2008-09 OUA - men - From Naismith to Nash

REGULAR SEASON

EAST				WEST
Carleton	21-1	36-1	Dave Smart	Western	19-3	25-8	Brad Campbell
Ottawa	19-3	32-7	David DeAveiro	Windsor	15-7	21-10	Chris Oliver
Toronto	15-7	20-11	Mike Katz	McMaster	13-9	17-11	Joe Raso
Ryerson	12-10	14-14	Glenn Taylor	Guelph	10-12	11-15	Chris O’Rourke
Queen’s	7-15	10-20	Rob Smart	Waterloo	10-12	16-15	Tom Kieswetter
York	7-15	9-21	Bob Bain	Laurier	9-13	11-20	Peter Campbell
Laurentian	5-17	5-20	Shawn Swords	Brock	8-14	12-14	Ken Murray
RMC	0-22	0-30	Scott James	Lakehead	6-16	10-19	Scott Morrison

Playoff non-qualifiers:

Brock Badgers: Sam Brefo, Andrew Ferguson, Jay Fleming, Mark Francis, Mark Gibson, Jordan Johnson, Joe Kendrick, Ian Mackinnon, Didi Mukendi, Adam Nolar-Maclean, Adam Radoga, Kiel Roberts, Chris Stinson, James Vernon, Owen White, Joel Whitty, Michael Williams, coach Ken Murray

Lakehead Thunderwolves: Greg Carter, Kyle McConnell, Delton Johnson, Jamie Searle, Paul Popo-ola, Andrew Hackner, Dean Magierowski, Zack White, Kiraan Posey, Matt Schmidt, Matthew Powell, Yoosrie Salhia, Andrew Quirion, Brendan King, Aaron Jackson, coach Scott Morrison

Laurentian Voyageurs: Justin Serresse, Mark Ramalho, Logan Dodd, Ben Dance, Matas Tirilis, Alex Whiteman, Mitch Mallette, Bryan Davidson, Jamie Weldon, Paul Kovacs, Andrew Kay, Andrew Lalonde, Georges Serresse, Stephen Williams, David Otterbein, coach Shawn Swords

RMC Paladins: Liam Wright, Mathieu MacDonald, Matthew Wookey, Nicolas Cooke, Gavin Viray-Cox, Michael Baskey, James Byun, Charles Keita, Kwadwo Donkar, Michael Buss, Simon Dakin, Andre Cyr, coach Scott James

In the West quarterfinals, the host McMaster Marauders defeated the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 56-46. In the opening half, McMaster dominated the boards as they broke to a 14-13 lead after one quarter and a 28-26 edge at the half. The Marauders came out strong on the defensive end to start the second half, allowing the visitors only a single basket in the first 5:50 while ripping off a 10-2 run and extended their lead to 38-28. The Marauders extended their lead to 13 before Laurier rallied to within 45-26 after three quarters. Laurier, which twice defeated McMaster during the regular season, rallied within 48-47 with five minutes to play but turned the ball over when they had a chance to take the lead. Marauder guard Aminu Bello knocked down a tough shot, freshman guard Scott Laws stole an errant pass, and guard Tyrell Vernon drained a pair of free throws as McMaster pulled out the win. Marauders coach Joe Raso told the Hamilton Spectator that “our focus tonight was defence. They had put 80 something and 90 points on us, so our focus was the defence. Offensively, it wasn’t pretty but a 48 on defence will win you games. We dodged a bullet.” Mouctar Diaby led McMaster with 15 on 6-10 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 11 boards and 2 steals. Marko Gacic notched 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 15 boards and 2 steals. Jermaine De Costa notched 10 on 5-15 from the floor and 2 blocks. Aminu Bello scored 8 on 4-7 from the floor, 9 boards and 2 steals. Cameron Michaud added 5 and Tyrell Vernon 4 on 1-10 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Scott Laws added 2 on 1-7 from the floor, 3 boards and 4 assists. Andrew Losier, Eric Magdanz, Geoff Mclaughlin, Matthew Wilusz and Brett Day were scoreless. The Marauders hit 24-70 (.343) from the floor, 0-10 from the arc and 8-18 (.444) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 21 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 18 fouls, 17 turnovers, 9 steals and 5 blocks. Andrew Pennycook paced Laurier with 10 on 5-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Matthew Buckley added 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 4-8 from the line, 6 boards and 4 steals. Kale Harrison notched 9 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 5 boards, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Jesse Macdonald scored 4 on 2-14 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 assists. Sharif Wanas scored 4 on 2-2 from the line. Justin Golob added 4 and Evan Schwantz 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 4 boards. Travis Berry added 3, while Nick St. John was scoreless. Golden Hawks coach Peter Campbell said “Mac defended well and controlled the boards on both ends.” Laurier (coached by Peter Campbell, assisted by Andrew MacKay and Alex Urosevic, strength & conditioning Zach Weston, manager Ainsley Dreisinger, manager Jessica Cadenhead, student trainer Britta Badour, chiropractor David Orchard) also included Jordan Hajdu, Conor Meschino, Matt Donnelly, Timothy Siad, Nick St. John and Jamal Mullings. The Golden Hawks hit 20-63 (.317) from the floor, 2-17 (.118) from the arc and 6-15 (.400) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 17 fouls, 17 turnovers, 10 steals and 5 blocks.

