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

RSEQ Week #11

Friday vs. Concordia

BU          11    16    15    26  -  68
CU          29    13    21    15  -  78

Unfortunately, this game as it turned out was all but decided in the first quarter. We were not exactly strong defensively early and Concordia got into  a rhythm. Once that happened they made some tough shots and we struggled at the offensive end. It was bad enough that my wife had to stop my 7 year old daughter from coming over to the bench at half time to share a play she had drawn up for me...true story!

We got a little better as the game went on, but Concordia wanted this game and needed this game if they wanted to host the 1st round of the playoffs. The game changed nothing for us. However, it would have been nice to win since it was captain Dave Belanger's final game at Mitchell Gymnasium.

5th Year Captain, Dave Belanger

Dave did have a solid game after returning from a back injury where he was out last week vs. McGill. Dave had 12 points & 8 rebounds. He finished is final season being 2nd in the league in rebounding, 10th in scoring & 4th in FG%. He has played at all star level this year. Kevin Davis was very good again as he led us in scoring with 17 points. Abdul & Jordan each chipped in 10.

Playoff Picture...this Wednesday we travel to Montreal to play McGill at 8 pm. They should be ranked #5 in the country this week as they finished with a 14-2 record in the RSEQ. They are the prohibitive favourite, but we have beaten them once this year. In one game anything can happen! Our women face McGill at 6 pm on Wednesday as well in this playoff doubleheader. They are a veteran group who are a serious threat to win the league. Would be fantastic to get our alumni & Friends of Gaiter Basketball out to McGill on Wednesday night to support us!

Rod

RSEQ Week #10

Thursday vs. Laval

BU          16   14   20   17  -  67
UL          25   20   28   16  -  89

If we were able to defeat Laval by 20 in this game there was a small chance we could catch them for 3rd place. However, they were just really good this game and that was not happening! They are probably the most athletic team in the country and when they are making shots they are very difficult to beat. That was the case in this game and despite beating them a few days earlier, we did not threaten in this game at all.

Graduating Sr - Dave Belanger

Abdul led us in scoring with 16 points. Freshman Jordan Thornhill had 15 points including a couple of nice follow up dunks. Kevin Davis had 9 points and 4 assists, he is starting round into form. Dave played a pretty ineffective 18 minutes. He got hurt Sunday at Laval and played this game, but he just was not right. So much for being thankful for being healthy for the first week in 2 years last week!



Saturday at McGill

BU          13   21   15   22  -  71
MU         28   24   18   23  -  93

We basically had almost zero prep time for McGill after playing Laval on Thursday night. That Thursday night game was supposed to be on Tuesday, but an electrical power issue forced the change of days. Regardless, not sure that was going to make much of a difference in this game. We did rest Dave on Saturday and Nervens played the first 3 minutes before getting a hip pointer which had him out for the rest of the game. Our bench was very short once again!

After a shaky 1st quarter we had some decent minutes, but I would not say we played well. McGill is the class of our league with a senior laden line up that is a heavy favourite to win the playoffs. So, playing well against them is not exactly easy. Put it this way, neither Laval or Concordia are envious of the fact that we open up against McGill in the playoffs! That game will be played on Wednesday February 28th @ McGill by the way.

Abdul - RSEQ Scoring Leader

Abdul continues to score as he led all scorers with 29 points on only 12 field goal attempts. He could have gone scoreless in his last 4 RSEQ games and still probably had the league scoring title. Kevin had a career high 17 points. He does a lot of things for us on both sides of the ball and is likely our best all around player. It is too bad he has missed most of the season with injuries. Jordan was solid again with 8 points and 6 rebounds.


We have 1 league game left before playoffs begin. This Friday is the Shoot for the Cure game and we honour graduating senior Dave Belanger in his final home game vs. Concordia.

Dave has had an excellent 5 year career. He has seen the best of times and the toughest of times in his 5 years, but has represented us with grace & dignity in every situation. He has developed into a well respected player and I believe he is deserving of being recognized as a league allstar this year. More importantly, he has become a strong student at BU and could be an Academic All Canadian/Honour Roll student for the second year in a row this year. Dave is also the Head Delegate of BU's Model UN team that competes in NYC each spring. He will likely be off to grad school next year unless he picks up a position in an organization such as the UN that he cannot pass up on. The future is bright for Dave!

