim a seven-point margin to four. “At the end of three quarters, I thought we were in pretty good shape,” Badgers head coach Ken Murray said. “We played pretty well the first couple of minutes, then, boom. We went into that lull for four or five minutes and that allowed them to get into the game, but we held strong.” Murray added that Rohan Steen “was a good defender and can score for us. He was a real trooper today.” White wasn’t really surprised by Guelph’s comeback. “I was expecting them to come out hard,” he said. “I was surprised they didn’t quit. I was hoping they would quit, but they didn’t and I like that.” Owen White paced Brock with 22 on 7-15 from the floor, 8-10 from the line and 7 boards. Brad Rootes scored 17 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 11 assists. Mike Kemp scored 11 on 5-10 from the floor and 6 boards. Rohan Steen scored 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Scott Murray notched 8 on 3-5 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Dusty Bianchin added 5, Mike Muir 4 and Sam Brefo 2. The Badgers shot 27-56 (.482) from the floor, 5-12 (.417) from the arc and 19-26 (.731) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 17 fouls, 8 turnovers and 4 steals. Duncan Milne paced Guelph with 19 on 8-13 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 13 boards. Jay Mott added 18 on 5-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Nick Pankerichan scored 18 on 6-15 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Borko Popic scored 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Michael Petrella added 2, while Charles Agyemang, Sebastian Kasiuk, Luke Nevar, Nick Walters and Adam Bering were scoreless. The Gryphons (coached by Chris O’Rourke, assisted by Aron Bariagabre, Chris Dooley and Mike King, trainer Stephanie Thiessen) also included Ebe Haile, Jonathan Moscatelli, Zack Nevar, Omar Ibrahim, Dimitrios Seymour, Sheriff Weridu, Peter Pesek and Jordan MacNeil. The Gryphons shot 26-60 (.433) from the floor, 8-23 (.348) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 23 fouls, 13 turnovers, 4 steals and 1 block.

       In the other West semi, Western stunned the top-seed Windsor Lancers 77-71 as 6’6” Brad Smith hit the go-ahead hoop with 1:20 remaining and then 6’3” Alex Brzozowicz added a clutch 3 with 10 seconds remaining on a feed from 6’1” Matt Curtis. 6’1” Jason Milliquet continued his recent white-hot shooting by knocking down back-to-back long 3’s late in the game to give Western a 3-point lead with under 3 minutes remaining. But 6’5” Kevin Kloostra gave the Lancers their final lead including a steal and score that gave Windsor their last lead, setting up Smith’s clutch shot. The Lancers jumped out to a nine-point lead midway through the first quarter but Western coach Brad Campbell called a timely timeout and the Mustangs finished the quarter on a 5-0 run including a late 3 by Curtis to bring Western back to within 4 after 1. Western then led by 4 at halftime and extended the lead to as many as 9 late in the third quarter before Windsor finished the quarter on a mini 4-0 run. The Lancers got off to a hot start as Greg Surmacz made a number of early shots to go ahead 17-9. Western responded as they worked it inside to help cut the deficit to four at the end of the first quarter, 23-19. The Mustangs continued to press in the second quarter as they eventually took the lead and built a 9-point advantage, 44-35. The Lancers came back with a run of their own to cut the Mustang lead to 4 at the half, 37-31. The third quarter was a see-saw affair as neither team was able to build an advantage. The Mustangs hung on to a five-point lead, 51-44 at the end of quarter. The fourth quarter was a wild affair as both teams hit a number of big shots to keep it close. Kevin Kloostra came up big for the Lancers in the second half as he hit a series of clutch baskets to keep Windsor in it. With the Lancers leading by one 71-70 with a minute to play, the Mustangs came up with two huge three-point baskets from Jason Milliquet and Alex Brozozowicz