RSEQ Week #3

Saturday at Concordia

BU                   15       27       17       32   -   91

CU                   22       27       27       29   -   105

A bit of a up tempo game that led to A LOT of points being scored. Concordia had a very good week winning at McGill on Thursday. They played at a high level in both games and definitely deserved the win on Saturday.

We have given up a lot of points at times this year, but we do play at a high pace. Our defensive rating has been pretty good when you look at points per possession and our opponents FG %. However, we were not strong on Saturday and we have to get back to improving fundamentals in some very simple, but key areas. 

Another terrific game from Sr. Kevin Davis

About the game, Concordia had a good start and we just hung on in the first quarter.  We were better in the 2^nd quarter, but fouled any time we were making headway. The 3^rd quarter, where we have been solid this season, was our undoing. We gave up 9 points in the first 4 possessions and allowed Concordia to build a lead as large as 19 points.

In the 4^th we started to get things together mounting a comeback to cut the lead to 4 with 2 minutes to go. Concordia made a couple of key shots, we missed and fouled, but they made free throws to put the game away.

Kevin had an outstanding 2^nd half scoring 19 of his 26 points after the break. He also had 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Abdul matched Kevin with 26 points. Really missed Joany & Zion in this game. Their defensive presence would have helped.

Big week as we head Laval on Thursday and then host McGill to end the semester.  

I will keep you posted.

Rod

RSEQ Week #2

Thursday @ #9 McGill

BU       19       25       23       12   -   79

MU      6         15       22       26   -   69

This was kind of a funny game…McGill was without their 2 best players and couple of key veteran guys as they were off to the FISU 3-3 Championships in China. We were without 2 starters & our 6^th man who were are injured. When we play again in a couple of weeks the game will  look a little different from a personnel perspective.

McGill struggled in the first half and we pretty much had our way with them until the middle of the 3^rd quarter despite not playing particularly well…made a lot of mistakes that McGill did not take advantage of.  At that point we did have a 30 point lead which we did not take the opportunity to improve upon. From there McGill was loose, made some plays and we kind of just got caught watching the clock wind down. Very frustrating as a coach!  We will take the road win regardless.

Abdul had 22 points & 14 rebounds to go along with 4 steals. Sr tri-captain Duncan Lambert stepped up to fill the void our injuries created as he had a career high 17 points which included five 3 pointers in the 2^nd quarter alone. Dunc had a nice weekend for us and did  a number of good things in both games. Jordan added 12 points & 7 rebounds in just 13 minutes.

Saturday vs. Laval (OT)

BU                   15       24       21       20       13   -   93

UL                   23       20       10       27       6     -   86

Great atmosphere in our gym on Saturday. The crowd was as large the week before, but this crowd was very loud and engaged. Especially in the 4^th quarter. Fortunate to have the support we have from the community and our students.

Laval was well rested and well prepared as this was their only game of the week. They have a veteran group that is athletic & capable of really scoring at times. They hurt us in transition with their ability to push the ball. Especially in the 1^st half where they controlled the game and we were fortunate just to hang in and only be down 4 at the break.

We had an excellent 3^rd quarter defensively and it would have been better had we not fouled a 3 point shooter after and ill advised turnover in what should have been the last possession of the quarter. Live and learn, we missed an opportunity to go into the 4^th with a double digit lead.

Into the 4^th Laval clawed back to take leads as big as 5 points. We managed to hang on though. With 31 seconds left Laval had the ball up 3. We had our most versatile and athletic defensive line up on and elected to get a stop or steal instead of  fouling…a dicey coaching decision, but our guys made it look like the right one! With about 10 seconds left Kevin stripped their guard of the ball a few feet on our side of midcourt and proceeded to finish the layup at the other end while getting fouled. He made the free throw to tie the game, we held defensively on Laval’s last possession and we were in OT.

In overtime Abdul made a tough shot followed by freshman guard Connor Kelly making an ‘and 1’ layup & FT to put us up 3 for a lead we would never give up.  Connor had great weekend scoring 8 points in each game. With Joany being out it opened up some court time which he took advantage of. 2^nd year guard DJ Ngom sealed the game with a steal as he read Laval’s play perfectly and secured the ball before getting fouled.

2nd Yr Guard - DJ Ngom

Abdul is getting back to his old self as he led all scorers with 25 points. After a sub par game at McGill, Kevin was back to his old self with 21 points & 5 assists. Nervens had moments in this game with 10 points, 7 rebounds & 5 assists, but he is still only scratching the surface of his potential.

Next Game: Saturday we head to Concordia to face the Stingers. ConU is currently 1-1 in RSEQ play and has been touted as one of the favourites to win our league. Take note the game is 4 PM.

RSEQ Week #1

Saturday vs. UQAM

BU                    17       15       26       20   -   78

UQAM             12       27       18       18   -   75

We were not exactly sharp in this game, but all things considered we will take the win. We were playing without Nervens and 2 minutes into the game Joany came out with strained calf. He did not return.  That’s 2 of our starting guards not in the line-up! To compound that Zion dislocated his elbow halfway through the 3^rd quarter…he is our 6^th man and one of our top 4 guards. Our depth is pretty good, but that had us playing some line-ups that are a bit unfamiliar.

Kevin Davis - Sr Tri-Captain

After a solid 1^st quarter we fell apart for 10 minutes. Turned over the ball and made way too many gameplan/scouting report mistakes that led to easy UQAM scores. Fortunately our guys bounced back to play a strong 3^rd Q. After being down 7 at the half we regained the lead before the end of the quarter.  With about 3 minutes to go in the 3^rd Zion made an athletic attempt at blocking a shot, but while heading to the floor he lost balance and used his arm to help break his fall. It resulted in a gruesome looking dislocated elbow. He is OK, but will be out for the rest of the semester. Definitely a bit traumatic for not only Z, but also his teammates. The guys regained composure and came out the break with a nice read on O that lead to a highlight dunk by Jordan. See the video below. 

The 4^th quarter was tight, but we did maintain a small lead throughout pushing the lead to 7 in the final minute to close out the game. Kevin was outstanding with 19 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists (only 3 turnovers), 2 steals & 2 blocked shots. He certainly picked up the slack with the 2 other starting guards out. Abdul struggled, but still managed 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jordan gave us a nice boost off the bench with 13 points  and 2 blocked shots. Both Jordan & Yassin really stepped up in the 2^nd half of this game. Yass had 9 points, 6 rebounds & 4 assists.

Thursday we travel to McGill to face the Redmen at 8 pm before hosting Laval on Saturday night back in Lennoxville.