Gaiters & Galt Team Up for Charity

On Friday December 29th @ 1 pm Alexander Galt Regional High School will be hosting our BU Gaiters vs. the UNB Varsity Reds in a USport non-conference game in Galt's newly renovated gymnasium in the first of a 2 game series.

Game 1 vs UNB is a collaborative event as the Gaiters & Alexander Galt are joining forces to support families in need in our local community. Winter apparel (coats, boots etc...), non-perishable items & cash donations (cheques greater than $10 will be issued a tax receipt) will be accepted on December 29th @ Alexander Galt.

Donations will be distributed to Lennoxville Elementary School, Ecole Primaire Saint-Antoine & Alexander Galt. 

We are trying to help fulfill needs of the three schools in our community of Lennoxville, including families in need, breakfast programs and getting some winter basics distributed. It is a continuation of the work our players started by raising  over $750 for the Alexander Galt Christmas Basket Fund earlier in December and the service of Robert Pinkston, former Gaiter Soccer coach and community leader, who launched a Winter Jacket campaign years ago.

Our athletes appreciate the tremendous support we receive and are excited to give back whenever the opportunity presents itself. Helping lead this particular initiative is tri-captain, Kevin Davis.  Kevin is a 4th year Psychology major from Baltimore, Maryland who heads our Jr Gaiters youth program and volunteers at Galt in the Basketball Sport Concentration program. Kevin is expected to have a big impact on the court for the team. Unfortunately injuries have derailed  his career thus far at BU as he has only dressed in 1 game. This past August Kevin scored 11 points vs. Canisius College in the Gaiters first game before injuring his knee. He is expected back in the line up for the UNB games. Despite not having played a game yet in Lennoxville he is very familiar with the great atmosphere our community creates at our home games. "Being on the bench injured in street clothes has been so frustrating. Seeing & feeling the energy our fans bring to our gym makes me all the more excited to get back playing!"says Davis.

We are so fortunate to be part of a community that not only comes together to support our Gaiter teams, but is also generous when an opportunity like this presents itself.  

 Game 2 of the Gaiters vs. UNB series takes place Saturday December 30th at 5:00 at Bishop's. Donations will NOT be accepted on site at BU on the 30th, but if you would like to donate & were not able to do so on the 29th please contact me at: rgilpin@ubishops.ca. 

Take note, our women's basketball team will be hosting a tournament on December 29th & 30th which includes the Ryerson Rams coached by Gaiter alum Carly Clarke & the McGill Martlets coached by another former Gaiter Ryan Thorne. Admission is free to all games on December 29th & 30th. For more info please go to: www.gaiters.ca

We hope every has happy & safe holiday season!

RSEQ Week #5

Friday vs. Laval

BU          19    22    10    19   -   70
UL          15    23    23    19   -   80

If you told me before the game that we would hold Laval to 39% shooting, shoot 49% ourselves while  having 20 assists I would have thought that those would likely be winning numbers.  They would have been if we were able to keep them off our glass & reduce our turnovers...Combined Points off TO's &  Offensive Rebounds: Laval 56   BU 17.  If we just do an average job in either of those areas we win by 10.

Frustrating, but there were definitely some positives. Most notably we competed & executed defensively (until there was a rebound too many times!) and shared the ball well at times. We tried to change some things up in our 3rd quarter routine, but we need more work there. I know that will get better after Christmas. I do take some solace in the fact that the Raptors are a much more experienced team than us and might be a just as bad 3rd quarter team than us!

$756.50 raised for charity!

So, after a good first half and a sub par 3rd Q we were still in the game. With just over a minute to go it was a 5 point game. We missed a couple of good looks at the basket and had to foul which stretched Laval's lead. To Laval's credit they are playing well. They are a very athletic & veteran group who is currently sitting in first place in our league at 4-1. Disappointed with the loss, but I am excited about our team moving forward after Christmas as we will have 4 more players in the line up that will dramatically improve our depth, athleticism & overall toughness.

Abdul led us in scoring with 16 points while adding 7 rebounds & 5 assists. Dave chipped in 15 points while Alex had 10 points & 7 assists.

On a more cheery note, our guys raised $756.50  for the Alexander Galt Christmas Basket Fund on Saturday by bagging groceries at Provigo-Lennoxville. A great initiative that was the brainchild of Gaiter alum Charles Kobelt 10 years ago. It really has a positive impact this time of year & gives our guys a chance to give back to a community that supports us so well.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season. We are back in action on December 29th at 1 pm @ Alexander Galt Regional High School vs. UNB. We play them the next day again at 5:30 pm in the friendly confines of the Mitchell Gymnasium at BU. More info to follow later in December.
Rod