Gaiters Off the Ottawa this Weekend

Hi Everyone,
Well we are finally back to playing again after 2 weeks off following our trip to Victoria. It has been a challenging time dealing with injuries, but we are making some strides. We are slowly coming together and are looking forward to getting our complete team on the floor at some point.

This weekend we are playing in the Jack Donahue tournament at the U of Ottawa. Friday night @ 8 pm we play a very solid U of T team that will be coming off a quality win over the U of Sask. Saturday @ 8 pm we face the Ottawa Gees Gees who are right there with Carleton this year. They beat Indiana in August have been obliterating CIS competition. On Sunday @ Noon we face Worcester Polytechnical Institute who is a strong NCAA D3 program.

Friday night there is a reception following our game vs. Toronto. Check below for the details. We hope to see a few of you out at the games & the reception on Friday night.
Rod

Come cheer on the Bishop's Gaiters Men's Basketball Team! BU vs. U of T - 8 pm, Friday, October 24 POST-GAME RECEPTION to follow at 10 pm

Bishop's alumni, parents and friends are warmly invited to attend a basketball post-game reception in Ottawa on October 24! The Gaiters take on the U of T Blues Friday night at 8 pm at the University of Ottawa - cheer them on wearing your best purple gear, and then join us to catch up with fellow alumni and fans after the game. Post-Game Event Details Date: Friday, October 24, 2014 Time: 10:00 pm Location: Royal Oak Pub, 161 Laurier Ave East (just across from U of O campus) Game tickets: Available online, at U of O's Montpetit Hall, or Minto Sports Complex Client Services. Games are held in Montpetit Hall Gym, 125 University on U of O's campus. RSVP for post-game event: Not required, but very much appreciated so we can plan accordingly. Let us know you're coming by joining the event on Facebook! If you'd like to have dinner at the Royal Oak before the game on Friday, please call the pub directly to make your reservation at 613-230-9223. Sports note: The Gaiters will be in town all weekend for the Jack Donohue Tournament at the University of Ottawa, playing the host Gee-Gees on Saturday, October 25 at 8 pm and Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Sunday, October 26 at noon - come on out and show your support! Special thanks to Cathy McLean '82 for organizing this event! Sincerely, Sarah Haddon '01 Alumni Relations Coordinator and Researcher shaddon@ubishops.ca 819-822-9600 x2319 Like us on Facebook! BU Alumni: Ottawa Chapter

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Despite Results, Good Start to the Season

University of Victoria - Guy Vetrie Invitational Results

Friday vs. Carleton

BU      15     22     12     14   -   63
CU      18     19     23     23   -   83

Well we were in the game for  about 30 minutes which is about 25 minutes longer than any other game we have played vs. Carleton in the previous few years! We played a solid first half offensively and defensively, but got fatigued in the 3rd quarter which led to some fouls that put us in a difficult position.

Being down 11 to start the 4th quarter is not the end of the world, but we just could not contain 3 time CIS MVP Phil Scrubb when it counted. Phil along with his brother Tom are pretty special players and they took over the game when Carleton needed them to.

Kyle Desmarais,  5th year guard

We had solid performances from 2nd yr  guard Kurt Caro, 2nd yr post Dave Belanger and 3rd yr  guard Karim Sy-Morissette. Kyle  Desmarais was excellent as he led us with 20 points going 3-3 from the 3 point line along with some fantastic finishes at the rim. All in all, a good effort against a team that has soundly defeated some top level NCAA programs this year already...they beat the Memphis Tigers by 32 in late August! A 20 point loss in our first game to a team like Carleton after about 3 weeks of practice is not so bad. Regardless, lots of things to work on.

Saturday vs. Alberta

BU      21     14     21     13   -   69
UA      23     25    19     12   -   79

We went from the frying pan into the fire all weekend. I feel safe in saying there won't be a better 4 team tournament in the CIS this year. All 4 teams are top 10 teams and the 3 we played are likely all top 5.

After a good start by Jona Bermillo, 14 first quarter points, Alberta got on a roll in the 2nd quarter and we could not match their energy. They built up a double digit lead that served them well the rest of the game. We  made runs at them in the 2nd half, but they always had an answer. We had them on the run with about 2 minutes to go before their 5th year All Canadian candidate knocked down a contested fade away 3 pointer. That pretty much ended our run.

