Gaiters Men’s Basketball Crack Top-10 for first time since 1999

Jan. 15, 2013

OTTAWA (CIS) – The Bishop’s Gaiters men’s basketball team cracked the top-10 in Canada this week when the rankings were released on Tuesday morning. It was the first time since March 9, 1999.  The Gaiters enter the polls as the nation’s ninth ranked team.  Their 5-1 record has them on top of the RSEQ standings. The Gaiters will face the McGill Redmen on Wednesday, January 16 at 8 p.m. following the Lady Gaiters and Martlets game slated for 6 p.m. Both games will take place in Mitchell Gymnasium on the Bishop’s campus. Below is the release from the CIS.

There are no changes this week atop CIS national rankings.

Fraser Valley (women’s basketball), Carleton (men’s basketball), McGill (women’s hockey), Alberta (men’s hockey & men’s volleyball), UBC (women’s swimming & women’s volleyball), Toronto (men’s swimming) and Guelph (women’s & men’s track and field) all maintain their No. 1 status.

Men’s basketball

Top-ranked Carleton (11-1) was dominant in road victories against Toronto (2-9), 91-57, and Ryerson (10-1), 91-66. The Ravens, who host Queen’s (9-3) on Saturday, now hold the best mark in the OUA thanks to their win over previously undefeated Ryerson, which moves up one spot to No. 6 in the new coaches’ poll despite its lopsided loss to the reigning CIS champions.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

(regular season record) / votes (first-place votes) / (previous rankings)

1. Carleton (11-1) / 395 points (32) / (1)

2. UBC (10-2) / 364 (1) / (2)

3. Acadia (7-1) / 328 / (3)

4. Cape Breton (9-0) / 289 / (5)

5. Alberta (10-2) / 242 / (6)

6. Ryerson (10-1) / 234 / (7)

7. Fraser Valley (7-5) / 184 / (4)

8. Windsor (8-3) / 154 / (8)

9. Bishop’s (5-1) / 112 / (NR)

10. Ottawa (10-2) / 97 / (10)

Other teams receiving votes: McGill (78), Saskatchewan (51), Lakehead (21).

Gaiters Grind Out Road Win @ Laval

Friday @ Laval

BU        20   17   16   15  -  68
UL        16   13   17   19  -  65

3rd yr Mike Andrews

This was a tough week with 3 games (2 of them on the road) in 6 days and no time for quality practices. To compound that we still are missing our key energy guy off the bench in Patrik Kabongo who is out with a back injury...should be back in a week or so we hope. We missed his minutes as we needed that experience, defense & rebounding last night. Regardless, our guys hung tough all week and they found a way to win on tired legs in Quebec City.

The game started with Laval coming out very aggressively. They were physical & definitely had the mentality they would be taking it to us. We managed to deal with that pretty well as our defense was solid and our inside game controlled the tempo. We were able to get to the foul line and Big Mike was, as our guys would term it, 'doing work' in the post. He scored on an array of moves and we thought he had put the Laval big man in foul trouble...but that is another story! Laval played well & never did allow us to stretch a lead out in the first half. We did manage to take the lead for good with 3 minutes to go in the half though.

We played pretty controlled & consistently (I might have a different opinion after watching the video this morning!) in the 2nd half and led by 7 or 8 points until the final minutes of the game. We made a couple of turnovers down the stretch which Laval converted into scores that brought them back to within a point with 11 seconds to go. However, Jeremy Leonard-Smith made 2 free throws to seal the win.

Big Mike was a force scoring 20 points, grabbing 7 rebounds & blocking or altering many shots. At times he is proving he has the potential to be not only one of top posts in our conference, but also in the CIS...consistency is the key & that seems to be improving. Onnex Blackwood continues to show he is the most improved defender on our team and he has not lost his scoring touch. Onnex had 16 points and 5 rebounds. Jeremy was solid again with 10 points and some tough D while Tim had 8 points & 5 assists. Matt McLean had 9 rebounds to lead us on the glass.

Our guys get a well deserved weekend off...sort of...we lift, condition & stretch Sunday morning to ensure they have a productive Sunday afternoon of studying! Wednesday we host McGill and next Saturday we travel to play Concordia (*Game time @ ConU is 4 pm). Both games have huge implications in the playoff picture as we are all are in a fight for the top 3 spots in our league & home playoff positions. Hope to see a few of you at the games...had a nice crowd last Wednesday night at home. Let's do that again!

Go Gaiters!!

Excellent 1st Half Pushes Gaiters Past UQAM

Wednesday vs. UQAM

BU            20   20   17   12  -  69
UQAM      12   10   18   18  -  58

If you were watching on-line and tuned out after the first half I would consider that a good choice. We definitely played our best basketball in the first 20 minutes. Defensively were sharp and kept UQAM off balance. Offensively we moved the ball, had good shot selection and only had 4 turnovers.

