01/11/2010 6:02 PM - THUNDER BAY, Ont. - Timely three-pointers and stingy team defence pushed the CIS No. 10 Lakehead Thunderwolves men's basketball team to a 76-70 Saturday night win over the No. 6 McMaster Marauders at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse in Thunder Bay, Ont. sweeping their two-game series. The win improves Lakehead's conference record to 9-1 as they maintain their two-point lead over Windsor for first place in the OUA West Division. McMaster drops to 5-5 and are fifth in the West.

Four Lakehead players reach double figures in the win, led by guards Jamie Searle (Belleville, Ont.) and Cam Hornby (Winnipeg), each of whom had 13 points with three three-pointers. Senior forward Andrew Hackner (Thunder Bay, Ont.) went a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc for 12 points while sophomore post Yoosrie Salhia (Toronto) had a near double-double of 10 points and nine rebounds.

Junior guard Brett Day (London, Ont.) came off the bench with 13 points, including four three-pointers and sparked the Marauders' spirited second half effort that saw the visitors nearly overcome a 41-26 halftime deficit. Guard Tyrell Vernon had 11 points while Cam Michaud and Keenan Jeppesen each had 10.

The Wolves lockdown defence sparked perhaps their strongest first half of the season as the team held Jeppesen scoreless through the opening 20 minutes while knocking down key baskets including a second quarter fast-break dunk by post Brendan King (Petawawa, Ont.) and a three-pointer by Hornby with one second left in the half.

Mac took over in the third quarter, outscoring the Wolves 26-17 in the third, and eventually took a 64-62 lead midway through the fourth on a bucket by Jeppesen. The Wolves quickly regained the lead on a three-pointer by Joe Jones (Washington, D.C.) and extended their advantage to 67-64 on a Searle drive through the lane. Lakehead's lead was up to six points when Yoosrie Salhia blew the roof of the Fieldhouse with a rare three-pointer to beat the shot clock. From there, the Wolves secured the win at the free throw stripe.

Lakehead shot 26-of-63 (41 percent) from the field, including 13-of-29 (45 percent) from long distance while McMaster shot 24-of-78 (31 percent) and were 9-of-33 (27 percent) on their three-pointer attempts.

CARLETON 99, YORK 53

At Carleton, the No. 2 Ravens defeated the York Lions 99-53 on Saturday.

Kevin McCleery (Ottawa) led the home side with 22 points. Teammate Elliot Thompson (Fredericton) earned 17 points, including 3-of-3 from three-point land.

For the Lions, Dejan Kravic earned 12 points in a losing effort.

Carleton improved to 9-1 while York fell to 1-9.

WINDSOR 72, BROCK 49

In Windsor, the No. 7 Lancers defeated the Brock Badgers 72-49 at home on Saturday.

Nigel Johnson-Tyghter (Brampton, Ont.) and Matt Handsor (Chatham, Ont.) scored 12 points each for the Lancers.

Brock's Mark Gibson (Bradford, Ont.) also scored 12 points in a losing effort.

The Lancers improved to 8-2, while the Badgers dropped to 4-6.

TORONTO 105, RMC 63

At RMC, the No. 8 Toronto Varsity Blues downed the host Paladins 105-63 on Saturday.

Justin Holmes (Toronto) and Rob Paris scored 18 points each for the Varsity Blues (6-4).

RMC was led by Nicolas Cooke's (Toronto) game-high 20 points. The Paladins (0-11) is OUA's only winless team.

OTTAWA 91, LAURENTIAN 69

At Ottawa, Josh Gibson-Bascombe (Toronto) scored 30 points to lead the Gee-Gees to a 91-69 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday.

Gibson-Bascombe was 5-of-7 (71 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. Teammate Warren Ward recorded a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds.

Isiah Pasquale (Victoria) was Laurentian's high scorer with 17 points.

The Gee-Gees improved to 8-2 while the Voyageurs fell to 2-8.

QUEEN'S 71, RYERSON 65

At Queen's, the Gaels (6-5) defeated the Ryerson Rams 71-65 in the final game at Bartlett Gymnasium on Saturday.

Mitch Leger (Kingston, Ont.) earned a double-double for the Gaels with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Teammate Ryan Hairsine (St. Marys, Ont.) contributed

Boris Bakovic (Toronto) led the Rams (4-6) with 23 points.

The Gaels will now play their home games in the newly built Queen's Centre.

WATERLOO 72, GUELPH 54

At Waterloo, the Warriors (6-4) defeated the Guelph Gryphons (3-7) on home court 72-54 on Saturday.

Luke Kieswetter (Waterloo, Ont.) and Cam McIntyre (Kitchener, Ont.) of the Warriors both scored 21 points in the victory.

Jonathan Moscatelli (Toronto) was Guelph's leading scorer with 20 points.

WESTERN 80, LAURIER 77

At Western, the Mustangs (6-4) edged the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 80-77 in an OUA West battle on Saturday.

Andrew Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.) scored 26 points in a winning effort. Garrett Olexiuk (Burlington, Ont.) earned a double-double for the Mustangs with 17 points and 11 boards.

Maxwell Allin (Chatham, Ont.) recorded a double-double in a losing cause with 23 points and 16 rebounds. Teammate Jesse MacDonald (Brantford, Ont.) contributed 20 points.

The Golden Hawks dropped to 4-6.

Source: Lakehead Thunderwolves with files from OUA Communications