Another Week, Another Split

Friday vs. UQAM

BU             24   19   18   20   -   81
UQAM        18    7    14   18   -   57


We were finally back in the Mitchell Gym on Friday. It was nice to play in a gym where the fans can actually impact the atmosphere again. There was a good crowd and it was very loud at times. Something that was missed.

To the game...we played a very good offensive first quarter and had zero turnovers. It makes it easier to score when you are getting a shot or drawing a foul every time down the floor! Defensively we had some

Big Mike... 23 & 12

lapses, but did a much better job in the 2nd quarter holding UQAM to 7 points. After leading by 18 at the half we managed to push the lead as high as 29 in the second half, but did have some lapses and allowed UQAM to close back to 16 at one point. Regardless, with the exception of a few minutes we were pretty solid.

Big Mike had his best game in a couple of years scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Majid contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds while Kyle added 11 pts and 7 rebounds. Jona was good off the bench as he scored 9 and had 4 steals.

Saturday at UQAM

BU           19   13   15   17   -   64
UQAM      19   15   20   17   -   71

We certainly did not play with the same urgency as the night before and maybe rested a bit on the success we had the evening before...which is ALWAYS a recipe for disaster! Winning back to back in our league is never easy and especially when you are playing the 2nd game on the road. The team that is more disciplined

Jona...solid weekend.

and wants it more usually prevails. That was the case this game as UQAM was able to take control of the game in the 3rd quarter and we were never able to grab the lead again. We had opportunities late, but managed to shoot ourselves in the foot when the opportunities presented themselves.

Kyle led us with 22 pts & 9 rebounds. Jona added 10 points. The telling stat for us was a season low 7 assists. Less than half our league leading average. That pretty much was the tale of the tape so to speak.


That game at UQAM was our final road game of the RSEQ season. We have our final 4 league games at home in Mitchell and host the playoffs here as well. We are not guaranteed a playoff position yet, but we are tied for 2nd place and have the favourable home schedule the rest of the way. We are all hoping this home stand will help provide us with what we need to turn the corner on a season that has been a struggle to this point.

This week....we host Concordia on Friday and McGill on Saturday. I will keep you posted!
Rod

Another Split Weekend

Friday at Laval

BU        21    10    18    23   -   72
UL        14    12    16    15   -   57

This was supposed to be the tougher game to win. However, I think our guys have a comfort level playing in Laval's new gym and there does not seem to be much of a home court advantage from that perspective. We

Matt 15 pts, 7 rebounds, 4 assists

 played pretty solidly at both ends of the floor throughout the game. With the exception of giving up 21 points to Laval off our turnovers it was a nice team effort. We had 4 guys in double figures scoring, we had 24 assists on 29 field goals and out-rebounded Laval by 10.

Matt led us in scoring with 15 points and added 7 rebounds & 4 assists. Karim & Kyle each scored 13 while Jona came off the bench to knock down four 3 pointers for 12 points.



Saturday vs. Laval

BU        16    11    20     8   -   55
UL        14    15    12    16  -   57

Another nice crowd at BU. Impressed with the support we are getting despite the gym situation. Very blessed to have the community support we have. Please keep hanging in...we SHOULD be in Mitchell by next game!!

We had a decent start and weathered some Laval  runs in the 1st half to be in 2 point game. After a shaky beginning to the 3rd quarter we found some momentum that lasted almost 15 minutes. Defensively we held Laval to about 12 points during that stretch scored 24 of our own. The wheels fell off in the final 5 minutes as we just could not score and did not generate any viable offense. We were also dealing with foul trouble as Big Mike fouled out followed by Kyle who picked up his 5th foul while wiping away the defender's hand which was on his hip while driving to the rim. It can be very tough for every team to score in our league at times due to the liberties that the defense are allowed take on offensive players.

Regardless, with 25 seconds to go we were up 55-54. Laval came down and we guarded their initial action before they were able to get into the paint & kick it out for a contested 3 that they knocked down with 7 seconds to go. We were unable to score on our last possession and another tough loss was in the books. The frustrating part was we were one basket away from putting Laval away with about 3 or 4 minutes to go...1 more hoop would have broken them and it would have been a 15 pt win. That is the game though and there is always a lot to learn from it and why you never give up!

