REGULAR SEASON
| EAST | WEST | ||||||||
| Carleton | 22-0 | 33-1 | Dave Smart | McMaster | 18-4 | 25-9 | Amos Connolly | ||
| Ottawa | 20-2 | 36-3 | James Derouin | Windsor | 16-6 | 20-8 | Chris Oliver | ||
| Ryerson | 16-6 | 23-7 | Roy Rana | Laurier | 10-12 | 15-17 | Peter Campbell | ||
| Laurentian | 12-10 | 15-11 | Shawn Swords | Lakehead | 9-13 | 14-19 | Matt Erdmann | ||
| York | 11-11 | 14-15 | Tom Oliveri | Western | 8-14 | 10-18 | Brad Campbell | ||
| Queen’s | 10-12 | 13-19 | Stephan Barre | Guelph | 6-16 | 8-19 | Chris O’Rourke | ||
| Algoma | 5-17 | 5-23 | Thomas Cory | Waterloo | 5-17 | 7-18 | Greg Francis | ||
| Toronto | 4-18 | 8-21 | John Campbell | Brock | 4-18 | 8-23 | Charles Kissi | ||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Algoma Thunderbirds: Marcus Davis, Reynaldo Crnakie, Jimmy Bilenga, Andre Barber, Brett Zufelt, Jonathan Gordon, Jamal Mucket-Soberts, Sean Clendinning, Terrell Campbell, Gurpreet Devin Brar, Michael Ranger, Joseph Tubbs, Cailum White, Samy Mohamed, Keith Goldin, Tristan Forbes, coach Thomas Cory, assistant James Tusingwire, assistant Matt Oliveira, assistant Josh Pallot
Brock Badgers: Issack Egueh, Adeel Sahibzada, Oliver McMayoni, Jay Fast, Tshing Ksamba, Josh Johnson, Dani Elgadi, Jovan Bailey, Nathaniel Gardner, Jeremy Angelini, Sanele Mlotshwa, Rashad Morley, C.J. Smith, Brandon John, Ryan Flanagan, Christopher Milewicz, coach Charles Kissi, assistant Joel Whitty, assistant Brian Mulligan
Toronto Varsity Blues: Nicholas Burke, Dylan Churchill, Matt Savel, Mile Pajovic, Devin Johnson, Denis Ankrah, Manny Sahota, Jake Hagen, Laszlo Schuetz, Chase Ruttenberg, Adam Plummer, Alejandro Prescott-Cornejo, Nick Irvine, Alex Hill, Dakota Laurin, coach John Campbell, assistant Mike De Giorgio, assistant Sheldon Cassimy, assistant Ryan Robinett, assistant Fred Perry, strength & conditioning Adrian Lightowler, strength & conditioning Jesse Assing, therapist Nirtal Shah, student therapist Niko Mullings, student therapist Boaz Law, student therapist Contessa Giontsis
Waterloo
Warriors: Wayne Bridge, Jaspreet Gill, Myles Charvis, Yohan Bugnion, Wells
Davis, Matt Glibota, Elimane Diallo, Mark Peterson, Zachary Folger-Laronde, Mike
Helsby, Peter Holder, Milos Jovkovic, Mike Pereira, David Uponi, coach Greg
Francis, assistant Fatih Akser, assistant Tarry Upshaw, assistant Chad
McPherson, assistant Ian Morse, assistant Shane Nicely, assistant John Hood
In the East quarterfinals, the
3rd-seeded Ryerson Rams clipped the 6th-seeded Queen’s Gaels 86-76. Ryerson led
21-16 after one quarter on a Bjorn Michaelsen finish off a clever feed from
Jahmal Jones. But Queen’s rallied with an 11-2 run to take a 27-25 lead. The
Rams countered with a 10-0 run as they built their lead to 38-33 at the half.
They broke open the game with a dominant 29-19 performance in the third
quarter. Ryerson led by as many as 20 before a late rally drew the Gaels within
80-72 with 1:40 to play. Jones shut the door with four consecutive points. “Down
the stretch we made some very good decisions, I thought we played unselfishly,”
said Rams coach Roy Rana. “They gave us a good game but that’s what playoff
basketball is all about; we got the win and that’s the most important thing. I think
it says a lot about these guys. Four years in a row now to get to this stage
and go beyond. They’ve been pretty consistent in their effort and performance
and it’s a good result for us tonight.” Ram forward Aaron Best said “we’re just
two teams that (it) always comes down to us or them, really, when it comes to getting
to the Final Four. In my first year we sent them home, in my second year they
sent us home so now it’s just a matter of…doing the little things to put
ourselves in a position to win.” Jahmal Jones paced the Rams with 20 on 7-13
from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 2 boards and 7 assists.
Adeika Peter-McNeilly notched 17 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 5-6
from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Kadeem Green added 13 on 6-11 from the
floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-3 from the line and 8 boards. Aaron Best notched 13
on 5-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 4
assists. Jordan Gauthier scored 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3-4
from the line and 5 boards. Jean-Victor Mukama added 5 on 2-3 from the floor,
1-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Juwon Grannum scored 4 on 2-3 from the floor and
Bjorn Michaelsen 4 on 1-2 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards, while
Adam Voll and Yannick Walcott were scoreless. The Rams hit 31-64 (.484) from
the floor, 9-21 (.429) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 34
boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks and
14 turnovers. Roshane Roberts paced the Gaels with 20 on 8-18 from the floor,
1-9 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Nikola
Misljencevic added 19 on 6-18 from the floor, 4-7 from the arc, 3-3 from the line,
4 boards and 2 assists. Sukhpreet Singh notched 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-5
from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 6 assists. Mackenzie Simpson
added 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 8 boards
and 2 assists. Andrew Mavety scored 8 on 3-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc and
2 assists. Mike Shoveller added 6 on 3-3 from the floor and 5 boards, while
Patrick Street, Milan Mitrovic and Ryall Stroud were scoreless. Stroud nabbed 2
boards. The Gaels hit 28-62 (.452) from the floor, 12-27 (.444) from the arc
and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 4 on the
offensive glass, 17 assists, 5 steals, 1 block, 13 turnovers and 21 fouls. The
Gaels (coached by Stephan Barrie, assisted by Chris Aim and Goce Andrevski)
also included Mike Mullins, Matt Kerkhoff, Christian Weisbrod, Greg Faulkner,
Mark Paclibar and Cy Samuels.