In the other West quarterfinal, the Waterloo Warriors defeated the host Guelph Gryphons 71-63 to avenge two regular season losses. There were 8 lead changes and 4 ties over the first 16 minutes before Waterloo closed out the first half on a 10-1 run to take a 35-27 lead. Guelph hit a trey to open the second half but Waterloo soon had a double-digit lead. The Gryphons ripped of an 11-2 run to rally within one. Dan White hit for 8 points early in the fourth as Waterloo went on a 10-2 run for another double-digit lead. With just over four minutes remaining, Guelph threatened again, cutting the margin to four. A Cam McIntyre three made the margin seven. It was the last field goal of the night for Waterloo as Guelph fouls put Waterloo on the line for 12 shots to close out the game. Waterloo hit 10 of those 12 down the stretch as Guelph was unable to narrow the gap. Dan White led Waterloo with 25 on 7-15 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 6-8 from the line and 9 boards. Alan Goodhoofd added 12 on 5-12 from the floor, 2-7 from the line and 7 boards. Cam McIntyre notched 12 on 4-14 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. David Burnett notched 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Jesse Tipping added 6 on 2-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Ben Frisby notched 5 on 2-8 from the floor and 4 boards. Luke Kieswetter scored 2 and Matt Hayes 1. The Warriors hit 24-66 (.364) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 17-26 (.654) from the line, while garnering 35 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 19 fouls, 9 turnovers, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Duncan Milne paced Guelph with 23 on 9-20 from the floor, 5-8 from the line and 7 boards. Michael Petrella added 13 on 5-12 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Nick Pankerichan scored 11 on 5-14 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 4 boards and 5 assists. Jay Mott scored 6 on 2-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Dan McCarthy added 5 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 10 boards and 2 blocks. Charles Agyemang scored 2 on 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Jonathan Moscatelli added 2 and Sheriff Wiredu 1, while Adam Bering, Nick Walters and Christopher Scott were scoreless. Guelph (coached by Chris O’Rourke, assisted by Chris Dooley, Aron Bariagabre and Brad Taylor, trainer Jill Cressman) also included Lawrence Adjei-Okyere, Dimitrios Seymour, Duncan Reid, Cory Shody and Jordan MacNeil. The Gryphons hit 24-68 (.353) from the floor, 4-20 (.200) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 23 fouls, 15 turnovers, 2 steals and 3 blocks.