Karim...returning to Allstar form!

Despite the result we are in 2nd place tied with Laval with a 5-5 league record. We are getting better each week and are moving closer towards playing to our potential. We are healthier than we have been all season and the rest of our schedule sets up pretty well for us. We should be able to play our first true home game on February 6th (make no mistake, there is difference playing in Mitchell, but it does not guarantee anything!) and 5 of our last 6 games will be in Mitchell along with the RSEQ Final 4.

We have bye week now and do not play again until we face UQAM on February 6th here. Final road game v. RSEQ opponents is February 7th at UQAM.

I will keep you posted!
Rod

Gaiters Split Weekend

Thursday @ Concordia
                                       
BU      18   15   21   19   11   -  84
CU      18   20   23   12   13  -  86

This overtime loss dropped our record to 3-4 in league play and a lot worse overall. Even my 7 year old daughter told me we should have a better record. I could not agree more and it obviously does not take a basketball savant to figure that out. Fortunately, the season is far from over and we will have the opportunity make amends for what has been a pretty disappointing season record wise so far.

Dave Belanger 16 pts on Saturday

I think we played  hard this game and did some things well. However,  Concordia was very comfortable, played well together and confidently hit some tough shots. We were not great and did not play to our capacity, but Concordia earned the win. After spotting Concordia a 14 point lead in the 3rd we battled back to take a 1 point lead in the 4th quarter. Concordia pushed back and held a 3 point lead with 30 seconds to go. We managed to tie the game on a Majid 3 pointer with about 20 seconds to go. Concordia missed a shot to win at the buzzer and we went to overtime. The game was tight again in overtime, but Concordia executed better than us and got the win.

Kyle was fantastic and kept us in the game almost by himself at times. He had 29 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals & 4 assists. Matt had 17 points while Majid contributed 13 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. We had 23 assists  for  the game, but lost it with 22 turnovers and a few weak defensive efforts in the 3rd quarter.

Saturday vs. Concordia 

BU      11   15   15   18   -   59
CU       6   12   12   10    -   40

This was not the most exciting game played on campus! Combination of the slow tempo and playing in the new gym. The new gym, as currently designed, is a fantastic gym and practice facility, but it certainly lacks the character & energy of the Mitchell gym. Regardless, we very much appreciated the nice sized crowd and their support. We needed the win and that is all that matters.

Karim season high 15 pts

We decided to change things up and we went with a bigger line-up to start and played zone defense. The plan was to not stay in the zone too long, but when you only give up 18 points in the half you can't really change your method!  I don't think the zone is the answer to all our problems, but it was it was effective this night allowing us to stay in control from start to finish.

Dave Belanger led all scorers with 16 and he provided some toughness in the paint. Karim added a season high 15 points while Big Mike chipped in with 13 and 10 rebounds. Some flashes of improvement, but still a lot of things to work on before we can seriously think about knocking off the teams that are ahead of us like McGill and Laval.

Friday we travel to Ste. Foy to play Laval. Saturday we return to campus to play Laval in the back end of the home and home series. 

I will keep you posted!
Rod

Gaiters Drop Two vs. McGill

Thursday at McGill

BU      18    11    30    12  -  71
MU     21    18    17    22  -  78

We had a good week of  practice and had our complete line-up for the first  time  all season. We certainly made gains, but  not  enough to defeat McGill on Thursday.  We were  better  Thursday than over the Christmas Break at Ryerson, but were still inconsistent with effort and execution. Despite  that it was a close game that was tied  with less  than  3 minutes to go and was decided in the final  minutes. We turned the ball over in key situations which McGill capitalized on.

Kyle led us  with 19 points, 5 rebounds and 6 steals. Matt added 13 points & 9 rebounds while Big Mike chipped in with 12 points off the bench.