to go up five. “It was an unbelievable way to keep my career going,” said Adam Ruickbie. “It’s just such an unbelievable feeling to beat Windsor in their gym. The last time we beat Windsor was in exhibition in my first year in Chatham. This is by far the best game I’ve ever been a part of. It was a great way to finish a career being on a playoff run like this, upsetting teams. The last time I beat them was five years ago in my first game in CIS in an exhibition game. I thought we’d keep beating them for a bunch of years. But we beat them now. I beat them in my first game against Windsor and my last time playing them. I wouldn’t pick another game to beat them, none more important than this one.” Brad Smith added that “it’s extremely exciting. We did what we had to do. We beat the best team in the OUA West. They had a lot of pressure on them as the defending champions. We just came in and played our game.” Western guard Jason Milliquet said “absolutely, we were the underdogs. There was no pressure on us.” Windsor centre Greg Surmacz noted that “it was a tough game for us all around. We pushed the ball early but we couldn’t keep the lead. In the second half, we didn’t have the same push offensively and we didn’t rebound.” Windsor coach Chris Oliver tipped his hat to Western. “They hit some deep, tough threes. They put us on our heels a bit and they made the plays.” Western coach Brad Campbell called it “a huge championship effort from our guys. It was a phenomenal back-and-forth game but we never gave up. I’m very proud of our guys. Alex is one tough kid. It’s not the first time I’ve yelled at him this year and it probably won’t be the last. But he’s as tough as nails. … Colin, and I think he would admit it, [has] been struggling a little bit lately. But when we needed an absolutely Herculean effort, he was able to win a lot of the battles in the trenches, tipping things, keeping it alive and played great defence against the best player in the league in my opinion, (Greg) Surmacz. He limited him. He did a fantastic job.” LaForme never stopped working. “We did what we had to do,” he said. “We made shots. That’s the way the team works. We’re a talented team. Everyone has their bad nights. I had a couple in a row and my teammates helped me out. … It’s a team game. Tonight, it was my night I guess and I’ll take it.” Jason Milliquet paced Western with 22 on 7-11 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Matthew Curtis added 16 on 7-24 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc and 11 assists. Colin Laforme scored 13 on 5-8 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 12 boards. Alex Brzozowicz notched 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc and 5 boards. Ryan Barbeau scored 6 on 3-6 from the floor. Bradley Smith scored 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Andrew Wedemire added 3 on 1-3 from the floor and 6 boards. Adam Ruickbie scored 3, while Brett Lawrence, Garrett Olexiuk and Alan Paron were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 29-72 (.403) from the floor, 11-32 (.344) from the arc and 8-9 from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 18 fouls, 14 turnovers, 5 steals and 6 blocks. Greg Surmacz paced Windsor with 25 on 9-19 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-9 from the line and 13 boards. Kevin Kloostra scored 17 on 6-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 4 boards. Ryan Steer notched 16 on 5-17 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 4 boards, 11 assists and 5 steals. Isaac Kuon scored 5, Kevin Cameron 4, Rich Allin 2 and Greg Allin 2, while Matt Handsor and Monty Hardware were scoreless. The Lancers (coached by Chris Oliver, assisted by Barry Amlin) also included Colin Allum, Corey Boswell, Jonathan Burnett, Tyler Carey, Sasha Lazic and Stevan Ljuljdurovic. The Lancers shot 24-65 (.369) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 17-25 (.680) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 14 fouls, 10 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks.

