January 23, 2006
RUACH LEADS YORK IN UPSET OVER NO. 10 VARSITY BLUES
The Toronto Varsity Blues cracked the CIS Top 10 in basketball for the first time since March of 1997 last week. But the Blues found life near the top difficult as they dropped just their third game of the OUA regular season Saturday. Led by second-year guard Tut Ruach's 24 points, the cross-town rival York Lions defeated Toronto 72-62 at the Tait Mackenzie Centre. Ruach hits three of seven three-pointers and was 7-for-11 at the free-throw line to lead all scorers. Rohan Steen added 14 points, while big man Jordan Foebel continued to impress after an injury absence with 12 points and nine rebounds. Mike DeGiorgio paced the Blues with 16 points, while Dwayne Grant added 13 points to go along with a game-high 12 boards. Ruach is third in OUA scoring, averaging 17.53 points per game.
Toronto kicked off the week with a tight 65-62 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs Friday at the Ben Avery Gym in Sudbury. Mohammed Safarzadeh led the Blues with 15 points, including a last-second three-pointer that secured the win, while Williams chipped in 11 points and five rebounds. Ben Palmer was on fire for Laurentian, pouring in a career-high 30 points as he 12 of 19 from the floor. Palmer added eight rebounds and two blocks but was the only effective Laurentian player.
After suffering their first two league defeats in three years, the three-time defending CIS champion Carleton Ravens got back into the win column with a pair of lopsided victories over the RMC Paladins and the Queen's Golden Gaels. Second-year guard Stuart Turnbull scored a game-high 21 points with four steals as Carleton pounded the Paladins 84-48 Friday at the Ravens Nest. Osvaldo Jeanty had 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Nathan Tucker had 10 points for RMC. The Ravens continued to take out some frustration on the Golden Gaels, beating the visitors from Kingston 76-41 the following night. Ryan Bell led the way for Carleton with 17 points as he went 7-for-8 in field goals, including 3-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc. Jeanty had another 14 points and five assists in the Queen's game. The fourth-year veteran guard is averaging 14.53 ppg through 15 games, ranking him ninth in the league. Carleton shot the ball well, hitting 54.5 per cent of their shots and 11 of 21 from long range. Simon Mitchell led the Gaels with 12 points, while Ryan Hairsine had 11.
Jay Mott scored 20 points as the Guelph Gryphons won their 10th game of the year 81-73 over the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the first of two weekend meetings in Thunder Bay Friday. Mott had another great shooting night, hitting four of his seven three attempts and all eight of his free throws. Backcourt mate J.S. Esposito added 17 points for the Gryphs, while Warren Gilchrist paced the Wolves with a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds. Scott Seely added 15 for the hosts. Lakehead rebounded in the rematch, as Seely lit Guelph up for 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a 76-73 win. Seely, a fifth-year Thunder Bat native, shot 65 per cent from the floor, including four of five from three-point range. Aron Bariagabre had 18 for Guelph, while John Ross Bailey chipped in a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The Ottawa Gee-Gees followed up their emotional win over Carleton Tuesday with a pair of victories over RMC and Queen's. Alex McLeod and Marko Jovic had 14 points each in a 77-44 win over Queen's Friday. Neil Dawson and Brendan O'Leary had 13 apiece for the Gaels. The Gee-Gees won their league best 14th game of the season 94-46 over the Paladins the next night. Guard Sean Peters had a game-high 22 points in just 21 minutes, as he missed just two of 11 field goals on the night. Donnie Gibson added 13 points, while McLeod chipped in 10 and eight rebounds. Tucker paced RMC with 14 points.
The ninth-ranked McMaster Marauders got 25 points and 13 rebounds from fifth-year forward Adam Steiner as they got by the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 71-66 Wednesday night. Ben Katz added 17 points, while John Obrovac had 14 points. Rob Innes led the Hawks with 20 points and seven rebounds. Steiner had another huge night Saturday, pouring in 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a decisive 95-71 win over the Western Mustangs, who had previously upset the No. 8 Brock Badgers earlier in the week. Obrovac added 16 points for Mac, while Brad Smith led the Mustangs with 13 points. McMaster is 11-3 and sit atop the OUA West, two points ahead of Guelph and Brock.
In other action around the league, Laurier got 20 points from Andrew MacKay as they beat the Waterloo Warriors 68-51 Saturday. Graham Jarman scored 17 for the Warriors in a 69-64 win over the Windsor Lancers Wednesday. Before upsetting Toronto, York handled the Ryerson Rams 78-68 Friday. Foebel was a force with a game-high 35 points and 12 rebounds. The Badgers rebounded from the Western loss with an 83-71 victory over the Lancers. Mike Kemp paced Brock with 22 points, while Kevin Stienstra added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Trevor Boose hit three of four threes en route to a team-high 17 points for Windsor. Laurentian out-rebounded Ryerson 42-11 in an 86-56 win Saturday. Brody bishop led the Voyageurs with 20 points, while Bryan Colbridge had 14 boards.