In the West semis, the host Western Mustangs clipped the Waterloo Warriors 74-62. The Mustangs pulled away when Matt Curtis hit a pair of treys late in the third quarter to shift the momentum. “Nothing really changed in what I was doing, I just happened to start seeing them in,” Curtis said. “I don’t know if we felt any extra pressure, but we realized this is it, nothing is guaranteed with different scenarios, so we just came out harder in the second half. We have a really deep bench, lots of guys on our bench could be starters on other teams in this league.” Brad Smith had 8 of Western’s first 9 points to start the final frame. Although Western took a quick 4-2 lead, the Warriors responded quickly to make it a 16-8 cushion, hitting reliably from outside the arc. Cam McIntyre had seven of the Warriors first 11 points and 11 of their first 20. Waterloo led 25-15 after the first quarter but their perimeter shots stopped falling in the second, which allowed Western to rally within 37-34 at the half. Western outscored the Warriors 18-9 in the third quarter and romped down the stretch as the Warriors repeatedly coughed up the ball. Brad Smith led Western with 26 on 12-22 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 12 boards and 3 assists. Andrew Wedemire added 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 11 boards. Matthew Curtis added 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards and 6 steals. Keenan Jeppesen scored 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Colin Laforme added 4 and Garrett Olexiuk 4 on 2-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Ryan Barbeau added 3 and Jason Milliquet 3, while Alex Brzozowicz was scoreless. The Mustangs hit 28-67 (.418) from the floor, 7-19 (.368) from the arc and 11-18 (.611) from the line, while garnering 51 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 13 fouls, 19 turnovers, 7 steals and 7 blocks. Cam McIntyre led Waterloo with 23 on 10-17 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc and 4 boards. Matt Hayes added 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Alan Goodhoofd notched 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Ben Frisby scored 8 on 4-13 from the floor, 7 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. David Burnett notched 7 on 2-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 4 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Dan White scored 3 and Jesse Tipping 2, while Luke Kieswetter was scoreless. The Warriors (coached by Tom Kieswetter) also included Sinclair Brown, Doug Fisher, Matt Glibota, Jordan Hannah, Kessa Mokenela, Tim Rossy, Cam McIntyre and Brendan Smith. The Warriors hit 24-74 (.324) from the floor, 6-21 (.286) from the arc and 8-12 (.667) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 17 fouls, 12 turnovers, 12 steals and 2 blocks.
In the other West semi, the Windsor Lancers pounded the McMaster Marauders 71-48. The Lancers dominated the paint, leading 10-2 early, 19-13 after one quarter and 37-23 at the half. They quickly their lead to 19 in the second frame after ripping off a 13-0 run when Marauder Mouctar Diaby picked up his fourth foul, and coasted to the easy win. Matt Handsor paced Windsor with 19 on 7-8 from the floor and 5-6 from the arc. Greg Surmacz added 15 on 7-21 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 6 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Nigel Johnson-Tyghter added 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-8 from the line and 6 boards. Isaac Kuon scored 10 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 2 boards. Corey Boswell added 9 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 5 boards and 5 assists. Kevin Cameron added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 3 boards and 2 steals. Andre Smyth scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc, 8 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Matt Day scored 2, while Ellis Ffrench, Tyler Carey, John Woldu and Conor Allin were scoreless. The Lancers hit 24-66 (.364) from the floor, 10-22 (.455) from the arc and 13-21 (.619) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 14 fouls, 19 turnovers, 13 steals and 4 blocks. Lancers coach Chris Oliver said his troops did a good job of “swarming” Marauder Mouctar Diaby. Cameron Michaud paced McMaster with 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards and 4 steals. Jermaine De Costa added 10 on 5-12 from the floor and 3 boards. Mouctar Diaby scored 10 on 4-5 from the floor, 2-3 from the line and 4 boards. Marko Gacic scored 8 on 4-10 from the floor and 9 boards. Tyrell Vernon scored 6 on 2-12 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Scott Laws added 2, while Aminu Bello, Andrew Losier, Eric Magdanz, Geoff McLaughlin, Matthew Wilusz and Brett Day were scoreless. Marauders coach Joe Raso said “no question, Mouctar has to be the focus of what we do. … After that, we were hanging on and the game wass done. … We said to our guys, (Matt Handsor) can knock it down. But telling them and getting them to do it seems to be a whole different thing. We had guys out there playing Russian roulette with it.” The Marauders (coached by Joe Raso, assisted by Justin Gunter) also included Daniel Foster-Roman, Ibriham Bamba, Nathan Pelech, Jordan Tew and Geoff Noble. The Marauders hit 19-61 (.311) from the floor, 4-20 (.200) from the arc and 6-9 (.667) from the line, while garnering 33 boards, including 3 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 18 fouls, 23 turnovers, 11 steals and 1 block.

In the West final, the Western Mustangs whipped the Windsor Lancers 98-66 after leading 26-19, 49-33 and 71-47 at the quarters. Keenan Jeppesen paced Western with 20 on 8-12 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-5 from the line, 11 boards and 5 assists. Alex Brzozwicz added 18 on 6-12 from the floor, 6-10 from the arc and 2 boards. Bradley Smith scored 16 on 7-17 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 8 boards. Matthew Curtis scored 12 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Andrew Wedemire scored 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Ryan Barbeau scored 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 assists. Garrett Olexiuk added 8 on 3-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Colin Laforme scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor and 7 boards. Brett Lawrence added 2 and Jordan Smith 2, while Jason Milliquet was scoreless. The Mustangs hit 37-74 (.500) from the floor, 12-26 (.462) from the arc and 12-21 (.571) from the line, while garnering 49 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 21 assists, 15 fouls, 11 turnovers, 5 steals and 4 blocks. Greg Surmacz paced Windsor with 22 on 9-20 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 8 boards. Nigel Johnson-Tyghter added 11 on 2-4 from the floor, 7-8 from the line and 6 boards. Isaac Kuon added 9 on 4-13 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Corey Boswell added 6 on 2-5 from the floor and 4 assists. Kevin Cameron added 4, Tyler Carey 4, Matt Handsor 3, John Woldu 2, Andre Smyth 2, Matt Day 2 and Monty Hardware 1, while Conor Allin was scoreless. The Lancers (coached by Chris Oliver, assisted by Barry Amlin) also included Ellis Ffrench and Steve Priolo. The Lancers hit 24-65 (.369) from the floor, 6-18 from the arc and 12-17 (.706) from the line, while garnering 30 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 20 fouls, 10 turnovers, 5 steals and 3 blocks.

