March 2, 2006
MAC TAKES DOWN LANCERS 67-55
HAMILTON - Following a one-year absence, the McMaster Marauders are heading out east to the CIS Men's Basketball Championships. For the 12th time in the 14-year tenure of head coach Joe Raso, the Maroon and Grey will make the journey to Halifax, in two weeks time, punching their tickets on Wednesday evening by virtue of a 67-55 win over the gritty Windsor Lancers.
The seventh-ranked Marauders, who captured the OUA West regular season title with a 17-5 conference mark, improve to 25-6 against CIS competition on the year.
The visiting Lancers were first on the scoresheet, courtesy of a three-point basket by Rich Allin (Chatham, ON). But it was their only lead of the night, and it was very short lived. McMaster senior swingman Ben Katz (Toronto, ON) took over the contest, scoring the next seven points of the game, to put Mac ahead 7-3. Five minutes in, the Maroon and Grey enjoyed a 14-7 advantage, thanks to 12 points from Katz.
But the Lancers didn't quit. As you would expect from a Chris Oliver-coached squad, Windsor began to execute their game plan on defense, doing a great job of denying Marauder entry passes to their post players. First-team conference all-star Adam Steiner (Dundas, ON) was unable to get anything going in the opening 20 minutes. However, the home side was able to take a 39-31 lead into the locker room at the half.
Out of the intermission, Windsor slowly chipped away at the margin, cutting it to a mere two points, 41-39, with 15 minutes on the clock. Lancer all-star Kevin Kloostra (Chatham, ON) had an open look to give the visitors the lead, but his shot wouldn't fall. The miss seemed to wake up the Marauders, who rallied to regain their biggest lead of the night, 55-44, with just over eight minutes remaining. The defenses took over, and no one was able to score in the next four minutes. For the Marauders, that was a good thing, as they were able to hold the margin as the game progressed. Eventually, Windsor was forced to foul, but the Marauders made the most of their attempts from the charity stripe, going on to the victory.
Katz finished with 18 points to pace McMaster. Point guard Justin Gunte (Dundas, ON) ran the show, netting 12 points in the process.
Kloostra led all scorers with 23 points. Allin added 14, while brother Greg Allin (Chatham, ON) added 10. Windsor's downfalls were their results from the charity stripe (9-for-21), and beyond the three-point arc (2-for-13).
Next up for McMaster is the OUA West title game. The Marauders will face the veteran Laurier Golden Hawks, who were 54-49 winners over the Brock Badgers in the other conference semi-final. Due to the CIS Men's Volleyball Championship taking over the Burrige Gym this weekend, the match has been moved to Monday evening at 7:00 pm at the Burridge Gym.
(Source: Dale Stevens.)
(Photo: McMaster veteran Ben Katz drives left in the Marauders' 67-55 playoff win over Windsor Wednesday. Photo by Cameron Dunlop.)
The seventh-ranked Marauders, who captured the OUA West regular season title with a 17-5 conference mark, improve to 25-6 against CIS competition on the year.
The visiting Lancers were first on the scoresheet, courtesy of a three-point basket by Rich Allin (Chatham, ON). But it was their only lead of the night, and it was very short lived. McMaster senior swingman Ben Katz (Toronto, ON) took over the contest, scoring the next seven points of the game, to put Mac ahead 7-3. Five minutes in, the Maroon and Grey enjoyed a 14-7 advantage, thanks to 12 points from Katz.
But the Lancers didn't quit. As you would expect from a Chris Oliver-coached squad, Windsor began to execute their game plan on defense, doing a great job of denying Marauder entry passes to their post players. First-team conference all-star Adam Steiner (Dundas, ON) was unable to get anything going in the opening 20 minutes. However, the home side was able to take a 39-31 lead into the locker room at the half.
Out of the intermission, Windsor slowly chipped away at the margin, cutting it to a mere two points, 41-39, with 15 minutes on the clock. Lancer all-star Kevin Kloostra (Chatham, ON) had an open look to give the visitors the lead, but his shot wouldn't fall. The miss seemed to wake up the Marauders, who rallied to regain their biggest lead of the night, 55-44, with just over eight minutes remaining. The defenses took over, and no one was able to score in the next four minutes. For the Marauders, that was a good thing, as they were able to hold the margin as the game progressed. Eventually, Windsor was forced to foul, but the Marauders made the most of their attempts from the charity stripe, going on to the victory.
Katz finished with 18 points to pace McMaster. Point guard Justin Gunte (Dundas, ON) ran the show, netting 12 points in the process.
Kloostra led all scorers with 23 points. Allin added 14, while brother Greg Allin (Chatham, ON) added 10. Windsor's downfalls were their results from the charity stripe (9-for-21), and beyond the three-point arc (2-for-13).
Next up for McMaster is the OUA West title game. The Marauders will face the veteran Laurier Golden Hawks, who were 54-49 winners over the Brock Badgers in the other conference semi-final. Due to the CIS Men's Volleyball Championship taking over the Burrige Gym this weekend, the match has been moved to Monday evening at 7:00 pm at the Burridge Gym.
(Source: Dale Stevens.)
(Photo: McMaster veteran Ben Katz drives left in the Marauders' 67-55 playoff win over Windsor Wednesday. Photo by Cameron Dunlop.)