       In the West final, the Western Mustangs whacked the Brock Badgers 79-62. Fifth-year forward Adam Ruickbie had a series of key boards and blocks to allow Western to maintain the lead in the third quarter. Western exploded for a 51-35 run in the second and third quarter, taking Brad Rootes out of the game and moving on for victory. “It’s really an unbelievable feeling,” said Ruickbie. “We said to ourselves at the start of the season that we were going to set a goal to win the OUA West championship and go to the nationals. Here we are, we peaked at the right time. What a better way to finish my career.” Although Brock looked good early – especially after Rootes hit his first shot of the game on the Badgers’ second possession from down-town – Western had control of the game 18-13 after first quarter. It was 32-22 Western with just under five minutes remaining in second quarter for Western and 36-23 with just under three minutes remaining in the half. With a lead as big as 15, Western led 39-29 at the half. Western went on a 15-6 run to end the second quarter. Smith was unbelievable in the start of the second, scoring eight of Western’s first 10 points in the half, to stretch their lead to 51-32, with a lead as big as 25 in the quarter. In the fourth, the Mustangs started to play sloppy but they regrouped late to hold onto the lead and victory. Brock only came within 15 points in the fourth quarter. Mustangs coach Brad Campbell told the St. Catharines Standard that “we saved our best effort of the season for our most important game of the season. The funny thing about this group is that nobody, as a player or our team, has won playoff game until this year. Now we’ve run off three wins in a row. We have a lot of confidence and enthusiasm and we’re riding that right now.” Bradley Smith paced Western with 20 on 9-15 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Jason Milliquet added 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 4 boards. Andrew Wedemire notched 11 on 5-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 10 boards. Matthew Curtis added 9 on 3-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 6 assists. Colin Laforme notched 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 5 boards and 4 assists. Adam Ruickbie scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor, 7 boards and 2 assists. Ryan Barbeau added 4, Garrett Olexiuk 4, Alex Brzozowicz 3 and Alan Paron 2, while Brett Lawrence and Jordan Smith were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 33-69 (.478) from the floor, 5-13 (.385) from the arc and 8-11 (.727) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 19 fouls, 15 turnovers, 5 steals and 4 blocks. Owen White paced Brock with 18 on 7-12 from the floor, 4-7 from the line and 5 boards. Brad Rootes added 15 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Rohan Steen notched 9 on 3-12 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Mike Kemp scored 7 on 3-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4 boards and 4 assists. Dusty Bianchin notched 6 on 3-10 from the floor and 6 boards. David Swinden added 4, and Mike Muir 2, while nabbing 7 boards. Sam Brefo added 1, while Andrew Ferguson, Joe Kendrick and Scott Murray were scoreless. Brock (coached by Ken Murray) also included Ray Fleming, Jordan Johnson, Artem Svidnytskiy and Bryan McDonald. Rootes said “we pretty much got every open look we wanted. Even at the end, coming out of the timeout, we ran the perfect play. R (Rohan Steen) was wide open, it goes in and out, same for Dusty (Bianchin). The ball just wasn’t bouncing our way today.” Badgers coach Ken Murray said “we didn’t’ have one player play well for us today. Usually, you get one or two guys, but not one guy I could say played well. I couldn’t make any adjustments. I put different players in and no matter who I put in there, nobody seemed to click. … They (Western) came in played very calm and cool. They didn’t get caught up in the importance of the game and maybe that was the difference. We expected to be here and they didn’t. They completely dominated us and outplayed us in every phase of the game.” The Badgers hit 21-70 (.300) from the floor, 5-28 (.179) from the arc and 15-23 (.652) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 19 fouls, 9 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