1st yr Wing Ryan Foster

The second half was not so much of the same. We had glimpses and a few highlights, but we did not sustain our intensity or focus for the duration of the second half and allowed UQAM to cut the lead down to 8 points in the 4th quarter. UQAM battles hard & really does compete, but we should have never let it get to that point. Is it part of the evolution of becoming a winning team? Might be, but I think I can speak for our coaching staff when I say we are going to lose our minds if we don't start putting teams away earlier when we have the opportunity!We need to develop that maturity in the coming games.

Defensively we managed to force UQAM into 25 turnovers while only turning over the ball 10 times ourselves. I believe we lead the CIS in turnover margin & steals. Offensively we were balanced, but shot poorly from the foul line for the 2nd straight game going 13-24.

1st yr Guard Jona Bermillo

Our scoring was pretty balanced with Onnex hitting for 16, Jeremy with 14 while Tim & Big Mike each added 12. Tim also added 6 steals & 2 blocked shots. Jeremy was solid defensively & really stabilized our team. Big Mike returned to form & showed us he was ready to play when his first fg attempt was a strong dunk attempt over defender drawing the foul. We need him playing with that mentality! Freshman guard Jona Bermillo had a strong 1st half contibuting 4 points & 3 steals.

Friday we travel to Laval which is never an easy trip. Laval is young, but has talent  and are a dangerous team...they did beat Concordia at home last game of the first semester. You can follow the game Friday at 8pm on www.rougeetor.tv.

Go Gaiters!!

Gaiters Top Citadins in Montreal

Sunday @ UQAM

BU           19   17   20   12  -  68
UQAM    17   15   16   18  -  66

As every game is with UQAM, this was a physical affair. It was a battle of UQAM trying to impose their will on us with their strength and us trying to push them out of their comfort zone with our defensive pressure. They outrebounded us 45-35, but we forced 27 turnovers vs 15 of our own. That alone should have given us enough of an advantage to win comfortably if we had capitalized. However, we managed to shoot 11-24 from the line (we avg 74% on the yr!) and 25-72 from the floor...a few bad shots, but we missed too many high percentage shots. We shot 4 more free throws & 18 more field goals attempts than UQAM!

Point Guard Scott Ring

We stretched a 4 point lead at half time to 8 at the end of the 3rd quarter. From there on in we led by 5 to 10 points until UQAM hit a 3 pointer with 4 seconds to go to close the lead to 2 points. We had opportunities to build significant leads in this game, but failed to take advantage of those opportunities. The result was a closer game that was hardly beautiful to watch. Regardless, we will take not playing your best and getting a road win. We will need to be better Wednesday night or UQAM will turn the tables on us.

Tim Hunter has started to come on again the last couple of games. Tim had 16 points and 5 rebounds to lead us. Jeremy & Onnex each added 12 points. Big Mike struggled, but had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists & 3 blocks. PG Scott Ring continues to be steady as he chipped in with 5 pts, 4 assists, 3 steals & 10 rebounds.

This Wednesday we host UQAM in what will be another slugfest no doubt. The rivalries in our conference are intense and the night you don't show up to play is the night you will go home with a loss. We currently are in 1st place, but there is still a lot of basketball left to play. Hoping we can continue toward solidifying a playoff spot & the opportunity to host a playoff game or 2.

Go Gaiters!!

Gaiters Sweep 3 Games @ UQAM Tourney

Friday December 28th  vs. Montreal Alumni Allstars

BU      - 78
MAA  - 67

This game was not actually part of the tournament. Regardless it was a good opportunity to lose a little bit of the rust that had accumulated over the last month. The game was rather uneventful, but was a good chance to get our bench some extra court time. Freshman Ryan Foster took advantage of his opportunity to play as he scored 12 points in 14 minutes. Big Mike led us with 13 points.




Saturday December 29th vs. Memorial University

BU      16   10   12   14  -  52
MUN   5    11   13   10  -  39


Defensively we were pretty good all game with a few exceptions. We managed sustain ball pressure & take Memorial's best scorers out of the game. However, we missed an inordinate amount of lay-ups that were very high % shots we normally make. It was really dumbfounding! We shot a ridiculous 19-72 from the floor and there were not many bad shots in that 72. Our offensive execution was OK and we created a lot of opportunities on the fast break with our defense. Despite that we did not reward ourselves.

Memorial never really threatened our lead as we managed to maintain the double digit lead through out. Onnex led us in scoring with 17 points, but both he & I would tell you he should of scored at least double that in a game he termed as 'the worst game he has ever played'! Regardless, his defense was solid. Big Mike had 10 points and 10 rebounds.



Sunday December 30th  vs. U of Waterloo

BU      9   20   18   25  -  72
UW    24   4    16    5   -  49

Waterloo is talented and well coached, but we let them take it to us in the 1st quarter. Needless to say, as a coaching staff we were not too impressed with how we came out to play. It was not a matter of  X's & O's and I conveyed that message a little less eloquently after the first quarter. It was up to the guys on the floor to take control of the game and they did that with 20-4 2nd quarter performance. The final 3 quarters we were very good defensively except for a spurt in the 3rd quarter where Waterloo knocked down three quick 3 point shots. However, we locked down defensively holding Waterloo to 5 points in the 4th and put them away with some slick 3 point shooting by Onnex, Jeremy and Ryan Foster. Ryan came off the bench to score 11 4th quarter points. Ryan definitely has a shooter's mentality and can put points up quickly.