In the other East quarterfinal, the 4th-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs edged the 5th-seeded York Lions 86-85. The Lions trailed 71-58 after three quarters but staged a furious rally in the fourth, going on a 15-0 run to turn a 78-64 deficit into a 79-78 lead with just over two minutes remaining. York rookie guard Nathan Culbreath hit a bucket with 23 seconds to play to give the Lions an 85-84 lead, but the Voyageurs called a timeout and Tychon Carter-Newman notched a layup with one second left as Laurentian pulled out the win. The Lions led 27-21 after one quarter but Voyageurs Carter-Newman, Ryan Bennett and Alex Ratte gunned Laurentian to within four in the second quarter. Two seals for runout layups knotted the score and then Carter-Newman hit a bucket and Ratte another trey to give Laurentian a 45-40 lead at the half. They patiently built their lead to double-digits but then began tossing the ball away, allowing York to rally down the stretch. Tychon Carter-Newman paced the Voyageurs with 24 on 9-12 from the floor, 6-9 from the line, 9 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Alex Ratte added 20 on 8-24 from the floor, 4-11 from the arc, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Josh Budd notched 13 on 4-14 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 6 assists and 4 steals. David Aromolaran added 10 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. Ryan Bennett scored 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 2 boards. Darcy Watt added 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 2 boards. Sam Hirst added 3, while Gherick Uneau scored 2 on 1-2 from the floor, 4 boards and 3 assists. The Voyageurs hit 32-72 (.444) from the floor, 10-27 (.370) from the arc and 12-16 (.750) from the line, while garnering 21 boards, including 7 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 10 steals, 5 blocks, 12 turnovers and 21 fouls. Nick Tufegdzich paced the Lions with 24 on 10-13 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-6 from the line and 10 boards. Nathan Culbreath added 17 on 6-11 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Ryan Ejim added 15 on 4-16 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 12 boards and 2 assists. Phillip Cunningham-Gillen notched 7 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 5-5 from the line. Nidun Chandrakumar added 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3 boards and 6 assists. Richard Iheadindu scored 6 on 3-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 3 boards. Aaron Rados added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 7 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Matthew Ziobrowski scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line and 5 boards, while Zach Shaban was scoreless. The Lions hit 31-65 (.477) from the floor, 2-9 (.222) from the arc and 21-25 (.840) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 8 steals, 1 block, 22 turnovers and 17 fouls. The Lions (coached by Tom Oliveri, assisted by Gerard Carlse, Jay McNeilly, Darrell Glenn, Socrates Larrieux, Roshan Canagasaby and Warren Williams, student therapist John Carnevale, assistant student therapist Kevin Halford) also included Raheem Isaac, Matt Ravida, Chris Oppong, Ryan Ejim, Andrew Melbourne, Vlad Velici, Berkan Basmergen, Daniel Tulloch, Nana Adu-Poku, Gehrig Carlse, Jayden Frederick, Daniel Levy, Julio Vasquez and Brian Viscara.
In the West quarterfinals, the 5th-seeded Western Mustangs stunned the 4th-seeded Lakehead Thunderwolves 68-65. Mustang guard Quinn Henderson with a clutch trey with 24 seconds remaining on the clock to give Western a lead and Peter Scholtes iced the win with a pair of free throws. The first half was a back and forth affair that featured 13 of the game’s 15 lead changes with neither team holding a lead larger than six points during the first two quarters. Western led 19-18 after one quarter and 34-31 at the half. Lakehead opened the second half with a 19-4 run before Scholtes hit a jump shot and George Johnson hit four straight free throws to stem the bleeding. Western ended the third quarter with a 10-5 run to cut the Lakehead lead to 55-50. With both teams trading points in the final quarter the Mustangs slowly closed the gap. With the score at 65-60, Lakehead missed a bunny layup and Western returned down the floor with a 3-point play to make it a 2-point game again with under 3 minutes to play. Lakehead didn’t score again. Lakehead interim coach Matt Erdman said “it’s a tough pill to swallow having a lead and letting it slip away at the very end. Considering we shot 50% from the floor, it was the 20 turnovers that killed us. I’m proud of this group and feel bad it ended like this. We have built a great foundation moving forward and regardless of how it feels right now, these guys did a great job in a very tough situation this year.” Greg Morrow paced the Mustangs with 14 on 7-14 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. George Johnson added 13 on 3-5 from the floor, 7-7 from the line, 2 boards and 3 assists. Quinn Henderson notched 12 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Peter Scholtes scored 12 on 5-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Rashayne Case notched 10 on 5-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-1 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Eric McDonald added 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists, while Anthony Spiridis scored 1. The Mustangs hit 26-55 (.473) from the floor, 4-10 from the arc and 12-15 (.800) from the line, while garnering 18 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 10 seals, 15 turnovers and 15 fouls. Jamar Coke paced the Thunderwolves with 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Ibor Lebov added 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Anthony McIntosh notched 10 on 5-7 from the floor and 3 boards. Henry Tan scored 9 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 4-4 from the line and 3 boards. Alexandre Robichaud added 7 on 3-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Dwayne Harvey notched 6 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards and 6 assists. Justin Bell added 6 on 3-8 from the floor and 3 boards, while Josh Bell and Mitchell Hearn were scoreless. The Thunderwolves hit 25-50 from the floor, 5-10 from the arc and 10-14 (.714) from the line, while garnering 29 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, 20 turnovers and 22 fouls. The Thunderwolves (coached by interim mentor Matt Erdman, assisted by Mark English, player development Pat Charlebois, player development Jamie Searle, analytics Christian Mustapid, strength & conditioning Adam Kates) also included Joseph Nitychoruk, Nathan Wainwright, Ryan Thomson, Brandon Myketa, Brent Wallace, Andrew McCarthy and Nolan MacKenzie.