Jona led us with a career high 32 points including a 7-12 explosion from the 3 point line. We are shooting the ball much better this year as a team which was evident in the first 2 games of the weekend where we shot 19-43 from the 3 point line. However, we did severely falter the last day vs. UVIC. Kyle added 10 points we did not get a lot of offense otherwise.

Sunday vs. UVIC

BU        18     12     17     16   -   63
UVIC    14      6      24     23   -   67

We had an excellent first half defensively and a decent one offensively. If we could have  converted a few more easy scoring chances...we missed a few shots a point blank range, we may have been up 16 or 18 at the half! Regardless, our execution at both ends of the floor was getting better and we started to find our identity again. We did a good job of getting the ball inside and had some fantastic defensive possessions.

Early in the 3rd quarter we had built a 12 point lead, but the wheels fell off for a bit and UVIC was able to close that game to 3 points by the end of the 3rd Q. The game remained close the rest of the way, but we simply ran out of gas and UVIC executed a little better than we did. At this point our conditioning is not where we need it to be, but it will be there sooner than later.

Mike Andrews, Dave Belanger and Kyle  Desmarais all reached double figures. Kurt Caro had 8 points and 4 assists to go along with some inspired defensive pressure. Kurt has really had a positive impact on our team this year after an up and down rookie season last year.

2nd yr PG Kurt Caro

It was disappointing to not get a win this past weekend. We had our chances in the last couple of games. We were without the services of defensive stopper Patrik Kabongo who received a mild concussion in practice the day before we left. We certainly could have used him. Overall it was a great experience against the teams we are planning to see in March. We learned a lot  about ourselves and return from Victoria a much much better team having faced 3 talented and very well coached teams.

Despite being so far from home, it was nice to see the friendly faces (Blair Shier, Jordan Winnett & Katy Germain) of a few of our alumni. Special thanks again to Blair who once again did a fantastic job of getting some excellent action shots of our guys in lieu of relaxing and watching the games! Also, a big thank you to Blair for feeding our guys on Sunday night!!

Next games are in 3 weeks  at U of Ottawa's Jack Donahue Tournament. Keep posted for updates on game times!!
Rod

Gaiters Open 2014-15 Season in BC

Lots of excitement on campus with the construction and the potential of the experienced team we will field this season. The new athletic complex is coming together slowly, but surely...much like our team!! It is likely that some of our team's best basketball will coincide with the completion of the construction here in January. Like the building, we have some nice pieces, but it is going to take some time to put it all together.

This week we open up non-conference play on the road as we head to Victoria to play 3 of the semi-finalists from last year's CIS Final 8, including the perennial champion Carleton Ravens. Carleton is our first day match-up and will be followed by Alberta and Victoria. It's kind of like playing a Canadian version of Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA on the same weekend! Some great competition and an opportunity to measure ourselves against some of the top programs in the CIS.
 

Fri October 3th

6 pm Carleton vs. Bishops

 

Saturday October 4th

4 pm Bishops vs. Alberta

Sunday October 5th

2 pm Bishops vs. Victoria

We expect to be anchored by our veteran front court of Matt McLean, Majid Naji, Mike Andrews and David Belanger.  Returning guards Jona Bermillo and Kurt Caro expect to be mainstays in our line-up and will be provide a solid core along with the addition of guards Kyle Desmarais (Concordia transfer), Karim Sy-Morrisette (McGill transfer) and Patrik Kabongo, who returns to the Gaiters after a year off. Returning veteran Jamil Abiad along with rookies Mathew Van Doorn, Serge Khayipangi, Jonathan Kabongo & Nikola Jovicic expect to provide the Gaiters with depth on the bench.


On Saturday we had a few alumni around for BU's Fall Homecoming and it was nice to touch base with them.We look forward to seeing a few more of you on the road this year and hopefully in our own gym in the new year.

Please check out our schedule: http://gaiters.ca/schedule.aspx?path=mbball

I will keep you posted!
Rod

Gaiters Top Concordia, But Falter vs. McGill in RSEQ Final 4

RSEQ Semi-final vs. Concordia - Saturday @ RSEQ Final Four

BU      18   18   16   22  - 74
CU      18   16   15   10  -  59

We accomplished something that very few Bishop's teams have ever done...we swept the entire season series vs. Concordia defeating them all 5 games we played this year. However, this game was the only one that was truly significant.