I will keep you posted,
Rod

RSEQ Week #9

Thursday @ UQAM

BU            14   14   23   28  -  79
UQAM     13   13   18   12  -  56

It is never easy winning at UQAM and with a playoff spot at stake we knew it would take 40 minutes.  In the 1st half both teams did a good job defensively and it was a bit sloppy & chaotic on offense at times. We settled in a bit in the 2nd half offensively and even played a little better defensively. I thought we played with a lot energy and determination which UQAM matched until the 4th quarter. We did not relent & really pulled away in the final 7 or 8 minutes.

Abdul led all scorers with 20 points along with 7 rebounds. Joany had 17 points and played some

Joany...defensive pride.  

great D. Dave had 15 points & 9 rebounds...just playing like a 5th year captain should. I think he is very deserving of making a league allstar team this year. Everyone was solid defensively as we held UQAM to 31% shooting and out rebounded them 49-39.

This win all but locked up the last playoff spot for us and allowed us to stay in a position to challenge Laval for 3rd place.


Sunday @ Laval

BU          15   22   19   24  -  80
UL          16   21   16   21  -  74

This win locked up a playoff spot. The game was very tight throughout, but as with Thursday we  pulled away in the 4th quarter and pushed the lead to 11 with under a minute to go.  We are the healthiest we have been in 2 years...what a difference it makes to have some depth and having guys play their proper positions!

Defensively we continue to get a little better individually each game, but we are really starting to play well together at that end of the floor. There was an issue with the stats from this game and I have not seen a boxscore yet. However, I thought we defended dribble penetration well, had a lot of tips & deflections and rebounded well for the most part. Offensively, the ball is moving much better and our spacing is gradually improving. I would guess the majority of our hoops were assisted on. Above & beyond anything, it is nice to get a couple of road wins when you need them!

Andrew Howarth - 3rd Year Forward

Abdul had 30 points based on what our Sports Info office tells me. He probably had at least 8 rebounds and a few assists. He has been spectacular at times and continues to improve each week. He can just score in so many ways. Dave was solid again and had to be double digits in points and rebounds. Joany would have been a double digit scorer as well. Yassin played tough and was close to a double double in points & rebounds. 3rd forward Andrew Howarth had his best game in a Gaiters' uniform. Drew had 5 points, but rebounded well and played some outstanding team defense that impacted the game.

The win leaves us 1 win behind Laval for 3rd place. The rematch is tomorrow night at BU. It will be a tough game and a must win to have any hope of finishing 3rd. Following the Laval game we head to McGill on Saturday to face nationally ranked & 1st place Redmen at 6pm.

I will keep you posted!
Rod

RSEQ Week #8

Friday vs. #5 McGill 

BU     20    26    22    18   -   86
MU    20    20    19    22   -   81

McGill is easily the team to beat in our conference. Aside from Carleton, they as good or better than any team we have played this year...and we have played 4 of the top 6 teams in the country so far. So, getting a win on Friday was not necessarily expected, but playing well was. We have had not had a bad practice since we returned after Christmas and I feel we have been making very good progress each week since then despite having at least 1 key player missing from our rotation every game.

Yassin Naji...game clinching 3 pt shot

In this game we led for at least 39 minutes. McGill led by 1 point twice for 1 possession each time I believe. We played with energy and poise most of the time, but we really competed on the glass. We did out rebound McGill 53-30 and held them to 41% shooting from the floor...although they did miss some open looks from the 3 point line at times. We led by as many as 11 at points in the game and if not for 25 turnovers we would have probably been able to put the game away earlier on this night. McGill's full court pressure is very good, but we did not turn the ball over there. Just some mistakes that were careless at times.  We have improved defensively, but still putting some things together offensively and figuring out how to play more efficiently together on that end.

McGill took 1 of their brief 1 point leads halfway through the 4th Q, but we responded on the next possession and held the lead for the remainder of the game. Our guys played poised and played well down the stretch.