In the East quarterfinals, Toronto clipped Queen’s 63-48. The score was knotted at 14 after one quarter. Queen’s led 29-27 at the half. Toronto led 47-38 after three quarters. Ahmed Nazmi led Toronto with 14 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 11 boards. Rob Paris added 11 on 4-16 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nick Snow notched 11 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 15 boards and 3 steals. Anthony DeGiorgio scored 9 on 2-9 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 3 boards. Patrick Sewell scored 6 on 2-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 9 boards. Drazen Glisci scored 6 on 3-3 from the floor. Nick Magalas scored 4 on 0-6 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Jahmal McQueen notched 2, while Ben Garvin, Justin Holmes, Evaristus Toby and Andrew Wasik were scoreless. The Varsity Blues hit 21-67 (.313) from the floor, 5-26 (.192) from the arc and 16-20 (.800) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 14 fouls, 9 turnovers, 9 steals and 3 blocks. Robert Shaw led Queen’s with 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 3 assists. Baris Ondul added 9 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 5 boards. Daniel Bannister notched 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Timothy Boyle scored 6 on 3-4 from the floor and 6 boards. Scott Stinson added 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 4 boards. Bernard Bergesson scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 4 boards and 2 steals. Ryan Hairsine scored 4 on 1-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Nick Didonato added 2 while Kurtis Lawes was scoreless. The Gaels (coached by Rob Smart, assisted by Duncan Cowan and Grant Campbell) also included Oliver Friesen, Patrick Beswick, Alexander Murphy, Michel Leger, Jon Ogden, Matt Johnston, Jeffrey Lightburn and Andrew Rasmussen. The Golden Gaels hit 20-65 (.308) from the floor, 3-24 (.125) from the arc and 5-11 (.455) from the line, while garnering 40 boards, including 10 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 20 fouls, 13 turnovers and 5 steals.

In the other East quarterfinal, the York Lions stunned the Ryerson Rams 71-69. The Lions led 17-15 after one quarter and 37-33 at the half but railed 55-49 after three quarters. Tut Ruach led York with 22 on the 7-17 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. David Tyndale added 16 on 7-15 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and 2 steals. John Lafontaine notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor and 2-6 from the arc. Stefan Haynes scored 9 on 1-9 from the floor, 7-7 from the line, 7 boards and 4 blocks. Vadim Razenberg scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 11 boards and 2 blocks. Malike Diaz-Mercurius added 4, Azaz Awan 4 and Kenneth Buchanan 2, while Tyler Anderson was scoreless. The Lions hit 25-62 (.403) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 15-19 (.789) from the line, while garnering 34 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 19 fouls, 16 turnovers, 9 steals and 8 blocks. Boris Bakovic paced Ryerson with 25 on 10-23 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 11 boards and 3 steals. Ryan McNeilly added 15 on 6-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 steals. Joseph Imbrogno scored 14 on 7-15 from the floor, 17 boards, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Afeworki Gebrekerestos notched 7 on 2-8 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 6 boards. Madhav Trivedi added 5 and N’kruma Hylton 3 on 1-7 from the floor, 3 boards and 4 assists. Chris Blouin, Josh Budd and Akim Brown were scoreless. The Rams (coached by Glenn Taylor) also included Kwabena Akenteng, Steve Williams, Corey May, Scott Neil, Arsalan Jamil, Teddy Tochev and Matthew Cupido. The Rams hit 27-74 (.365) from the floor, 4-16 (.250) from the arc and 11-19 (.579) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 20 fouls, 17 turnovers, 11 steals and 5 blocks. Rams forward Boris Bakovic told The Eyeopener that “I thought we were the better team against York, but they just made more plays down the stretch.” Trailing by two points, Bakovic missed a key free throw that could have brought the Rams within one point of York. Ryerson got another chance when York missed two free throws with six seconds remaining, but guard Afeworki Gebrekerestos didn’t make the buzzer-beater. Joey Imbrogno said “we competed well, but we never capitalized on our opportunities, which would have put the Lions down for good.” Rams coach Glenn Taylor called it a “disappointing” loss. “York was and still is on an upswing and we were in a downswing (losing four of five games heading into the playoffs.) I thought we were capable of making the semi-finals. … What haunted us was our shooting percentage and free-throws. The things that we were proficient at doing in the regular season were lost in translation.”