Despite being a little rattled and tight early we managed to tie the game at 18 by the end of the 1st quarter. We played pretty well in the 2nd, but Concordia's 5th year guard J-A Moussignac was on fire and he kept Concordia close. That was pretty much the same story in the 3rd quarter, but our top guys started to come alive in the 2nd half and we were able to pull away about midway through the 4th quarter.

It was balanced effort as Jona led us in scoring with 14. Jona was also named to the RSEQ 2nd Allstar team earlier in the week which is a nice honour for him. Matt was definitely the player of the game as he had 13 points, 10 rebounds & 5 assists. I don't think many realized how important he was to our team until he was out with a wrist injury for 3 or 4 weeks. He finished very strong and we are very hopeful that this was not his last weekend of basketball as a Gaiter...WOULD LOVE TO HAVE HIM BACK FOR HIS 5TH YEAR! Big Mike added 12 points and 8 rebounds while blocking 3 shots. 5th year Senior, Onnex Blackwood left nothing on the floor this weekend and scored 12 points in this game. Onnex has been a consistent scorer for 5 years and will be missed. Freshman Jaleel Webb added 8 points and 7 rebounds.

RSEQ Championship Final vs. McGill

BU         9   14    9   15  - 47
MU       24  16   24   9   - 73

We were never in this one. I was confident we were ready to play and I know our guys felt the same way. We definitely had some defensive breakdowns early, but our biggest issue was not converting opportunities on the offensive end. We missed too many shots inside and it never allowed us to build any momentum. It ended up being the same story in the 2nd half and the game was decided midway through the 3rd quarter.

McGill swept us this year and that was a disappointing turn of events. We expect to be better next year as we played a lot of freshmen this season who hopefully will develop even more over the course of the off season. We battled injuries constantly throughout the year...we did not have Majid this weekend who had a mild concussion...Matt & Scott missed several games...Jeremy sat out basically the whole year along with a constant variety of other guys missing games & practices. These impacted us, but I think we dealt with this pretty well all things considered. Through the adversity this was a great group of guys to coach. Despite the challenges they made it a positive experience and an enjoyable team to be around.

I want to thank our graduating Seniors Onnex Blackwood, Scott Ring & Matt McLean who have been a big part of the core of team for the past 4-5 years. We appreciate everything they have done for our program and hope we don't lose them all at once!

In other news, Mike & Jona were named to league allstar teams last week. Dave & Chris Henny were named to the league's all freshmen team. Scott Ring was named to represent our conference in the CIS awards for the Ken Shields' Award for community involvement as well as academic & athletic excellence. This nomination of  Scott typifies who he is...a great kid, leader, worker, competitor and representative of anything he is involved in.

I will keep you posted,
Rod

The Last of 'Meaningless' Games Comes to an End!

Friday vs. Concordia

BU      14   20   22   22  -  78
CU      23   18   20   15  -  76

5th Yr Senior, Onnex Blackwood

The most meaningful part of this game was that it was Seniors' Night for Scott, Matt and Onnex. Aside from wanting to win every game you play the added motivation was to send these guys out with a win in potentially their last game in Mitchell Gymnasium...Scott & Matt each have another year of eligibility so there is a chance they could return.

4th Yr Senior, Scott Ring

Regardless, Onnex made the most of his last home game carrying us for a good part of the night scoring 19 points. Mike Andrews was dominant in the 2nd half scoring 14 for the game. Rookie Jaleel Webb added 14 while Jona chipped in with 12.

4th Yr Senior, Matt McLean

I think this game was exciting for the fans. With us opening playoffs vs. Concordia on Saturday both teams were just trying to play hard and get through the game injury free. This game certainly did not have the playoff intensity that will be there on Saturday.





Saturday at Laval

BU        12   20   17   22  -  71
UL        19   27    8    19  -  73

There was nothing at stake other than pride for both teams in this game. We certainly started off slowly and  Laval seemed a little more fired up than us on their Seniors' Night. After some pretty porous defense and our team playing with some very different line-ups (we did not dress Big Mike - precautionary knee and Dave Belanger - ankle) we decided to switch to a 2-3 zone for the second half of the game.  We had some success with this, but it is not our preferred choice of defense.