In the other West quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks dumped the 6th-seeded Guelph Gryphons 94-83. The score was knotted at 18 after one quarter. The Golden Hawks led 48-36 at the half and 73-56 after three quarters as they notched their first playoff victory in three years. “It was nice, we needed that,” said senior Max Allin. “We worked too hard all year to get the third spot and to throw it away like that [in the past], we couldn’t do that so we’re ready for Saturday. I loved it here for the last five years. Going out on a good note like this is a good finish.” Rookie forward Jack Simmons added that “if we can push the ball, Max and Will [Coulthard] get a lot of shots, and that opens up my shots. When those guys are playing well, I get a lot of open shots and easy layups, easy dunks, which makes it easy for me.” Will Coulthard paced the Golden Hawks with 27 on 9-16 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 5-9 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Max Allin added 23 on 8-18 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 13 boards and 3 assists. Jack Simmons notched 21 on 8-14 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5-8 from the line and 4 boards. Garrison Thomas scored 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 7 boards. Jamar Forde added 8 on 3-12 from the floor, 2-3 from the line, 10 boards, 2 assists and 2 blocks. James Agyeman notched 2 on 0-1 from the floor, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 4 assists. Matthew Chesson added 2, along with 2 boards, and Patrick Donnelly 2, while Michael Grantis, Vladimir Matovic, Owen Coulthard and Simon Polan-Couillard were scoreless. Grantis nabbed 4 boards. The Golden Hawks hit 33-70 (.471) from the floor, 6-15 (.400) from the arc and 22-34 (.647) from the line, while garnering 54 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 2 steals, 6 blocks, 15 turnovers and 22 fouls. Zachary Angus paced the Gryphons with 23 on 8-15 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 5 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Taylor Boers on 3-17 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 6-7 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Daniel Dooley notched 12 on 4-13 from the floor, 2-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 2 steals. Michel Clark scored 8 on 2-5 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-3 from the line and 8 boards. Jonathan Wallace added 8 on 3-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line. Trevor Thompson scored 6 on 1-6 from the floor, 4-5 from the line and 2 steals. Adam Kemp added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 5 boards. Colin Corrigan added 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 boards. Jack Beatty added 2, along with 3 boards, while Andrew Grant was scoreless, while nabbing 3 boards. The Gryphons hit 26-81 (.321) from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from the arc and 24-27 (.889) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 7 assists, 10 steals, 1 block, 8 turnovers and 26 fouls. The Gryphons (coached by Chris O’Rourke, assisted by Nick Pankerichan, James Gillingham and Konrad Surma, video Jason Schmidt, trainer Nicole Lake, operations assistant Mike Borlongan) also included Charles Amponsah, Erik Sterne, Drew Walford, Dimitri Rakas, Jonathan Munyakazi, Konnor Finlay, Dillon Dubois and Martin Popiel.
Figuring out the one play that made a difference in the East semi-final would be nearly as tricky as comprehending the judging of figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. It might have been the diving save that Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue made in the final quarter, flicking the ball behind his back to Terry Thomas for another electrifying slam. Or it could have been the off-balance, acrobatic layup that Johnny Berhanemeskel made with 56 seconds on clock. It could also have been any number of big plays made by Caleb Agada, Mike L’Africain or Mehdi Tihani. The upshot, though, was a 79-78 uOttawa win over the Ryerson Rams in the Ontario University Athletics quarter-finals and a trip to the OUA Final Four. The dust up between the 2nd-seeded Gee-Gees and 3rd-seeded Rams often seemed as chaotic as the short-track speedskating oval in Sochi, with a script that read like a four-act melodrama. The teams traded the lead back-and-forth. The screaming fans were on the edge of their seats, and the coaches were, well, almost delirious at midcourt, working the referees harder than many an Ottawa winter. “It was a battle,” said Thomas. “It was a fight. I loved it. Both teams took a blow. We know each other so well. But we had some players make some key plays down the stretch.” Gonthier Dubue said “it was stressful. But we just kept playing and kept focusing as a team. We knew coming into the game that we had to work hard, so we just kept going and worked 100 per cent.” Agada noted “it was amazing. I’ve never had so much fun playing the game of basketball, defence, offence, everything, the crowd, my teammates, it was surreal.” The Gee-Gees appeared unable to hit anything other than runout slams by Thomas off steals as Ryerson built an early 16-10 margin. But the Rams began coughing up the ball, while Berhanemeskel drained a trey, Tihani twice found Gonthier-Dubue in the blocks and L’Africain drove for a layup and a free throw as the Gee-Gees rallied to a 20-18 lead. Thomas drained a pair of treys as the Gee-Gees appeared to gain the edge but Jordan Gauthier hit a trio of perimeter buckets as the Rams took a 32-28 lead. L’Africain answered by setting up Gonthier-Dubue in the blocks, Vikas Gill hit a pair of free throws and Thomas another trey as the Gee-Gees took their turn in the lead. Sensational feeds by Agada and Thomas generated easy Gee-Gee layups and another high-flying slam by Thomas off a spectacular three-on-one runout, featuring some deft passing by L’Africain and Gonthier-Dubue, gave Ottawa a 43-40 lead. Frustrated Ram post Kadeem Green promptly shoved Berhanemeskel to the floor, drawing a technical and Tihani hit the free throws to give the Gee-Gees a 45-40 lead heading into the lockers. Adika Peter-McNeilly and Yannick Walcott gunned the Rams to a 49-49 draw early in the second half but Gonthier-Dubue ripped down three tough boards and hit three free throws before Agada drove the baseline to give the Gee-Gees a 54-49 lead. Gauthier and Tihani traded offensive putbacks before Thomas hit a trey off a beautiful Agada penetrate-and-pitch, and Berhanemeskel drilled a bomb to give Ottawa a 62-55 lead. Still, the Rams wouldn’t quit. Jones hit a tough pull-up jumper, Gauthier a bucket off an inside feed and Jahmal Jones a free throw of an inexplicable officiating call at the buzzer as Ryerson rallied