(Photo: Laurentian's Jesse Piercey scores two in the Voyageurs' weekend clash with Toronto. Photo by John Sabourin, Action Event Photos.)
Toronto kicked off the week with a tight 65-62 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs Friday at the Ben Avery Gym in Sudbury. Mohammed Safarzadeh led the Blues with 15 points, including a last-second three-pointer that secured the win, while Williams chipped in 11 points and five rebounds. Ben Palmer was on fire for Laurentian, pouring in a career-high 30 points as he 12 of 19 from the floor. Palmer added eight rebounds and two blocks but was the only effective Laurentian player.
After suffering their first two league defeats in three years, the three-time defending CIS champion Carleton Ravens got back into the win column with a pair of lopsided victories over the RMC Paladins and the Queen's Golden Gaels. Second-year guard Stuart Turnbull scored a game-high 21 points with four steals as Carleton pounded the Paladins 84-48 Friday at the Ravens Nest. Osvaldo Jeanty had 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Nathan Tucker had 10 points for RMC. The Ravens continued to take out some frustration on the Golden Gaels, beating the visitors from Kingston 76-41 the following night. Ryan Bell led the way for Carleton with 17 points as he went 7-for-8 in field goals, including 3-for-3 from beyond the three-point arc. Jeanty had another 14 points and five assists in the Queen's game. The fourth-year veteran guard is averaging 14.53 ppg through 15 games, ranking him ninth in the league. Carleton shot the ball well, hitting 54.5 per cent of their shots and 11 of 21 from long range. Simon Mitchell led the Gaels with 12 points, while Ryan Hairsine had 11.
Jay Mott scored 20 points as the Guelph Gryphons won their 10th game of the year 81-73 over the Lakehead Thunderwolves in the first of two weekend meetings in Thunder Bay Friday. Mott had another great shooting night, hitting four of his seven three attempts and all eight of his free throws. Backcourt mate J.S. Esposito added 17 points for the Gryphs, while Warren Gilchrist paced the Wolves with a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds. Scott Seely added 15 for the hosts. Lakehead rebounded in the rematch, as Seely lit Guelph up for 32 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in a 76-73 win. Seely, a fifth-year Thunder Bat native, shot 65 per cent from the floor, including four of five from three-point range. Aron Bariagabre had 18 for Guelph, while John Ross Bailey chipped in a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The Ottawa Gee-Gees followed up their emotional win over Carleton Tuesday with a pair of victories over RMC and Queen's. Alex McLeod and Marko Jovic had 14 points each in a 77-44 win over Queen's Friday. Neil Dawson and Brendan O'Leary had 13 apiece for the Gaels. The Gee-Gees won their league best 14th game of the season 94-46 over the Paladins the next night. Guard Sean Peters had a game-high 22 points in just 21 minutes, as he missed just two of 11 field goals on the night. Donnie Gibson added 13 points, while McLeod chipped in 10 and eight rebounds. Tucker paced RMC with 14 points.
The ninth-ranked McMaster Marauders got 25 points and 13 rebounds from fifth-year forward Adam Steiner as they got by the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 71-66 Wednesday night. Ben Katz added 17 points, while John Obrovac had 14 points. Rob Innes led the Hawks with 20 points and seven rebounds. Steiner had another huge night Saturday, pouring in 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in a decisive 95-71 win over the Western Mustangs, who had previously upset the No. 8 Brock Badgers earlier in the week. Obrovac added 16 points for Mac, while Brad Smith led the Mustangs with 13 points. McMaster is 11-3 and sit atop the OUA West, two points ahead of Guelph and Brock.
In other action around the league, Laurier got 20 points from Andrew MacKay as they beat the Waterloo Warriors 68-51 Saturday. Graham Jarman scored 17 for the Warriors in a 69-64 win over the Windsor Lancers Wednesday. Before upsetting Toronto, York handled the Ryerson Rams 78-68 Friday. Foebel was a force with a game-high 35 points and 12 rebounds. The Badgers rebounded from the Western loss with an 83-71 victory over the Lancers. Mike Kemp paced Brock with 22 points, while Kevin Stienstra added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Trevor Boose hit three of four threes en route to a team-high 17 points for Windsor. Laurentian out-rebounded Ryerson 42-11 in an 86-56 win Saturday. Brody bishop led the Voyageurs with 20 points, while Bryan Colbridge had 14 boards.
(Photo: Laurentian's Jesse Piercey scores two in the Voyageurs' weekend clash with Toronto. Photo by John Sabourin, Action Event Photos.)