Jeremy played his best game of the weekend scoring 17 points & grabbing 6 rebounds. Onnex added 13 & 6. Tim Hunter was a factor with 5 assists and started to assert himself on both ends of the floor.

Despite winning all our games we did not win the tournament. UQAM also won their games, but got the tournament championship due to the fact they had a much better point differential in their win over Memorial.

UQAM is our next opponent as we travel their to play them at 8pm on Sunday January 6th. This is the re-scheduled game from the first semester where an administrative mistake caused our first league game to be cancelled. We expect a very tough game and there will be no easy games the rest of the year. Hope to see a few friends, family and Alumni out at the game!

Happy New Year & and wishing everyone a prosperous 2013! GO GAITERS!!
Rod

Gaiters Giving Back to Community

This past Saturday our guys were  at the local Provigo grocery store in Lennoxville bagging groceries. The guys raised $625 for the Alexander Galt Regional High School Christmas Basket Fund. The number was a little lower than years past, but we were sharing the store with another fantastic charity, the Salvation Army.

The initiative was started 5 years ago by Gaiter Alum & former coach Charles Kobelt and to this date our players have raised in the neighbourhood of $4000 for the local Christmas charity.This day is always a highlight in the year for our guys. They really enjoy interacting with the people in our community and take a lot of pride in making a difference at this time of year.

On behalf of everyone in our program we would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday season and the very best for the New Year!

Go Gaiters!!!

1st Semester Recap

This has been a very nice season SO FAR for our team. I am stressing the SO FAR part because there is still a lot of basketball left to be played and a lot of work to do if we are going to be able to say we had a very nice season in March!

We did not exactly know what to expect from this team early in September. We lost a couple of key guys, but were returning a core group of 3rd & 4th yr guys who we would have to say were unproven. We had some highlights last season, but struggled and underachieved when league play started. However, we a had terrific month of training in September where the guys really worked hard, pushed themselves and built strong team chemistry. This team has been pushed hard and has  responded well all year...they are fit and take a lot  of confidence from the fact that they probably do more than most opponents they face.

As we sit here on December 7th the Gaiters have an overall record of  9 wins & 4 losses which includes a record of  7 - 3 vs. CIS competition. We are on the fringe of the CIS Top Ten coach's poll and are ranked #2 in the CIS in Ratings Percentage Index (RPI)  http://cishoops.ca/cis2012/cisrpi.php which takes into account winning percentage & strength of schedule. We have played one of the toughest schedules in the CIS and have a record of 4 wins & 1 loss to teams that have been in or are ranked in the CIS Top Ten coach's poll.

From a player production perspective  I would say we don't  have a star player. We have had 6 different players score  at least 18 points in a game while we have 4 or 5 guys who are averaging at least 10 ppg. 3rd yr point guard Scott Ring has stepped in and replaced Sean Monplaisir in fine fashion. Scott has worked hard to become a good CIS player and is taking advantage of his opportunity to play this year. Few expected (including myself) Scott to have such an impact this year. Very happy for him and he deserves the recognition. 3rd yr, 6'10 Mike Andrews has started to blossom (Mike will love that I used blossom  to  refer to him!)  as well. He has come a long way in his 3 yrs here and has continually improved his skills & work ethic. 3rd yr, 6'8 fwd Matt McLean also has emerged as an improved scorer and rebounder up front. Matt along with Mike gives us a solid base on the front line as we move into the next couple of years. The improvement of our 3rd year guys has been significant and it is what we needed to compete with the better teams. However, our veteran core of Tim Hunter, Jeremy Leonard-Smith & Onnex Blackwood has provided stability and a strong presence within our team on & off the court.

Our bench has been anchored by our 3rd yr high energy  guard Patrik Kabongo. PK's positive attitude is infectious and he has given the team a boost several times coming off the bench. Freshman point guard Jona Bermillo has had a good first semester & has steadily improved. We expect that Jona's role will increase as the year progresses. We have had contributions from various members of our bench over the course of the first half, but more importantly the competition level in  practice & attitude of Jamil Abiad, Ridolphe Aristil, Ryan Foster, Shawn McAlpine & Jonathan Goyette is an intangible factor that really has impacted our team positively. The  bench guys do not always get their due, but for those of us who have been around the game a bit we know how much they mean to a team.

Our next action is December 28th in Montreal at the UQAM Tournament. The schedule is listed below and we hope to see a few of you out at our games! Happy Holidays to everyone!
Rod

UQAM Classique des Citadins 2012

*Friday  December 28th        Bishop’s        vs      Mtl. Alumni Team               20h30

Saturday December 29th   Memorial        vs            Bishop’s                          14h00

Sunday December 30th       Bishop’s        vs              Waterloo                        12h00

*exhibition game