However, our guys played hard and we managed find a way to score some hoops in the 2nd half playing some very small line-ups. We played well enough to take a 6 point lead mid way through the 4th quarter before running out of gas...lack of depth caught up to  us at that point.

Jaleel had another strong game scoring 16. Onnex continues to play well as he chipped in with 15. Freshman guard Kurt Caro  is really coming along and he contributed 7 points and 3 assists. Matt did a great job defensively grabbing 15 rebounds, blocking 3 shots and scoring 9 points.

Playoff Time!!

This is the most exciting time of the year. I am really looking forward to seeing our guys perform this weekend. Despite the struggles we have endured I feel we are really coming together. We should be as healthy as we have been all year and we have played pretty well when we have our key guys in the line-up.

As previously mentioned, we  play Concordia this Saturday at Laval at 1 pm in the RSEQ Final Four. Laval faces #1 McGill in the game following ours and the winners play off Sunday afternoon at 3pm. Check gaiters.ca for links to the webcasts if you cannot make the trip to Quebec City.

I will keep you posted,
Rod

Tough Weekend for Gaiters

Friday vs. McGill

BU     17   13   10   23  -  63
MU    16   16   18   19  -  69

Despite the loss it was one of our better games in a while. Defensively we did some good things and offensively with the exception of the 3rd quarter we were decent. Our undoing was a few small defensive breakdowns which McGill exploited every time. They played very well despite succumbing to our defensive pressure at times.

A poor 3rd quarter put us in a bad situation  and were never able to regain the lead again in the 4th cutting the margin to a 4 points a few times. McGill did a good job of answering any run we had. Often with a tough 3 or score late in the shot clock. 

Onnex led us in scoring with 16 points. Big Mike added 14 and 4 blocked shots. Scott and Matt returned to the line-up and both had an impact on our play. Scott scored 12 points and added 3 assists. Matt had 4 points, on nice dunks, but really did a good job defensively & provided some toughness we had been missing in his absence.

Sunday at UQAM

BU          11   15   14   12  -  52
UQAM   20   14   26   13  -  73

UQAM needed this game to stay in the playoff hunt. They have played well at times and have been unlucky. They also have 2 of the best scorers in the league. The game meant nothing to us regarding standings...we face Concordia in the first round of playoffs regardless of anything. However, the game always means something! We did not compete and rise to the challenge of facing a motivated team. They won and they earned it.

Nothing else left to be said and we won't even talk about this game with our team. At this point of the year sometimes you have to just have a short memory for certain things and just move on!


This coming weekend we play our final 2 regular season games. We host Concordia on Seniors' Night. Matt, Scott & Onnex are our graduating seniors. All have had nice careers here, but Onnex is the only one who is guaranteed gone...he is in his 5th year of eligibility. Matt & Scott have the option of returning for a final year and we are hopeful they make that choice! Saturday we travel to Laval and this could be a big game for Laval as they are fighting for the final playoff spot vs. UQAM.

I will keep you posted,
Rod

Back on Track

Friday vs. Concordia

BU     10   20   19   24  -  73
CU     15   15   15   19  -  64

Despite playing without our 3 captains (Jeremy, out for the year...Scott & Matt, hopefully back this week) we were able to pull out a couple of wins against Concordia who we had been tied for 2nd place with. Our older guys stepped up their play at key times and our freshmen are starting to contribute more regularly now. I have never gone through a season with some many and so many different injuries to a team, but it has been a great opportunity to play a lot of different guys at times. Does not always help us at the moment, but will pay dividends down the line.

This game was pretty close throughout, but we felt in control despite the game being within 4 points

Jona, career high 26 pts Friday.

either way for the majority of the game. We were able to get defensive stops when we needed to and made some timely baskets.

Jona carried us a good part of the way scoring 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the floor...that is pretty efficient! Onnex was excellent defensively and had a nice all around game scoring 15 and grabbing 7 rebounds. Majid chipped in with 12 points and 6 rebounds as he is starting to find his game. Big Mike was relatively quiet offensively, but he did have 5 blocked shots and continues to lead the CIS in blocks per game.