In the East semis, Ottawa dusted Toronto 96-81. In terms of demonstrating a will to win, no game was bigger for the host Gee-Gees. They’d twice beaten Toronto during the regular season, so the likelihood of it becoming an ambush game, because of Gee-Gees overconfidence, was extremely high. The Blues had really nothing to lose and could play loose. The Gee-Gees, though, handled all the expectations, shook off the jitters and found the requisite will. Point guard Josh Wright said resolve proved the difference. “We came out with a lot of energy. We just had to focus it in the right direction and eventually we did that. The key thing was just to be patient, not try to force things and let the game come to us.” The Blues built a 24-19 lead after one quarter by beating the Gee-Gees down the floor in transition and outhustling them for loose balls. But Ottawa stiffened its defence and began boxing out on the defensive boards, while Wright took total command of the floor, using his superior speed to attack with the penetration dribble and finding the open perimeter shooters and perfect entry passes into the post to rally Ottawa. The Gee-Gees tied the score at 29 and then blew the match open with a 14-2 run. With Dax Dessereault finally getting on track in the post and Josh Gibson-Bascombe nailing jumpers, the Gee-Gees extended their lead to 50-34 at the half. The Varsity Blues had no defensive answer for Wright as the Gee-Gees put the outcome well out of Toronto’s reach early in the second half and coach David DeAveiro began to explore the depth of his bench. “They came out with a little more intensity but in the second quarter we got down our defensive stance and really focused,” said Gibson-Bascombe. Gibson-Bascombe added the Gee-Gees offence is also starting to come together. “Coach has really been stressing in practice that we keep the ball moving, from side to side, be sharp mentally, make quick decisions and it showed in this game. Everyone got touches and everyone was aggressive and everything just worked.” DeAveiro said Wright is starting the run the offence with aplomb. “Josh has a habit of trying, because he’s such a great player, of trying to take control of games by himself, and not trusting our offence. Today, he gave the ball up, ran our offence, picked his spots. He was unbelievable tonight.” Toronto coach Mike Katz said “their two guards are two of the best in the country. When they play like that they are hard to beat.” Josh Gibson-Bascombe paced Ottawa with 28 on 8-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 8-8 from the line, 9 boards and 5 assists. Josh Wright added 26 on 10-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 6 boards and 6 assists. Dax Dessureault notched 11 on 3-10 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 blocks. Nemanja Baletic added 7 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 5 boards. Jacob Gibson-Bascombe scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 steals. Donnie Gibson scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor. Warren Ward added 5 and David Labentowicz 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 4 boards. Louis Gauthier added 1 on 2-5 from the floor and 5 boards. Marvin Bazile, Max Clarkson and Bojan Dodik were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 32-66 (.485) from the floor, 10-21 (.476) from the arc and 22-27 (.815) from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 10 turnovers, 7 steals and 5 blocks. Ahmed Nazmi paced Toronto with 6-8 from the floor, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Nick Snow added 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 6 boards. Rob Paris added 12 on 3-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Drazen Glisic scored 10 on 3-4 from the floor, 4-4 from the line and 5 boards. Anthony DeGiorgio scored 9 on 3-4 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 assists. Jahmel McQueen scored 5 and Patrick Sewell 4 on 1-9 from the floor and 7 boards. Evaristus Toby added 4, Andrew Wasik 3, Nick Magalas 3 and Justin Holmes 2, while Ben Garvin was scoreless. The Blues (coached by Mike Katz, assisted by Rick Dilena, Jama Mahlalela, Andrew Summerville, Ben Katz and Mike De Giorgio) also included Sebastian Magalas, Patryk Moskal and Arun Kumar. The Blues hit 27-66 (.409) from the floor, 8-23 (.348) from the arc and 19-26 (.731) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 18 fouls, 10 turnovers, 4 steals and 3 blocks.

In the other East semi, the Carleton Ravens stomped the York Lions 105-57. The Ravens led 50-27 at the half and 82-44 after three quarters. “We played reasonably well. We’ve got some things that we need to take care of and it will be a good test on Wednesday. It’s still a preparation game for the national championship,” coach Dave Smart said. Point guard Mike Kenny said “we knew it wasn’t going to be easy so we came out ready and put them away early which was good. Trying to keep that lead where it was at, or even push it, was a good thing because it gave the bench guys a chance to get in and get some experience in the playoffs, which was good too.” Stuart Turnbull noted that “teams like this, if they gain confidence early, it can be tough but they didn’t. York’s not used to seeing good, solid defence, I don’t think, so I’m not sure they were necessarily ready for it.” Mike Kenny paced Carleton with 21 on 7-10 from the arc. Stuart Turnbull added 18 on 7-14 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Aaron Doornekamp scored 16 n 7-13 from the floor, 2-4 from the line, 9 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals. Kevin McCleery scored 12 on 6-11 from the floor and 6 boards. Robert Saunders scored 12 on 4-7 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Aaron Chapman scored 7 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 assists. Luke Chapman scored 6 on 2-2 from the floor. Anthony Ashe added 5 and Elliot Thompson 3 on 1-4 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 steals. Kyle Smendziuk added 2, Derek McConnery 2 and Cole Hobin 1. The Ravens hit 41-77 (.532) from the floor, 14-27 (.519) from the arc and 9-18 from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 24 fouls, 13 turnovers, 14 steals and 2 blocks. Tut Ruach led York with 16 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-5 from the line and 2 steals. Stefan Haynes added 16 on 6-12 from the floor, 4-7 from the line, 6 boards and 5 blocks. Vadim Razenberg scored 5 on 1-5 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 6 boards and 2 seals. David Tyndale added 5 on 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 4 boards. Rieko Ruach notched 4, Azaz Awan 3, John Lafontaine 3, Kenneth Buchanan 2, Tyler Anderson 2 and Malik Diaz-Mercurius 1, while Chad Bewley and Rohan Brown were scoreless. The Lions (coached by Bob Bain, assisted by Tom Oliveri and Chris Cheng) also included Dalton Olinoski, Alex Gurba and Tyler Anderson.

