Saturday vs. Laval

BU       21    11    20    17   -   69
UL       20    20    13    25   -   78


We are still struggling to find consistency in our play on both sides of the ball. We can look pretty good for stretches, but then not so good at other times. That combination along with Laval playing pretty well made for a difficult evening. Once again we hurt ourselves with too many fouls which allowed Laval to score 23 points at the foul line. When we can limit needless fouls we will be much tougher to beat.

Jona 18 points

Jona led us with 18 points. Majid has been playing very well the last 2 to 3 weeks and he collected another double-double with 16 points & 12 rebounds to go along with 4 assists and 3 steals. He has really stepped up his game and really pleased to see him finish so strongly as he approaches the final weeks of his CIS career.

This Saturday we play our final regular season game of the RSEQ season vs. UQAM at home. A win ensures that we finish in 3rd place. Regardless, we have qualified for the playoffs and will face either Laval or McGill in the 1st round of the RSEQ Final 4 here at BU on March 6th. At this point the conference is wide open and any of the 4 playoff teams could win our league. Definitely the least predictable playoff in ages in our conference. Saturday is also Senior Night for our graduating players. We will be honouring Matt McLean, Mike Andrews, Patrik Kabongo, Jamil Abiad, Majid Naji, Kyle Desmarais & Karim Sy-Morrisette. 

A note to our Gaiter Basketball Alumni & Friends of Gaiter Basketball, we will be sending out our invitations for the 'A Celebration of 50 Years of Gaiter Basketball'...honoring coaches Garth Smith & Eddie Pomykala  and their era. This event will be held on Saturday April 11th. A detailed invite will be out via email in the coming days.

I will keep you posted,
Rod

Gaiter Weekend Report

Friday vs. Concordia (Overtime)


BU       13   15   21   11     16  -  76
CU       15    7    14   21    12  -  72

As has been the case quite often this year, we look great for stretches, take a lead, relax and wait for the other team to quit. The other team rarely quits and we usually seem to give them a reason for a glimmer of hope that can spur them on!

Majid 19 & 10 on Friday

We played very well the first 25 minutes of this game. We executed at both ends of the floor and took a 19 point lead in the 3rd quarter. In fact, we led by 17 with about 7 minutes to go. However, we took some needless undisciplined fouls early in the 4th quarter which turned into free throw attempts for Concordia in the final 5 minutes. Allowing easy points at the foul line with the clock stopped put Concordia back into the game. Fortunately for us we made some shots in the overtime period and escaped with the win.

Majid was very solid all weekend scoring at the rim and rebounding. He led us this game with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jona provided a spark off the bench with 14 points while Kyle & Mike chipped in with 12 & 11 respectively. Matt was solid as usual scoring 9 and grabbing a game high 11 rebounds.


Saturday vs. McGill

BU       12    9    7   18  -  46
MU      11   10   17  18  -  56

Not putting Concordia away when we had the chance hurt us a bit on Saturday night. McGill's only game of the week was ours and with the overtime situation we ended up playing our key guys more than we wanted to on Friday. Regardless, we played  hard for 40 minutes, but not that all that well. 6 of top guys went a combined 7-43 from the floor which is about 16%. Give McGill's defense some credit, but there were a significant number of very makeable shots in that 43!

Dave... 12 pts & 9 rebounds

After a very tight defensive 1st half McGill took a 15 point lead in the 3rd quarter. We managed to scratch and claw our way back to a 4 point deficit with just under a minute to go. However, they made some timely hoops and we could not convert offensively.

David Belanger had his best game of  the year scoring 12 and collecting 9 rebounds. It was nice to see Dave play with the tenacity he showed Saturday. He is capable of carrying our team for stretches when he has that focus. Kyle struggled all weekend, but managed to score 10.

Our record stands at 7-7 which puts us a half game behind Laval for 2nd place. 1 more win and either a Concordia or  UQAM loss guarantees us a playoff spot.  That is the primary goal right now.  Without a doubt our next game is the most important game of the year...as always!

Saturday we host  Laval and get a chance to avenge blowing a late lead the last time we played them. I  will keep you posted.
Rod

Another Week, Another Split

Friday vs. UQAM

BU             24   19   18   20   -   81
UQAM        18    7    14   18   -   57


We were finally back in the Mitchell Gym on Friday. It was nice to play in a gym where the fans can actually impact the atmosphere again. There was a good crowd and it was very loud at times. Something that was missed.

To the game...we played a very good offensive first quarter and had zero turnovers. It makes it easier to score when you are getting a shot or drawing a foul every time down the floor! Defensively we had some

Big Mike... 23 & 12

lapses, but did a much better job in the 2nd quarter holding UQAM to 7 points. After leading by 18 at the half we managed to push the lead as high as 29 in the second half, but did have some lapses and allowed UQAM to close back to 16 at one point. Regardless, with the exception of a few minutes we were pretty solid.

Big Mike had his best game in a couple of years scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Majid contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds while Kyle added 11 pts and 7 rebounds. Jona was good off the bench as he scored 9 and had 4 steals.

Saturday at UQAM

BU           19   13   15   17   -   64
UQAM      19   15   20   17   -   71

We certainly did not play with the same urgency as the night before and maybe rested a bit on the success we had the evening before...which is ALWAYS a recipe for disaster! Winning back to back in our league is never easy and especially when you are playing the 2nd game on the road. The team that is more disciplined

Jona...solid weekend.

and wants it more usually prevails. That was the case this game as UQAM was able to take control of the game in the 3rd quarter and we were never able to grab the lead again. We had opportunities late, but managed to shoot ourselves in the foot when the opportunities presented themselves.

Kyle led us with 22 pts & 9 rebounds. Jona added 10 points. The telling stat for us was a season low 7 assists. Less than half our league leading average. That pretty much was the tale of the tape so to speak.


That game at UQAM was our final road game of the RSEQ season. We have our final 4 league games at home in Mitchell and host the playoffs here as well. We are not guaranteed a playoff position yet, but we are tied for 2nd place and have the favourable home schedule the rest of the way. We are all hoping this home stand will help provide us with what we need to turn the corner on a season that has been a struggle to this point.

This week....we host Concordia on Friday and McGill on Saturday. I will keep you posted!
Rod