Saturday @ Concordia

BU     20   20    4   20  -  64
CU      8   22    18  13  -  61

We played pretty solidly throughout this game with the exception of the 3rd quarter. If you look at the line score you will notice the paltry 4 points scored there. It was good experience to struggle through that and not fold. We responded nicely in the 4th quarter and regained the lead with some good defense and offensive execution when it counted.

Majid with 14 points on Saturday.

Freshman Jaleel Webb had 2 key rebounds, a steal and 4 points to push us ahead with about 5 minutes to go. Concordia did not give up though as they did have a difficult 3 point attempt to tie the game that we contested well. Majid had 14 points to lead us in scoring. Freshman Dave Belanger & Onnex each added 11. We got a nice contribution off the bench from freshman Kurt Caro who had 7 assists as well.

The win on Friday guaranteed a playoff spot. With a 4 team tournament at the end being played at Laval that is all that really matters. We host McGill on Friday and then travel to UQAM on Sunday for a 4 pm game there. We hope to have Scott & Matt back this week, but they may be game time decisions Friday.
I will keep you posted.
Rod

Lost Weekend

Thursday at McGill 

Score by Periods      1     2    3     4     Total

Bishop's............       7    13  20   27   -  67

McGill..............        29   16  18   17   -  80

After a first quarter where we were horrid and McGill was fantastic we seemed to wake up a little and play somewhat better. Unfortunately we did not play well enough to erase a 25 point halftime deficit. Defensively we were very poor as McGill made eight 3 point shots in the first quarter. They shoot the ball well and execute well. However, we did not do anything to deter them. 

We went to a smaller line-up in the 2nd half and showed a little more fight. We attacked better on offense and even if we were not going to win the game we were improving. With the number of injuries we have been going through our freshmen are getting a great opportunity to play. We played this game without Matt McLean and Scott Ring received an elbow to the face in the first half which resulted in a broken nose & mild concussion. Not sure when he will be back. Jeremy Leonard-Smith is officially out for the season & will get surgery on his foot February 19th. He will return next year to play his 5th year of eligibility. With so many young players we tend to struggle without our 3 captains in the line-up. It is making it tougher now,but it will benefit us in the future. 

Freshman Jaleel Webb led us with 14 points off the bench. Jaleel missed most of January as he had to be tested for a heart condition. The test results were favourable and we are happy to have him back. Big Mike, Dave & Majid all reached double figures while freshman point guard Kurt Caro had his best game in a Gaiter uniform scoring 9 points and dishing out 7 assists while committing on 1 turnover. 

Saturday @ BU

 
Score by Periods      1    2    3    4     Total

McGill..............       16  20   8   11   -  55

Bishop's............      11   9   16  12   -  48

Another subpar first half performance did not help us this night. McGill did a job of defending and we struggled to score. To compound that we made too many errors defensively in a half where we were struggling to score. Being down by 16 at the half was certainly more manageable than the game before when were down 25 at the half. 

In the 2nd half we did a better job in defensive transition and attacked a little better on offense. Jona was in foul trouble in the first half, but was a factor in the 2nd half as he created and facilitated our offense. We were able to cut the McGill lead to 6 a few times, but we missed 8 layups in the 2nd half which really was our undoing. Shoulda, coulda, woulda...make half those and it is a much different game. 

No offensive stars in this game. Freshman Chris Henny had a very good weekend is certainly benefiting from all our injuries with more court time. Chris is providing some excellent energy on the defensive end and is doing a good job rebounding from the wing position. Onnex led us with 8 rebounds, but failed to score a field goal for what is probably the first time in his 5 year career. 

The beauty of our league (due to our injury situation this is a 'beauty') this year is that as long as you finish in the top 4 you make the playoffs and where you finish has no impact on home court...the RSEQ Playoffs/Final Four is at Laval. As we sit in 2nd place we are in a good position. Winning 2 of our final 6 guarantees a playoff spot and winning 3 ensures we finish no worse than 3rd. That is not where our focus is though. We just need to get healthy, get better each week and hopefully hit our stride come playoff time. 

This Friday we host Concordia at 8 pm. Saturday we play the back half of the home & home at Concordia at 4pm. Notice the afternoon start at Concordia. We hope to see a few of you there! 

I will keep you posted!

Rod