RSEQ Semi-Final

Wednesday at #5 McGill - RSEQ Semi-Final

BU          19    19    16    13   -   67
MU         28    18    35    24   -   105

Our season came to a grinding halt Wednesday night as we lost to veteran laden team at McGill.  With the exception of a couple of minutes in the first quarter and some very poor free throw shooting I thought we played a good first half. We shot 57% from the fioor, but went 3-13 from the foul line in the first half. That is significant in an 8 point game. Unfortunately, the poor free throw shooting continued into the 2nd half as we  missed our first 3 free throws of the 2nd half. That essentially nullified an opportunity to at least stunt a McGill run and keep us in striking distance.

From a gameplan perspective, we knew we would have to attack their full court pressure, limit their starting point guard and rebound the ball. We did a decent job in all of those areas most of the time, but did not execute well offensively in the half court in the 2nd half when McGill stopped pressing full court. With our lack of experience,  I knew that scoring could be an issue if they stopped pressing because they are a better half court team than a full court team defensively. However, if you can't beat their full court pressure you were never going to see their half court D! The 2nd half turned into a rout and they were literally making 3 point shots from the start of the 2nd half to the very last second of the game.

Kevin, Abdul, Nervens & Yassin all scored in double figures. Yassin added a game high 9 rebounds as he played a very good game.

RSEQ Rookie - Nervens Demosthene

Nervens was named RSEQ Rookie of the Year earlier that day and had a solid game going before being disqualified for 1 intentional foul (preventing an 'And 1' opportunity) & 1 'clear path' foul...neither malicious or dangerous fouls, but both 2 shot fouls & the ball back to McGill. That combination lead to an ejection & had the same result as 2 technical fouls. Some good and some bad about FIBA rules, but often unpredictable when you have room for a referee's interpretation within the rules.






Abdul was named a 1st Team RSEQ All Star as well on

1st Team RSEQ - Abdul Kamane

Wednesday. He has had an excellent season and really developed in so many ways as  a player and person over the year. He is great kid and we are happy to see his talent recognized.

So, that ends our season for 2017-18. It was a tough year, but a good year. We finished better than we started, but injuries were the most common theme all year. Regardless, our guys persevered  and developed into a team that was really fun to coach in the 2nd half of the year. This group really started to come together in January and I am hopeful that we have the right group of guys returning. We will miss Dave Belanger, but there is a solid core coming back.

I will keep you posted.
Rod