Saturday vs. McGill

BU      14     7    19    19  -  59
MU     18    11   14    19  -  62

It is always disappointing to lose, but when your guys play as hard as our guys  did you can take some solace in the fact that they have the heart to compete at a championship level. Our  guys battled every possession and the game was  pretty much a war. The officials  were certainly tested as the physicality of the game, speed of play and level of intensity was high.

The game was as close as the score would indicate. The game was tied or the lead changed a total of 8 times in the final 3 minutes. Unfortunately McGill knocked down a contested 3 point shot with 4 seconds to go to break the tie and win the game. We got a decent look to tie the game with a second to go, but the shot was off the mark.

Despite the loss, it was the best 40 minutes of defensive basketball we have played all year. We are still not playing at the capacity we are capable of playing at, but we are making strides with the core of our roster back & playing. Still working out some kinks on both sides of the ball.

Kyle was outstanding again as his game is rounding into shape. He had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Jona provided a scoring spark adding 14 points. He was also very good in the Thursday game vs. McGill.

Thursday we are Concordia for an 8 pm start and then return back to BU on Saturday to face the Stingers again. Last week at BU we played in the new gym. It  is a fantastic gym and practice facility, but it certainly does not have the atmosphere the Mitchell Gymnasium. Looking forward to getting back into our own gym at  some point in the near future!

I will keep you posted!
Rod

Holiday Games @ Ryerson

December 28th vs. Mohawk College @ Ryerson

BU       25    25    23    25  -  98
MC      24    26    23    26  -  99

Well this was a classic game of 2 teams who did not play defense. We got whatever we wanted offensively and they have some offensively talented guys who really put on some impressive individual performances. Mohawk showed why many think that they are a strong contender to win a CCAA championship this year, but it would have been nice if we could have had a better defensive performance.

As you can tell by the line score the game was close throughout. Each team scored on all of their final 3 possessions of the game. Just worked out that Mohawk had the last shot and scored  a pull-up jumper with 3 seconds to go for the win. 

We had multiple players score in double figures, but we did not have any strong defensive performances to speak of.

December 29th vs. #3  Ryerson

BU      22   10    5   23  -  60
RU      20   24   31  22  -  97

December 30th vs. #3 Ryerson

BU     15   12   14   16  -  57
RU     16   31   26   25  -  98

Ryerson is the #3 ranked team in the CIS and rightly so. They finished the 1st semester with a couple decisive losses to #1 Carleton  & #2 Ottawa. Everyone expected those games to be closer and I would bet the coaches really had their players attention for the month of December! They were very impressive in both the games we played and simply put, we got kicked. I cannot imagine them playing much better and I can only hope we will learn from this.

We played well in the 1st quarter in both games, but that does not count for much. We did not have great individually performances to speak of in either game.

Really want to thank the friends, family and alumni who came out to support us in Toronto. Your support as always is appreciated.


Thursday we are at McGill to face the Redmen at 8pm. On Saturday we play our first home game of the year on the Bishop's campus somewhere...don't know what gym we will be playing in! Don't ask me anything about our Sports Centre as I won't have the answer...unfortunately!! (insert sigh here)

Happy New Year and I hope to see you at our games in the next 10 weeks!
Rod

End of Semester Stumble

Saturday at UQAM

BU               21   15    20    22   -   78
UQAM        19   27    23    14   -    83

This was a disappointing way to finish the semester. The loss leaves us alone in 1st place in the RSEQ with a record of 3-1, but that still does not  sit well with us as you really hate losing that last game of the semester.

It was a challenging week as our team suffered our 4th and 5th concussions in the last 8 weeks...before you ask, we are not doing any stupid drills like diving on the floor to recover loose balls etc...! It has been just dumb luck. So, we played the game without 5 of our top 12 guys and were missing 4 of our top 8 or 9.  That is not why we lost though, UQAM was missing there best player and he is extremely valuable to them.

Kyle 22 pts

We struggled defensively guarding the ball and missed too many layups. Our offense was not great, but still had a number of great opportunities to score. Defensively, well we will get better and this will be addressed in December. A couple of weeks off will not only help us get healthier as we expect to have everyone back by January, but it also will allow us to evaluate what we need to focus on  to achieve our goals in the 2nd half of the season.