within 65-60 after three quarters. Aaron Best and Gauthier notched buckets and Jones capped a 7-0 Rams mini-run with a trey but Berhanemeskel knifed into the paint for a layup to knot the score at 67 with six minutes to play. Gonthier-Dubue dived out of bounds to set up the Thomas slam as the Gee-Gees regained the lead and then Berhanemeskel found Agada on a lightning baseline cut and Thomas drove the entire court for a spine-tingling layup as the Gee-gees rebuilt a 73-69 lead. Gonthier-Dubue added a pair of free throws with 1:26 to play to give the Gee-Gees a four-point lead. Peter-McNeilly answered with a 15-foot pull-up jumper. Berhanemeskel countered with off-balance bucket with 56 seconds on the clock and then ripped down a defensive board to give the Gee-Gees another possession. Thomas blocked a shot but was called for a foul, allowing Jones to hit a pair of free throws that trimmed the margin to 77-55 with 8.3 seconds on the clock. Ryerson quickly fouled three times to put the Gee-Gees in the bonus and Agada iced it with a pair of free throws with 5.4 remaining to play. Bjorn Michaelsen drilled a trey at the buzzer but the deal, as they say, was done. “We left everything on the floor but came up on the losing end,” said Rams coach Roy Rana. “They’re a great team. I give them a lot of credit.” Rana was left hoping for what would be an altogether deserving wild card berth to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships at Canadian Tire Place from March 7-9. “We’ve probably given the two top teams in the country the toughest battles they’ve had all year. Hopefully that means something.” Gee-Gees coach James Derouin called it “a national championship semifinal calibre game — back and forth, and back and forth. I thought we had ‘em but they just kept banging shots. It was big play after big play. And Terry was spectacular tonight. He only played half the season. He’s an all-Canadian, whether or not he gets selected all-Canadian. This was just a great win for our program.” Terry Thomas paced the Gee-Gees with 28 on 11-23 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 2 steals. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue added 15 on 5-11 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Johnny Berhanemeskel added 14 on 5-15 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Mehdi Tihani notched 9 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Caleb Agada added 8 on 3-14 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 3 steals. Mike L’Africain notched 3 on 1-8 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Vikas Gill added 2 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards, while Moe Ismail and Matt Plunkett were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 27-77 (.351) from the floor, 7-29 (.241) from the arc and 18-20 (.900) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 17 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 11 steals, 8 blocks, 3 turnovers and 15 fouls. Adika Peter-McNeilly paced the Rams with 23 on 10-16 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 5 boards and 3 blocks. Jordon Gauthier added 20 on 9-17 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 0-2 from the line and 11 boards. Jahmal Jones notched 10 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 7 assists. Aaron Best scored 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 7 boards. Jean-Victor Mukama added 8 on 3-4 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Kadeem Green added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 4 boards. Bjorn Michaelsen added 3 and Yannick Walcott 3 on 1-2 from the arc, 2 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals, while Juwon Ogunnaike-Grannum was scoreless. The Rams hit 31-66 (.470) from the floor, 8-18 (.444) from the arc and 8-12 from the line, while garnering 45 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 2 steals, 5 blocks, 14 turnovers and 17 fouls. The Rams (coached by Roy Rana, assisted by Patrick Tatham and Jermaine Small, video coordinator Dipesh Mistry, student therapist Jamal Lynch, manager Dawood Akhtar, director of basketball operations Mikaela Berza) also included Kenneth Asante, Derrick Allahyarian, Adam Voll, Charles Boampong, Nabil Ibrahim and Andy Agyepong.
In the other East semi, the top-seeded Carleton Ravens dusted the 4th-seeded Laurentian Voyageurs 111-77. Ravens post Tyson Hinz called it a “total team effort, but we still need to work on several things defensively. We shouldn’t let them score 20 points in the opening quarter and another 23 in the third.” The Ravens led 33-20, 60-35 and 83-58 at the quarters. Tyson Hinz paced the Ravens with 27 on 10-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 6-10 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Philip Scrubb added 16 on 4-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 2 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals. Kevin Churchill notched 14 on 6-8 from the floor, 3-3 from the line and 6 boards. Connor Wood scored 14 on 5-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Thomas Scrubb scored 12 on 4-12 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3 boards and 11 assists. Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles added 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 6 boards. Gavin Resch scored 4 on 2-4 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Guillaume Payen-Boucard notched 2, along with 2 boards, and Brody Maracle 2, while Victor Raso was scoreless, while nabbing 2 boards and dishing 2 assists. The Ravens hit 41-72 (.569) from the floor, 11-20 (.550) from the arc and 18-23 (.783) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 26 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 9 turnovers and 19 fouls. Tychon Carter-Newman paced the Voyageurs with 23 on 8-13 from the floor, 7-7 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Ryan Bennett added 17 on 5-9 from the floor, 5-8 from the arc and 2-4 from the line. Josh Budd scored 15 on 4-11 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 5-7 from the line, 6 boards and 3 assists. Alex Ratte notched 11 on 5-20 from the floor, 1-10 from the arc, 3 boards, 6 assists and 2 steals. David Aromolaran added 6 on 3-5 from the floor and 0-1 from the arc. Nelson Yengue added 2, along with 2 boards, Sam Hirst 2 and Gherick Uneau 1, along with 3 boards and 2 blocks, while Darcy Watt, Kris Faucon, Jamie Ames and Sam Levac were scoreless. The Voyageurs hit 27-64 (.422) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 15-20 from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 5 steals, 4 blocks, 13 turnovers and 22 fouls. The Voyageurs (coached by Shawn Swords, assisted by Aaron Sidenberg and Ken Wallenius) also included Mustafa Abdi and Henry Williams.