       In the bronze medal match to determine the OUA’s third berth at nationals, the host Brock Badgers defeated the Ottawa Gee-Gees 68-58 thanks to some modest defensive heroics and an unfaltering ability to hit free throws. “I think in the first five minutes we were really nervous and uptight,” said Brock coach Ken Murray of his team that fell behind 13-2 in the first quarter. “I don’t think Ottawa was much different than us, but they took advantage of our mistakes.” A high-octane third quarter followed an impressive display of defense in the first half, giving the Badgers a respectable lead heading into the fourth and final quarter. The Badgers outscored the Gee-Gees 41-19 over the second and third periods. “The game itself was ugly for both teams,” said point guard Brad Rootes. “Neither team really got into their flow – I think we did for about the first three minutes of the third quarter – but then it went back to a kind of grind-it-out game. Our defense won us this game, not our offense.” Leading the charge for Brock in the third quarter was veteran Mike Kemp, who nailed a pair of well-timed three-pointers and propelled the Badgers to a 10-0 run to start the frame. Also cashing in on the run was reserve big man Mike Muir, who added six big, strong points against a thinner, helpless defense and bullied his way to nine rebounds against Ottawa standout Dax Dessureault giving Brock a much-needed force down low. “One of the things I said to the guys was that ‘if our perimeter game’s not falling, we need to find other ways to score’,” said Murray. “And we have other parts of our offense where we can score either off the dribble or inside.” Forward Dusty Bianchin had the answers. “We were relaxed, but nervous,” said Bianchin. “You’ve got to be nervous, you’re not human if you’re not nervous.” Murray said it was “by far his (Bianchin’s) best game of the year this year” because he kept attacking the basket. “In one of the timeouts, Brad [Rootes] had a good point, one of the things he said to the team was that when we beat Brandon [University], we played poorly the first three quarters, but we defended well,” said Murray, “and I thought if we did anything well today, it was defend. We forced them to take bad shots they were shooting the ball over top of our guys, so we were doing some really good things defensively.” Rohan Steen hit a dramatic 3 from the left baseline with the shot clock winding down to give Brock an 8-point lead with just over a minute to play that iced the win. Gee-Gees coach David DeAveiro said “we came out flat. They came out after us and that was the difference in the game. The big guy (Dessureault) not going inside hurt. He was only 4-for-17. It’s a plus part of our game and if he’s not finishing, we’re not a very good team.” Dessureault said “once they tightened their defence, we had trouble scoring. We came out flat in the third quarter and it killed us.” Dusty Bianchin paced Brock with 18 on 5-9 from the floor, 8-10 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Mike Kemp added 12 on 5-14 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals. Owen White scored 12 on 6-9 from the floor and 4 boards. Rohan Steen added 9 on 1-4 from the arc, 6-6 from the line and 4 assists. Mike Muir added 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 9 boards. Scott Murray scored 6 on 2-3 from the arc. Brad Rootes notched 5 on 1-11 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 7 assists. The Badgers shot 23-60 (.383) from the floor, 6-25 (.240) from the arc and 16-18 (.889) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 17 assists, 16 fouls, 14 turnovers, 8 steals and 2 blocks. Josh Gibson-Bascombe led Ottawa with 16 on 6-15 from the floor, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Donnie Gibson added 13 on 5-8 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc and 6 boards. David Labentowicz notched 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 11 boards and 3 assists. Dax Dessureault added 9 on 4-17 from the floor, 1-4 from the line and 11 boards. Sean Peter scored 8 on 1-8 from the floor, 6-8 from the line and 7 boards. Vlad Pislaru, Marvin Bazile, Bojan Dodik, Justin Bel land Nemanja Baletic were scoreless. The Gee-Gees shot 21-66 (.318) from the floor, 3-11 (.273) from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 16 fouls, 17 turnovers, 6 steals and 1 block.