Kyle led us in scoring with 21 pts. Jona added 18 & 4 assists. Big Mike and Karim scored 12 and 11 respectively. We got a good effort from freshman Mathew Van Doorn off the bench who played some tough D and scored 8 points.

Our team is in the midst of writing final exams now and we will resume practice in 10 days. Our next competition will be at the Ryerson National Invitational from December 28-30. The schedule is pending and I will make it available as soon as I have it.
I will keep you posted!
Rod

Gaiters Top Laval on the Road

Thursday at Laval

BU      13    17    23    18   -   71
UL      15    12    20    11   -   58

This certainly was not a pretty game in the first quarter as we were awful the first 6 minutes and were not able to score. The only thing we did well was turning over the ball! We recovered from the terrible start and played better the rest of the way, but I cannot say we played that well...too many fouls and too many turnovers! We will take the road win vs. a dangerous team any day though. Especially since we were missing the inside presence of Dave Belanger and our starting PG Kurt Caro due to injury.

Jamil  Abiad 12 pts @ Laval

Matt, Kyle and PK ignited our comeback in the first quarter with their defense. However, the story of the game for us was our bench as they scored 36 pts. Big Mike had 16 pts, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, but had limited playing time due to foul issues...nice to see him producing at the rate we know he can. Jamil Abiad and freshman Mathew Van Doorn played extended minutes and were integral to our success in the second half as Jona & Kyle sat the better part of the second half in foul trouble. Jamil had a career high 12 points and Mathew (aka 'White Chocolate' aka 'Choco Blanc') had 6 pts and 4 assists. Mathew is a slick passer and a very athletic guard. He looks like and has a game similar to former NBA guard Jason Williams who was nicknamed 'White Chocolate'...our guys  picked up on that right away & added the French version too!

Matt McLean returned to the form he showed late last season as he had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. He knocked down a 3 point shot with a couple of minutes to go to put the game on ice and provided his usual defensive energy throughout. Majid was quiet offensively, but made a couple of timely shots. More importantly he did a great job on the glass grabbing 12 rebounds. Karim struggled early in the game, but kept things together for us in the second half.  He also did a great job rebounding as he grabbed 10 rebounds  and added 4 assists.

We close out the first semester this Saturday at UQAM @ 7 pm. (note the earlier time!). UQAM has league MVP candidate Alex Bernard and a host of skilled and athletic guards. They always play well at home and we can expect a very intense game. We hope to see you at the game!

Rod

Gaiters Move to 2-0 in RSEQ

Thursday @ Concordia

BU      20   23   11   22   -  76
CU      12   13   19   25   -  69

Concordia  was coming off a big win over Laval last week. So, we knew  they would be playing with some confidence. Especially in their own gym. Fortunately our guys matched and bettered their intensity in the first half building an 18 point lead  at the half. We were not perfect, but we did  do some things well both offensively & defensively.

Majid Naji...solid play the last few weeks.

The 2nd half was a different story. Concordia came  out and simply played harder  than us. The game got  a bit frenetic as it does in that gym at times and we (including me!) were not as composed as we could have  been. We were up 12  or  14 with 3 minutes  to go,  but Concordia did not  relent and with a couple of breaks they cut the lead to 4 at one point very briefly with under a minute to go. Some positives and some negatives in the game. Either way we will take the road win.

Kyle  led all scorers with 18 points. Big Mike had 12 points, 7 rebounds & 4 blocked shots. Jona & Karim each chipped in with 10 a piece while Kurt had 9 points, 5 rebounds & 3 assists.

We play our 3rd of 5 straight road games this  Thursday at Laval. This will be a difficult game as Laval may have the best combination of talent & athleticism in the league. They have a lot  of weapons that can be a challenge to contain. Game time is 8 pm...you will be able to  find the webcast link on www.gaiters.ca later this week. 