In the West semis, the top-seeded McMaster Marauders whipped the 5th-seeded Western Mustangs 83-49. The Mustangs slowed the game to a crawl and patiently waited for the open shot as they built an 18-15 lead after one quarter on a buzzer-beating fadeaway jumper by Eric McDonald. The Mustangs built their lead to 24-17 but McMaster called a time-out and Leon Alexander ripped off a 7-0 run to knot the score. Trevon McNeil added a trey, while the Marauders elevated their defensive intensity to cap a 16-0 run that gave them a 31-24 lead at the half. McMaster opened the third quarter with baskets from Rohan Boney and Taylor Black to extend the lead to double digits. Aaron Redpath promptly added a trio of treys and the Marauders had a 64-37 lead after three quarters. They led by as many as 30. Taylor Black paced the Marauders with 18 on 8-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 11 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Aaron Redpath added 14 on 5-9 from the floor, 4-8 from the arc, 4 boards and 3 steals. Leon Alexander notched 13 on 5-10 from the floor, 3-5 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Trevon McNeil notched 10 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 2 assists and 2 steals. Rohan Boney added 9 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-7 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 3 steals. Joe Rocca added 8 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Nathan McCarthy scored 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 3 boards. Jason Quiring added 4 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 2 boards. Nathan Pelech added 2 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 steals, while Adam Presutti, Lazar Kojovic and Elliot Ormond were scoreless. Presutti nabbed 2 boards, dished 6 assists and pilfered 2 balls. The Marauders hit 33-65 (.508) from the floor, 6-19 (.316) from the arc and 11-19 (.579) from the line, while garnering 42 boards, including 16 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 17 steals, 5 blocks, 19 turnovers and 19 fouls. Peter Scholtes paced the Mustangs with 16 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 3-4 from the line and 5 boards. Eric McDonald added 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc and 2 boards. Greg Morrow notched 7 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-1 from the line and 8 boards. George Johnson scored 6 on 1-2 from the floor and 4-5 from the line. Anthony Spiridis added 6 on 2-6 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Rashayne Case scored 2 on 1-7 from the floor, 0-1 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 4 steals. Matt McDonald added 2 and Marcus Calloo 2, while Quinn Henderson was scoreless on 0-6 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc and 2 boards. Cameron Morris was also scoreless while nabbing 2 boards. The Mustangs hit 18-57 (.316) from the floor, 3-17 (.176) from the arc and 10-12 (.833) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass, 6 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks, 23 turnovers and 18 fouls. The Mustangs (coached by Brad Campbell, assisted by John Curcio and Kevin Barnes, recruiting coordinator Bruce Stiefelmeyer, manager Alex Russell, manager of basketball operations Justin O’Halloran, manager of scouting Ray Kim, trainers David Ragan and Matt Carter, academic advisor Robert LaRose) also included Elliott Dooley, Cameron Morris, Adam Djukic, Gabriel Soicher, Andrew Van Camp and Jack Daneyko.
In the other West semi, the 2nd-seeded Windsor Lancers clubbed the 3rd-seeded Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 91-68. The score was knotted at 18 after one quarter. The Lancers led 44-30 at the half and 73-52 after three quarters, taking control when Lien Phillip began dominating the paint. “We competed a little I think, not as good as maybe we can,” said Golden Hawks coach Peter Campbell. “We didn’t play with confidence and when you’re playing a team like Windsor with three-fifths the guys all league all-stars, you’ve just got to play as well as you can.” Campbell added that Phillip was a horse. “You’ve just got to try to keep him off the boards and you’ve got to battle him for position and reduce his touches. And it’s hard to do. He’s an All-Canadian from last year, he was player of the year from our conference last year, he’s just one of the best players in the country and the guys we have guarding him aren’t. They’re young guy s and they’re learning to be basketball players.” Lien Phillip paced the Lancers with 28 on 11-14 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 5-7 from the line and 10 boards. Enrico Diloreto added 18 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Josh Collins scored 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 6 boards and 4 assists. Evan Matthews notched 10 on 5-11 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Mike Rocca scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-1 from the line and 2 assists. Alex Campbell scored 6 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Rotimi Osuntola Jr added 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 4 boards and 2 assists. Bradford Parker added 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 8 boards. Khalid Abdel-Gabar notched 2 on 1-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 9 boards, 6 assists and 3 steals, while Keron Braithwaite, Roland Shannonhouse and Stefan Tosic were scoreless. The Lancers hit 35-72 (.486) from the floor, 8-19 (.421) from the arc and 13-18 (.722) from the line, while garnering 53 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 8 steals, 3 blocks, 17 turnovers and 15 fouls. Will Coulthard paced the Golden Hawks with 15 on 5-18 from the floor, 2-8 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Max Allin added 13 on 3-13 from the floor, 3-12 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 8 boards and 7 assists. Jack Simmons added 9 on 4-9 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 3 boards and 2 assists. Owen Coulthard notched 9 on 3-7 from the floor and 3-6 from the arc. Jamar Forde scored 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. James Agyeman scored 6 on 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 2 boards and 5 assists. Patrick Donnelly added 4 on 2-3 from the floor, Garrison Thomas 3, along with 3 boards, and Matthew Chesson 2, while Michael Grantis and Simon Polan-Couillard were scoreless. Polan-Couillard also nabbed 4 boards. The Golden Hawks hit 23-73 (.315) from the floor, 8-27 (.296) from the arc and 14-20 (.700) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 8 steals, 1 block, 15 turnovers and 14 fouls. The Golden Hawks (coached by Peter Campbell, assisted by Scott James, Jamie Campbell and Jamie Lockington, student trainer Lindsey Parent) also included Matthew Bukovec, Matthew Chesson, Filip Cvrkalj, Christian Mair, Vladimir Matovic and Aiddian Walters.