There’s really nothing mystical about what the Carleton Ravens do to opponents. They chase down rebound after rebound, stand Rottweiler-strong on defence, scramble for loose balls and force teams into making bad decisions or taking bad shots. It has become a tried-and-true formula for the Ravens and it again proved the difference as they captured their seventh OUA East men’s basketball title in nine years by spanking the Ottawa Gee-Gees 82-61 in the East final. OUA East defensive player of the year Rob Saunders said the Ravens simply got back to basics on defence against the Gee-Gees. “That’s what we try to make our staple. If it wasn’t our defence, we’d be in trouble.” A pair of three-pointers by Donnie Gibson helped give the Gee-Gees a 9-2 lead, but the Ravens ratcheted their defensive intensity and began pounding the ball inside to Aaron Doornekamp or Kevin McCleery, exploiting Ottawa’s indifferent post defence on the way to an 18-14 lead. With the Gee-Gees forcing bad shots and apparently reluctant to share the ball, Carleton kept dissecting Ottawa in the post, ripping off a 10-0 run and building a 44-29 lead by half-time. The Ravens’ defence continued to befuddle the Gee-Gees after the break, and Carleton expanded its lead to 20 points. With Carleton’s maintaining its defensive intensity, Ottawa was unable to mount much in the way of a rally. Doornekamp said the Ravens were determined to maintain their focus and intensity in preparation for the nationals. “We got things going a bit. We got some decent match-ups, but the thing is that we’ve got to get better every game. We gotta get better. I felt like we did a lot of good things (Wednesday), but it means nothing if we all come in and don’t work in practice.” Coach Dave Smart said the Ravens were able to exploit inside mismatches. “The thing that Kyle (Smendziuk) has been getting better at, and Aaron has always been pretty good at, is passing out of the post. So, because of that, it becomes a situation that, if you double down, guys get open shots. If you don’t double, then it’s one-on-one and they’re pretty good one-on one.” Smart added that his troops defensive rotations had been solid. “We had to make some adjustments, but our guys did a decent job of shutting them down.” Aaron Doornekamp paced Carleton with 25 on 9-15 from the floor, 7-7 from the line, 9 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. Kevin McCleery added 17 on 8-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Rob Saunders added 11 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 4 boards. Mike Kenny scored 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Stuart Turnbull scored 6 on 2-16 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Cole Hobin added 5 on 1-3 from the floor, 3-6 from the line and 4 boards. Eliot Thompson added 3, Anthony Ashe 3 and Aaron Chapman 1, while Kyle Smendziuk and Luke Chapman were scoreless. The Ravens hit 31-64 (.484) from the floor, 6-18 (.333) from the arc and 14-19 (.737) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 20 fouls, 10 turnovers, 7 steals and 1 block. Josh Wright paced the Gee-Gees with 13 on 5-16 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Dax Dessureault added 12 on 4-5 from the floor, 4-6 from the line and 4 boards. Warren Ward scored 8 on 4-9 from the floor and 4 boards. Josh Gibson-Bascombe scored 7 on 2-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Donnie Gibson scored 6 on 2-3 from the arc. Jacob Gibson-Bascombe scored 6 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. David Labentowicz added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Nemanja Baletic added 2, Max Clarkson 2 and Louis Gauthier 2, while Marvin Bazile and Bojan Dodik were scoreless. The Gee-Gees (coached by David DeAveiro) also included Ibrahim Faysial, Jordan Vig, Matt Michaud and Vlad Pislaru. The Gee-Gees hit 23-51 (.451) from the floor, 5-14 (.357) from the arc and 10-18 (.556) from the line, while garnering 24 boards, including 5 on the offensive glass, 11 assists, 19 fouls, 13 turnovers, 6 steals and 2 blocks.