       In the Wilson Cup, the Carleton Ravens captured their fourth Ontario University Athletics men’s basketball championship in the past six years by spanking the Western Ontario Mustangs 81-65 to remain undefeated in 31 starts against Canadian Interuniversity Sport competition on this season. The Ravens, though, weren’t pleased with their level of play. “We got lucky tonight,” said Aaron Doornekamp, who was chosen MVP of the Wilson Cup. “We were sloppy on defence and they missed a lot of shots they usually hit.” The first half was a tricky, defensive affair as neither team gave quarter and denied easy opportunities in the paint. But Aaron Doornekamp’s quickness was too much for Mustang posts to handle and the Ravens dominated the boards as they built a nine-point lead before a few late defensive lapses allowed a dunk by Brad Smith and a three-pointer by Matt Curtis as the buzzer sounded to rally the Mustangs to within 37-33 at the half. Stuart Turnbull began repeatedly and aggressively attacking the basket with the penetration dribble drive as Carleton built a double-digit lead. With Doornekamp and Mike Kenny drilling treys, Carleton maintained a comfortable margin as the Mustangs tired down the stretch. Turnbull iced the win with a raft of free throws in the final minutes. Turnbull said he took a different tack in second half after continually missing the open jumpers in the first. “I figured there was no point shooting the outside shot, so I just kept taking it to the hole.” Coach Dave Smart gave his troops mixed grades. “We did rebound the ball reasonably well and we got in the lane a lot but we did a horrible job defensively.” Western coach Brand Campbell said Carleton’s rebounding edge and inside game proved the difference. “I felt that we had trouble getting inside touches and that left us forced to shoot from the perimeter. And rebounding was a huge factor.” Stuart Turnbull paced Carleton with 30 on 10-23 from the floor, 10-12 from the line, 8 boards and 5 assists. Aaron Doornekamp added 23 on 7-20 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 9 boards, 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Ryan Bell notched 10 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 10 boards and 2 assists. Mike Kenny scored 6 on 2-4 from the arc and 3 boards. Kevin McCleery scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 7 boards. Elliott Thompson added 2, Jean-Emmanuel Jean-Marie 2 and Rob Saunders 2, while Cole Hobin, Daron Leonard, Aaron Chapman and Neal Dawson were scoreless. The Ravens shot 27-69 (.391) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 21-28 (.750) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 21 fouls, 8 turnovers, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Matthew Curtis paced Western with 13 on 5-14 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 5 boards and 4 assists. Jason Milliquet added 11 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-8 from the arc and 4-4 from the line. Ryan Barbeau notched 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Alex Brzozowicz added 8 on 3-9 from the floor and 1-5 from the arc. Bradley Smith scored 6 on 3-13 from the floor, 5 boards and 2 assists. Colin Laforme scored 5 on 2-7 from the floor and 5 boards. Adam Ruickbie added 4, Alan Paron 4, Andrew Wedemire 2 and Garrett Olexiuk 2, while Brent Lawrence and Jordan Smith were scoreless. The Mustangs shot 25-73 (.342) from the floor, 7-31 (.226) from the arc and 8-18 (.444) from the line, while garnering 31 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 11 assist, 19 fouls, 7 turnovers, 3 steals and 3 blocks.

       The bronze medalist Brock Badgers: Dusty Bianchin; Mike Kemp; Owen White; Rohan Steen; Mike Muir; Scott Murray; Brad Rootes; Sam Brefo; Andrew Ferguson; Jay Fleming; Jordan Johnson; Joe Kendrick; Nico Loureiro; Bryan Mcdonald; David Swinden; Tim Svidnytskiy; coach Ken Murray; assistant Steve Atkin; assistant Brian Mulligan; assistant Bill Rootes; therapist Joe Kenny; student therapist Lorenzo Love; student therapist Brianna Holmes

       The runner-up Western Mustangs: Matt Curtis; Bradley Smith; Colin LaForme; Jason Milliquet; Andrew Wedemire; Ryan Barbeau; Alex Brzozowicz; Adam Ruickbie; Brett Lawrence; Alain Paron; Keenan Jeppesen; Garret Olexiuk; Daren Redguard; Danny Jeon; Jordan Smith; coach Brad Campbell; assistant Matt Tweedie; assistant John Curcio; trainer Andrew Frank; trainer Joshua Shewell; strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson; athletic director Chuck Mathies; SID Andy Watson

       The champion Carleton Ravens: Aaron Doornekamp; Stuart Turnbull; Rob Saunders; Jean-Emmanuelle Jean-Marie; Ryan Bell; Kevin McCleery; Mike Kenny; Elliott Thompson; Aaron Chapman; Cole Hobin; Daron Leonard; Luke Chapman; Neal Dawson; Derek McConnery; Will Donkoh; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Mark McMahon; assistant Jafeth Maseruka; manager Aaron Blakeley; therapist Bruce Marshall; manager Kyle Vezzaro; athletic director Jennifer Brenning; SID David Kent