In the Wilson Cup semis, the East top seed Carleton Ravens clipped the West 2nd-seeded Windsor Lancers 84-71. The Ravens took an 11-7 lead midway through the opening quarter, but the Lancers used some nice passing on back-to-back possessions to even the contest with consecutive open lay-ups. A block by Evan Matthews late in the period was followed by a Campbell baseline jumper. However, Kevin Churchill tallied a buzzer-beating lay-up, allowing Carleton to take a 17-14 lead after one quarter. The Ravens quickly extended their advantage early in the second quarter, as Scrubb and Churchill exchanged buckets from underneath the Lancers basket. A three-pointer by Clinton Springer-Williams capped off a 12-0 run from the defending national champions, giving them a double-digit lead before Windsor picked up its first points of the quarter. The Lancers responded with a mini-run of their own, starting with two made free throws from Phillip. After Diloreto notched his first points of the game, Campbell made a jumper from beyond the arc to bring the deficit back down to six. Diloreto sank two more shots from the foul line after the Lancers front-court pressure forced a Ravens turnover. However, Carleton found its stride once again late in the half, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Victor Raso that jumpstarted 10 consecutive Ravens points to give them a 44-28 halftime lead. After a slow start to the second-half, Windsor exploded offensively with an 11-2 run in the middle portion of the third quarter. Abdel-Gabar, Osuntola Jr. and Josh Collins sunk consecutive three-pointers, bringing a once comfortable Carleton lead down to single digits at the 4:54 mark of the third quarter. Following a Ravens timeout, Thomas Scrubb drained a trey and followed that with a running floater for two more to push the lead back up to 14. Diloreto concluded the third quarter with quick penetration for two points on the lay-in, and Windsor went into the final 10 minutes of play trailing 63-50. Diloreto hit a trey from the corner early in the final quarter and caught the Ravens in transition a couple of possessions later, sneaking behind the defence for a quick transition lay-up. Abdel-Gabar then came to life for the Lancers, notching two free throws before hitting a three in an effort to spring a Lancer comeback. But two quick lay-ups from Churchill in response allowed the Ravens to maintain their lead. Another trey by the two-time CIS player of the year Phillip Scrubb helped put the contest out of reach. “We (Carleton) were good offensively but compared to some other Ravens’ teams in the past, this one has been struggling defensively,” said Ravens coach Dave Smart. “Windsor missed a lot of scoring opportunities as well otherwise the outcome of the game may have been closer.” Carleton opened the second quarter with a 10-point run to jump out to a more comfortable 27-14 lead but Windsor responded with a quick 7 of their own to make things interesting at 31-23. But Victor Raso hit back-to-back treys to restore a comfortable lead at the half. Windsor continued to struggle from the perimeter in the second half. “We noticed that they (Windsor) made several adjustments for the second half which we had to respond to,” said Ravens’ guard Phil Scrubb, who was named the Porter Player of the Game. “This is a very competitive tournament. Every team is very good and bring tons of energy to the court whenever they play.” Philip Scrubb paced the Ravens with 24 on 6-16 from the floor, 1-6 from the arc, 11-13 from the line, 9 boards and 6 assists. Thomas Scrubb added 17 on 7-11 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 8 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Kevin Churchill notched 14 on 7-15 from the floor and 8 boards. Tyson Hinz scored 11 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5-6 from the line and 4 boards. Victor Raso scored 11 on 3-5 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Clinton Springer-Williams notched 6 on 2-7 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 6 boards. Gavin Resch added 1, while Connor Wood and Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles were scoreless. The Ravens hit 28-65 (.431) from the floor, 6-17 (.353) from the arc and 22-27 (.815) from the line, while garnering 37 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 4 steals, 1 block, 10 turnovers and 20 fouls. Enrico Diloreto paced the Lancers with 17 on 5-17 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 6-6 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Lien Phillip added 12 on 3-6 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Alex Campbell notched 11 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards and 2 assists. Rotimi Osuntola Jr added 10 on 4-10 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 13 boards and 2 blocks. Khalid Abdel-Gabar added 10 on 3-6 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists. Josh Collins added 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 4 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Bradford Parker notched 3 on 1-3 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Evan Matthews scored 1 on 0-3 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 1-2 from the line and 2 blocks, while Mike Rocca, Roland Shannonhouse and Stefan Tosic were scoreless. The Lancers hit 22-67 (.328) from the floor, 6-30 (.200) from the arc and 21-26 (.808) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 13 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks, 8 turnovers and 23 fouls.
In the other semi, the uOttawa Gee-Gees pounded the McMaster Marauders 101-68. The Gee-Gees led 31-16, 57-33 and 82-49 at the quarters. The Gee-Gees attacked the paint effectively and nailed the open looks off kickouts as point guard Mike L’Africain dominated the floor. “I hit the gym like crazy heading into this game and just took shot after shot. I wanted to make sure that I was ready because I knew that I couldn’t afford to have an off game at this stage of the season,” said L’Africain. “We shot well as a team tonight and we want to carry that over to tomorrow night. We know that we are a very hard team to beat when we are playing well on offence and defence. We have not let Carleton get in our heads. We have to play the Gee-Gees brand of basketball and play our game and we will be fine.” Post Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue did an excellent job of containing Marauder post Taylor Black in the blocks, said coach James Derouin. “The guys came out very well. I was thrilled with the way our starting five established themselves right out of the gates because that really carried for the rest of the game.” Johnny Berhanemeskel said “we need to work on the defensive glass or else it will be a big issue tomorrow night. There are some good things we can take from tonight going into the game tomorrow. We did a good job of attacking and finishing off possessions so we have to keep that up. We wanted to take care of business tonight so we didn’t end up fighting for our lives and for a bronze medal tomorrow. With that said now we want to win a Wilson Cup.” Ottawa hit five treys in the opening quarter and led by as many as 36. Johnny Berhanemeskel paced the Gee-Gees with 26 on 11-14 from the floor, 3-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Mike L’Africain added 19 on 7-11 from the floor, 5-7 from the arc, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Terry Thomas notched 17 on 7-10 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 1-1 from the line, 6 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Caleb Agada added 11 on 4-9 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 6 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Mehdi Tihani added 10 on 3-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards and 3 assists. Moe Ismail scored 8 on 3-6 from the floor and 2-3 from the arc. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue scored 7 on 2-3 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 9 boards and 3 assists. Vikas Gill added 3 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 2 boards, while Matt Plunkett, Ryan Evans, Matt Nelson and Jeff Plunkett were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 38-67 (.567) from the floor, 16-24 from the arc and 9-11 (.818) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass, 22 assists, 11 steals, 2 blocks, 17 turnovers and 22 fouls. Nathan McCarthy paced the Marauders with 14 on 5-8 from the floor, 4-6 from the line, 11 boards and 4 assists. Trevon McNeil added 14 on 5-11 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 2-2 from the line. Adam Presutti notched 13 on 4-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 2-4 from the line and 6 boards. Leon Alexander added 11 on 4-7 from the floor, 3-6 from the line, 3 boards and 2 steals. Nathan Pelech scored 6 on 2-4 from the arc. Aaron Redpath added 4 on 2-7 from the floor and 0-2 from the arc. Rohan Boney scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-6 from the line, 4 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Joe Rocca added 2 and Elliott Ormond 2, along with 2 boards, while Taylor Black, Jason Quiring and Lazar Kojovic were scoreless. Black nabbed 2 boards and stole 2 balls. The Marauders hit 25-67 (.373) from the floor, 7-21 from the arc and 11-26 (.423) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 9 steals, 17 turnovers and 12 fouls.