In the Wilson Cup bronze medal match, the host University of Ottawa Gee-Gees clipped the Windsor Lancers 73-59 to qualify for their third appears in the CIS nationals in the last five years at CIS nationals, and seventh in the now 47-year history of the tournament. The third-ranked Gee-Gees played with a measure of discipline and another of anger over their embarrassing 82-61 loss to the Carleton Ravens in the semis. “We were determined to bounce back from the tough loss the Carleton,” said Josh Gibson-Bascombe. “We worked hard all year and we weren’t going to let this opportunity slip away from us. We did a good job of running our offence down the stretch.” Fifth year senior Dax Dessereault, who dominated the second half, said: “I just didn’t want to go out in my final year without making nationals. Coach has been preaching mental toughness and in the second half, we just tried to stay strong and do what we do.” The Gee-Gees broke to an early 9-2 lead by pounding the ball inside to Dessureault and later extended the margin to double digits as Gibson-Bascombe kept drilling perimeter jumpers and the Lancers appeared prone to forcing bad shots rather than sharing the ball. But the Gee-Gees soon lost their focus, allowing Greg Surmacz to hit a series of tough runners as Windsor rallied within 34-29 at the half. Dessureault began threading perfect passes out of the post to cutters in the second half and Josh Wright began nailing treys as the Gee-Gees quickly rebuilt a 14-point lead. But again, the Gee-Gees eased off the pedal, and Surmacz and Matt Handsor nailed treys to trim the margin to 57-52. Dessureault had the answers, though, posting-up for a bucket and delivered a pair of feeds to set up teammates for layups and down the stretch, the Gee-Gees demonstrated their poise. Coach David DeAveiro was elated with the Gee-Gees discipline, maturity and focus. “When we do that, we get good results.” Windsor coach Chris Oliver lamented his troop’s poor shooting. “You can’t win if you don’t make some shots.” Josh Gibson-Bascombe paced Ottawa with 24 on 8-19 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 9 boards. Dax Dessureault added 15 on 6-12 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards, 5 assists and 5 blocks. Josh Wright added 12 on 4-11 from the floor, 3-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 4 assists. Nemanja Baletic added 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. David Labentowicz scored 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 10 boards. Louis Gauthier added 4 and Donnie Gibson 3 on 1-4 from the arc and 4 boards. Jacob Gibson-Bascombe added 2 and Warren Ward 2, while Marvin Bazile, Bojan Dodik, Max Clarkson, Tyler Noble, Matt Michaud, Faysal Ibrahim, Loic Rwigema, Vlad Pislaru and Jordan Vig were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 27-68 (.397) from the floor, 8-22 (.364) from the arc and 11-13 (.846) from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 18 fouls, 12 turnovers, 5 steals and 5 blocks. Greg Surmacz paced Windsor with 16 on 7-22 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 8 boards. Nigel Johnson-Tyghter added 14 on 4-13 from the floor, 6-11 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Isaac Kuon added 10 on 4-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 5 boards. Corey Boswell added 7 on 3-8 from the floor. Matt Handsor scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor and 3 boards. Andre Smyth added 4 on 2-3 from the floor and 5 boards. Kevin Cameron scored 2, while Josh Woldu, Matt Day, Conor Allin, Monty Hardware, Ellis Ffrench, Tyler Carey and Steve Priolo were scoreless. The Lancers hit 23-71 (.324) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 8-17 (.471) from the floor, while garnering 41 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 9 assists, 15 fouls, 10 turnovers, 6 steals and 4 blocks.

In the Wilson Cup, the Carleton Ravens squashed the host Western Mustangs 71-57 to capture their fifth OUAA title in seven years. The Ravens retained their wits in the face of somewhat uncommon officiating and used their trademark sticky defence to force Western into a series of ill-advised, off-balance shots, often against an expiring shot clock. Western broke to a slim early lead by aggressively crashing the offensive glass before Stuart Turnbull, Mike Kenny and Aaron Doornekamp nailed three pointers to give Carleton a 19-10 lead. Carleton maintained a comfortable 33-23 lead at the half and then stretched its edge to as many as 19 by pounding the ball inside to post Kevin McCleery and capitalizing on stellar putback rebounds from Rob Saunders. Western briefly rallied to within 11 as the officials kept parading Mustangs to the foul line but the Ravens maintained their composure and Turnbull nailed a trey, along with a 14-foot baseline jumper to completely flatten Mustang hopes of anything resembling a stretch rally. Ravens coach Dave Smart said his troops defended with the level of intensity that they’ll need if they’re to make a deep run at nationals. “It’s a credit to how hard they played, in a game that really doesn’t matter in the big scheme of things. It’s a credit to our kids that they defended the way they did for 40 minutes. Even the few good looks that Western got came out of “uncomfortable situations, so sometimes, even though they’re good looks, their feet weren’t as ready as they normally would be. Obviously, we were a little fragmented offensively. We need to get a little smoother and make sure we’re getting some better looks than we’re getting now. But in fairness to Western, they do a good job of taking you out of yourself too. They’re big and strong and pretty quick.” Bradley Smith paced Western with 16 on 5-17 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 5 boards and 2 blocks. Keenan Jeppesen added 14 on 6-14 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 11 boards, 2 assists an d2 blocks. Garrett Olexiuk notched 9 on 4-8 from the floor and 1-1 from the line. Alex Brozozowicz added 5, Ryan Barbeau 5 and Andrew Wedemire 3 on 3-8 from the line and 5 boards. Jason Milliquet scored 2 and Matthew Curtis 2 on 0-8 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 6 boards and 6 assists. Colin Laforme was scoreless. The Mustangs hit 19-65 (.292) from the floor, 4-21 (.190) from the arc and 15-22 (.682) from the line, while garnering 28 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 20 fouls, 9 turnovers, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Stuart Turnbull paced Carleton with 19 on 6-17 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 8 boards. Kevin McCleery added 11 on 5-15 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 7 boards. Rob Saunders notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 2 blocks. Aaron Doornekamp added 8 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 9 boards. Kyle Smendziuk scored 6 on 2-3 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Elliot Thompson added 6 on 2-3 from the floor. Mike Kenny scored 6 on 2-4 from the arc, 4 boards and 5 assists. Cole Hobin scored 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 6 boards. Luke Chapman and Aaron Chapman were scoreless. The Ravens hit 24-62 (.387) from the floor, 7-23 (.304) from the arc and 16-21 (.762) from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 21 fouls, 12 turnovers, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