In other exciting news, we received our first recruiting commitment this week from 6'6 forward Owen Martel of Georgetown, ON. Owen is a high level athlete and a great kid. He is someone who will represent our program very well in the community, in the classroom and on the basketball court. He is very well coached by Steve Pettit at Georgetown District High School and Zelimir Stevanovic at IBSA, one off the premier club programs in Ontario. I believe Owen will  have an impact on our program in his first year and has a chance to be a very special  player at BU. At 6'6, with a 6'9 wingspan & close to a 40 inch vertical  jump, he will have the ability to play on the wing or inside. We are very pleased to welcome Owen to our program!

I will keep you posted!
Rod

Gaiters Win at McGill to Open RSEQ

Saturday at McGill 

BU      12    9   15   24  -  60
MU     13   15   9    22  -  59

This was the first of many brawls, so to speak, we will have with McGill this year. Both teams are physical and defensive minded which does not make for the prettiest basketball. Regardless, it was very competitive and certainly exciting at the end.

PG Kurt Caro...5 assists, 1 turnover v. McGill

We may not have had the lead for a full minute this game, but all that mattered was that we led at the end of 40 minutes. McGill took the lead early and we played catch up for the better part of the game. We did take a lead briefly in the 3rd quarter, but McGill pushed ahead midway through the 4th.

With 37 seconds to go we were down 59-52, but our guys executed well and managed to score 8 points in a very improbable 17 seconds. McGill acquiesced by missing  free throws & turning the ball over after we missed a free throw to open the door for us. In that stretch Majid scored a 3 point shot off a sideline inbounds play, Kurt scored a layup in transition & Majid scored the winning points off a 3 point shot off a baseline out of bounds play. That left McGill with 20 seconds to win the game. We defended very well and forced them into a scramble situation where they got a very good a look at the rim with 3 seconds to go that fortunately missed! After the ball got batted around Karim secured the rebound and the win.

Kyle 13 points

Coach Craig Norman did a great job preparing our guys defensively early in the week to play McGill. We did make a few mistakes, but we played hard and played as a team not giving up too many easy hoops. Offensively, Kyle & Majid (he deserves a picture on this post...I will locate 1 for next week!) each had 13 points to lead us. Karim had 11 rebounds while PK came of the bench to grab 6 rebounds, take 2 charges while playing some excellent defense. We had contributions from everyone and our team chemistry is really starting to come along. I like the direction our team is headed and getting this win is exactly what we needed.

We have one game this week. Thursday at 8 pm vs. Concordia. Both teams are 1-0 in RSEQ play. It should be a great game. Hope to see you there.
Rod 

Gaiters Topped by Cardinals

Saturday at Plattsburgh State

BU       27    37  -  64
PSU     33    34  -  67

Another tough loss on Saturday. We traveled down to Plattsburgh, NY  and faced a very athletic & physical team who reached the NCAA D3 Sweet Sixteen last season. Great environment to play in as it was similar to our gym crowd wise. We got better playing the game, just a bit disheartening losing that game. Our psyche is certainly being tested right now.

After our good start PSU got rolling and erased our 8 point lead. They went on a run that carried them to a 6 point halftime lead. The 2nd half was tight for the first few minutes until PSU went on another run climbing into a 14 point lead. Instead of crumbling, we fought back and closed their lead to 1 with a minute to go. We fouled and they converted their free throws to go up at the end. We had a couple of great looks at the hoop to tie the game, but they did not fall.

Jona  led us with 15 points while Majid and PK each added 10 points. PK  had a game high 11 rebounds and Majid continues to do a good job on the glass as he collected 9 rebounds.

Jona Bermillo, 15 pts on Saturday

Saturday we open up against a very deep McGill team, they have a whopping 20 legitimate CIS players on their roster and seem to have gotten contributions from most of them at some point during pre-season. It will be a difficult test as we are on the road playing the team that is the odds on favourite to win our league. Not sure how many players we will have dressed on Saturday, but our roster will be smaller (both in height & numbers) than we would like. Regardless, we will have to figure out how to make our own luck as we are playing the games that truly count now!

Game time is 8 pm this Saturday at McGill.
Rod