In the bronze medal match, the McMaster Marauders edged the Windsor Lancers 93-89 in overtime. The Lancers pounded the ball inside to Lien Phillip early, while the Marauders spread their attack between Leon Alexander, Taylor Black and Aaron Redpath as the teams battled to a 20-20 draw after one quarter. Phillip and Rotimi Osuntola built the Lancers a 43-36 lead at the half, which they extended to 10 early in the third frame but Tevon McNeil nailed a pair of treys to draw McMaster within one. A trey by Aaron Redpath gave the Marauders a 56-53 lead but the Lancers rallied to a 61-60 lead after three quarters. With 1:17 remaining, Windsor led 79-76 and had the basketball, but for the umpteenth time, inexplicably coughed up the ball, and then subsequently allowed Alexander worked free in the blocks for a bucket. McMaster forced another Lancer miss and McNeil knocked down his third three of the game to give the Marauders an 81-79 lead with 8.7-seconds remaining. Enrico Diloretto missed a trey but Josh Collins nabbed the rebound and was fouled with 0.7 seconds remaining. He hit both free throws to force overtime. McMaster moved ahead in the extra frame as Windsor remaining missed free throws and then iced it with a long trey from Adam Presutti. “We talked a lot about this weekend being a test of character,” Marauders coach Amos Connolly said. “I have to credit Taylor Black, Aaron Redpath, and Adam Presutti who all spoke at different times about where we needed to be for this game and that helped us re-focus” after being battered in the semi-finals. “It’s a really big step for the program,” said Connolly. “It’s been awhile since McMaster has been to nationals and this shows we are moving in the right direction. I credit all the players, but coaches Rod Bynum and Justin Gunter who were here before me have been very steadying influences.” Player of the game Alexander said “the win today means a lot. A lot of guys were crushed after last night’s loss, which I think was purely off of nerves. Today we showed everyone how we can play, and this still isn’t us at our best. We’ll show everyone what we’re capable of at nationals.” Trevon McNeil paced the Marauders with 23 on 7-13 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 6-8 from the line, 2 boards and 3 steals. Leon Alexander added 21 on 7-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 7 boards and 5 steals. Aaron Redpath notched 18 on 7-17 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 2-6 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Adam Presutti added 13 on 4-12 from the floor, 3-9 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Nathan McCarthy scored 6 on 3-7 from the floor and 8 boards. Taylor Black added 5 on 2-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 6 boards and 2 assists. Joe Rocca scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Rohan Boney added 2 on 1-1 from the floor, 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals, while Nathan Pelech was scoreless, while nabbing 2 boards. The Marauders hit 33-81 (.407) from the floor, 10-28 (.357) from the arc and 17-25 (.680) from the line, while garnering 38 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass, 12 assists, 16 steals, 2 blocks, 17 turnovers and 21 fouls. Rotimi Osuntola Jr. paced the Lancers with 23 on 10-15 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 1-3 from the line, 11 boards, 3 assists and 5 blocks. Josh Collins added 17 on 5-14 from the floor, 4-12 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 7 boards and 2 steals. Lien Phillip notched 14 on 5-14 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 8 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Enrico Diloreto added 11 on 2-9 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 7-13 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Evan Matthews notched 9 on 4-6 from the floor, 1-2 from the line and 2 boards. Khalid Abdel-Gabar added 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-3 from the line, 5 boards and 7 assists. Alex Campbell added 3 on 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc and 1-1 from the line. Mike Rocca scored 3 on 1-1 from the arc and Bradford Parker 2. The Lancers hit 31-68 (.456) from the floor, 7-24 (.292) from the arc and 20-32 (.625) from the line, while garnering 41 boards, including 12 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 8 steals, 7 blocks, 27 turnovers and 21 fouls. The Lancers (coached by Chris Oliver, assisted by Barry Amlin, Kevin Kloostra and Larry Loebach) also included Keron Braithwaite, Alex Campbell, Mike Rocca, Roland Shannonhouse and Stefan Tosic.