After the season, Glenn Taylor is fired at Ryerson, i.e, placed on paid leave, with terms undisclosed. He is replaced by Toronto Eastern Commerce Collegiate coach Roy Rana, who also coached the Canadian cadet (under-17) team at the 2009 World qualifying team. Rana led the Saints to five OFSAA titles. “We are pleased to welcome a coach of Roy Rana’s calibre to Ryerson,” said director of athletics Ivan Joseph. “He has built a legacy at the high school level and has a proven track record of success everywhere he has gone.” Rana said “I’m excited. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity. Obviously, this university has a lot of talent and is an emerging program in the OUA and CIS. I’m honoured to be at the helm and hopefully leading it to future success. I think for us it’s really going to be about taking positive steps forward, and giving ourselves the opportunity to make the playoffs consistently every year. And once we’re there giving ourselves the chance to play for an OUA championship and a trip to nationals. That’s the goal. We’re going to take it step-by-step, and we’re going to build a program that is consistent in its success.” Rana also won nine Toronto South league titles and five city championships with the Saints. At the provincial level, Rana has led the Ontario juvenile men’s team to gold three times, claiming titles at the 2005 Canada Summer Games and the 2003 and 2004 national championships. “We were drawn to him by his international experience and ties to the local community,” Joseph said of Rana. “We’ve always believed that basketball has been a hidden gem at Ryerson, and we feel that his hiring is the next step in our continued efforts to build the Ryerson basketball program.”

The bronze medalist Ottawa Gee-Gees: Josh Gibson-Bascombe; Dax Dessureault; Josh Wright; Nemanja Baletic; David Labentowicz; Louis Gauthier; Donnie Gibson; Jacob Gibson-Bascombe; Warren Ward; Marvin Bazile; Bojan Dodik; Max Clarkson; Tyler Noble; Matt Michaud; Faisal Ibrahim; Loic Rwigema; Vlad Pislaru; Jordan Vig; coach David DeAveiro

The runner-up Western Mustangs: Matthew Curtis, Bradley Smith, Keenan Jeppesen, Andrew Wedemire, Ryan Barbeau, Jason Milliquet, Garrett Olexiuk, Alex Brzozowicz, Colin LaForme; Brett Lawrence, Jordan Smith; Glenn Gravengard; Joshua Windsor; Mike Folker; coach Brad Campbell; assistant Matt Tweedie; assistant John Curcio; trainer Jason Smith; trainer Luke Cruickshank; manager Quinn Mcdonnell-Gordon; graduate assistant Michael Copobianco; strength and conditioning Jeff Watson; alumni relations Renee Mahoney; athletic director Chuck Mathies; SID Andy Watson

The champion Carleton Ravens: Stuart Turnbull; Rob Saunders; Kevin McCleery; Mike Kenny; Aaron Doornekamp; Eliot Thompson; Kyle Smendziuk; Cole Hobin; Aaron Chapman; Luke Chapman; Dan Penner; Derek McConnery; Anthony Ashe; Kevin Churchill; Jesse Duodo; Gael Kanza; Dominique Lubin; Nathaniel Timm; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Mark McMahon; assistant Shawn McCleery; manager Aaron Blakely; therapist Bruce Marshall; manager Kyle Vezzaro; manager Ben Ryan; athletic director Jen Brenning, SID David Kent