In the Wilson Cup final, the uOttawa Gee-Gees defeated the Carleton Ravens 78-77 to earn their first league title in 21 years as player of the game (Kitch MacPherson Trophy winner) Johnny Berhanemeskel drained a jumper with 0.5 seconds remaining on the clock. The Gee-Gees had trailed 75-65 with 3:05 remaining but a bucket by Berhanemeskel ignited an 11-0 run that obliterated the Carleton lead. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue sunk a two-pointer with 22 seconds left to give Ottawa a 76-75 lead. Carleton regained the upper hand with 6.8 second remaining on a hook by Tyson Hinz, setting the stage for Berhanemeskel’s game-winner. “It’s honestly all a blur right now and just talking about it gives me goose bumps. Having the chance to play with these guys and experience this is the best feeling I’ve felt in my life and all I can do is smile right now,” said Berhanemeskel. “Experience is the best teacher and it finally paid off. We are grateful to share this with friends, family and alumni players who helped get to this point.” The loss snapped a 49 game CIS winning streak for the Ravens who were also gunning for a third consecutive Wilson Cup. The Gee-Gees had not defeated the Ravens since February 18, 2007 or in 18 meetings between the teams. “Johnny is a great kid and incredible player. He has given so much to this program and there is no better player to hit that shot than him. I’m so proud of him and this team,” said Gee-Gees coach James Derouin. “Everything is quite surreal right now. The last two times that we played them I felt that we just didn’t play very well. Today we competed very well and got the job done in the end.” Gonthier-Dubue said “tonight we saw the game in a new way. We got together as a team and promised ourselves that we would go out there and play our game. That really helped us tonight and the result shows it.” The Gee-Gees led 24-22 after one quarter. The Ravens led 40-35 at the half and 62-56 after three quarters. Johnny Berhanemeskel paced the Gee-Gees with 30 on 13-28 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Terry Thomas added 17 on 6-13 from the floor, 3-8 from the arc, 2-3 from the line, 9 boards and 4 assists. Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue added 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the line and 5 boards. Mike L’Africain notched 7 on 3-8 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc and 3 assists. Caleb Agada scored 4 on 3-9 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 3 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals. Vikas Gill added 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 2 assists, while Mehdi Tihani, Ryan Evans, Moe Ismail and Matt Plunkett were scoreless. The Gee-Gees hit 31-70 (.443) from the floor, 8-28 (.286) from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 25 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass, 19 assists, 6 steals, 1 block, 9 turnovers and 19 fouls. Tyson Hinz paced the Ravens with 25 on 8-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 9-11 from the line, 10 boards and 4 assists. Thomas Scrubb added 21 on 8-16 from the floor, 3-5 from the arc, 2-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Philip Scrubb notched 13 on 3-12 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 4 assists. Victor Raso scored 7 on 2-4 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Clinton Springer-Williams added 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 10 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Connor Wood added 3 on 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Kevin Churchill scored 2 on 1-3 from the floor, 0-2 from the line and 4 boards. Jean Emmanuel Pierre-Charles added 2, while Gavin Resch and Guillaume Payen-Boucard were scoreless. The Ravens hit 25-59 (.424) from the floor, 9-21 (.429) from the arc and 18-25 (.720) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 8 on the offensive glass, 16 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 14 turnovers and 15 fouls.
After the season, with the scheduled addition of Nipissing University in 2014-15, the OUA announced that it would restructure into a four-division format and a new playoff structure. The new alignment of teams will compete under the West, Central, East, and North banners. The West division will be a five-team grouping (Algoma, Waterloo, Western, Wilfrid Laurier, Windsor), including double-header weekends in Sault Ste. Marie against the Thunderbirds within an eight-game home-at-home schedule within the division. The West will also play a single game against teams from the Central, East, and North, totalling 20 games. The remaining three divisions consist of four teams playing a 19-game schedule. The Central division (Brock, Guelph, Lakehead, McMaster) will play double-header weekends at Lakehead. The North division will feature Carleton, Laurentian, Nipissing and Ottawa, while the East division will feature Queen’s, Ryerson, Toronto and York. The top three teams from each OUA division will qualify for the postseason. All twelve qualifying teams, regardless of division position, will be ranked based on RPI to determine the playoff bracket. The RPI rankings will be calculated and applied by the OUA based on regular season results against the other playoff teams. The top four teams based on the rankings will be awarded byes through the first round of the playoffs. The playoff format is fixed. In round one, 9 @ 8, 10 @ 7, 11 @ 6, and 12 @ 5. In the quarterfinals, 8-9 winner @ 1, 7-10 winner @ 2, 6-11 winner @ 3, and 5-12 winner @ 4. The highest remaining seed will host the Final Four. “This structure allows the best teams to advance to the OUA Final Fours and CIS championships, while introducing the excitement of a bracket style playoff,” said interim OUA Executive Director Bryan Crawford. “Every game matters, and we are excited to continue to feature some of the nation’s top basketball programs.”
Lakehead announces that Scott Morrison, who’d taken a year off to work with the Maine Red Claws, the Boston Celtics affiliate in Portland, Maine, would not be returning to the school but rather, had accepted the head coaching position with the Red Claws. Morrison had coached at Lakehead for 10 years, compiling a record of 185-174, with a Wilson Cup (‘12) and CIS Silver Medal (‘13) to his team’s credit. Athletic director Tom Scott announced that Carleton assistant Manny Furtado would assume the helm. Furtado previously coached the Hamilton Blessed Sacrament club team in Hamilton for nearly a decade, along with his former high school, St Mary’s Catholic Secondary. “Scott has built a well-respected program over the years,” says Furtado. “We need to begin laying the foundation for our season. I’m really looking forward to meeting the guys and support staff.”
The bronze medalist McMaster Marauders: Aaron Redpath; Trevon McNeil; Leon Alexander; Jason Quiring; Taylor Black; Nathan Pelech; Elliott Ormond; Nathan McCarthy; Rohan Boney; Aaron Redpath; Adam Presutti; Joe Rocca; Jordan Nelson; Lazar Kojovic; Lucas Marsden; Hamid Nessek; coach Amos Connolly; assistant Rod Bynum; assistant Ray Kybartas; assistant Justin Gunter; assistant Andrew Baillie; assistant Tom McChesney; assistant Troy Stevenson; therapist Tom Rickus; therapist Jack Johnston;
The runner-up Carleton Ravens: Kevin Churchill; Tyson Hinz; Brody Maracle; Josh Millar; Guillaume Payen-Boucard; Cole Penman; Jean-Emmanuel Pierre-Charles; Victor Raso; Gavin Resch; Philip Scrubb; Thomas Scrubb; Cameron Smythe; Clinton Springer-Williams; Brett Stockton; Connor Wood; coach Dave Smart; assistant Rob Smart Jr.; assistant Manny Furtado; assistant Dean Petridis; assistant Richard Anderson; assistant Aaron Blakely; Aaron Blakely; strength & conditioning Andy Stewart; manager Greg McManus; nutritionist Harinder Ghuman; therapist Bruce Marshall; athletic director Jennifer Brenning; SID
The champion Ottawa Gee-Gees: Caleb Agada; Johnny Berhanemeskel; Ryan Evans; Vikas Gill; Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue; Jordan Grant; Moe Ismail; Nick Jordan; Mike L’Africain; Matt Nelson; Matt Plunkett; Jeff Plunkett; Terry Thomas; Mehdi Tihani; Zachary Traer; coach James Derouin; assistant Justin Serresse; assistant Clarence Porter; assistant Kris Dale; assistant Patrick Betu; assistant Nick Nishikawa; athletic director Luc Gelineau; SID Jen Elliott