Abdul had an excellent all around game with 24 points, 12 rebounds & 5 assists.  Joany was solid at both ends of the floor with 16 points & 5 rebounds. Nervens chipped in 12 points and 6 assists. Yassin had a big 3 point shot to seal the game in the last 2 minutes as part of his 11 points. Dave struggled to score, but had 12 rebounds & 6 assists. Big Jonah added 9 points off the bench. In the last 3 games Jonah is 10-11 from the floor including a 3 point shot in this game.


Saturday @ #5 McGill

BU     16    18    15     8   -   57
MU    27    23    32    26  -   108

This was just one of those games. A combination of McGill doing what they do well, being very motivated and us just not having it. We were physically a bit beat up going into Friday (we had 8 guys at practice Monday to Wednesday last week) and were in worse shape Saturday.  We knew what was coming, but we just had no juice.

We hung around a bit early, but McGill was tough and we just were not doing things to help our own cause. About 3 minutes into the 2nd half when Dave went down with an ankle injury we were pretty much into practice mode. Forget the score, spread out the minutes and see what we can learn the rest of the game. We did not head into the game with this mindset, but that is the way it played out.

Abdul had 17 points to lead us in scoring. Freshman Jordan Thornhill had a career high 11 and freshman PG Nervens had 10 rebounds.

This is our bye week and it could not come at a better time. We have some minor aches & pains we have to take care along with a couple of other injuries. With any luck we will have the core of our playing rotation available a week from Thursday at UQAM.

I will keep you posted.
Rod

RSEQ Week #7

Thursday at Concordia

BU          14    34    15    22   -   85
CU          23    21    22    24   -   90

After a slow start we had a very strong 2nd quarter and led by 4 heading into half time. We missed some good opportunities to start the 3rd and Concordia took a small lead.

Joany - 20 points in Game 1

Things took a bizarre  turn midway through the 3rd when freshman guard DJ Ngom received an unwarranted flagrant elbow to the face. The call was made, but DJ popped up off the floor and had an understandably very angry look on his face. He was restrained by a teammate before he could say a word, gesture or make a push towards his assailant. Regardless, he was assessed a technical foul. On the ensuing play Dave Belanger received a technical foul for flopping(referee's point of emphasis this year!)...the reality was he tripped over someone's foot while back pedalling in a defensive recovery. A minute or 2 later DJ was called for an 'unsportsmanlike hard foul' while contesting a lay-up and was ejected as that counted as a 2nd technical. It was a marginal call at best, but possibly understandable from the referee's perspective. When the smoke cleared we had lost DJ and he was suspended for Saturday's game because he received '2 technical fouls'. It was a moot point though,  the elbow to the face gave DJ a mild concussion and he would not have been cleared to play on Saturday anyhow. I certainly have a biased perspective, but as they say...'the video don't lie!' Maybe the most perplexing few minutes I have seen in a game in a long time.

To our guys credit they continued to compete. Concordia did manage to go up by as many as 9 in the 4th, but the spread was for the most part between 3-5 points. Our guys played hard, executed at both ends of the floor and were even or better in almost every statistical category except for the one that counted...the score!

Joany had 20 points to lead us in scoring. Freshman PG, Nervens Demosthene had 19 points & 10 rebounds...he gets better each game & is just an elite athlete. Tom Allen was around the gym last week and in his gravelly voice said, 'your lucky Breck is not coaching football here anymore or he'd have that kid playing defensive back as soon as you turned your head!'...more entertaining if you can replicate Tom's voice in your head!  Abdul had a solid all around game with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Dave chipped in 12 points and 6 rebounds.


Saturday vs. Concordia

BU          19    23    13    19   -   74
CU          23    19    16    21   -   79

As the line score would indicate the game was close throughout with the exception of the first few minutes where we had another sluggish start. Kevin Davis came off the bench to spark us in the 1st quarter with couple of steals on great defensive rotations. From that point forward neither team lead by more than 5 points the rest of the game.

Big Jonah - 10 points

Fast forward to the 4th quarter, we went up by 5, Concordia went up by 5, the score was tied 7 times and then Concordia had 1 point lead in the final minute before we missed a wide open, balanced, in rhythm 3 point shot that would have put us up 2 with about 20 seconds to go. Concordia rebounded and fouled. They managed to make 2 free throws, we called time out and scored a quick 2 point basket and fouled again. Concordia made 2 more free throws to go up 3 and we mishandled a pass with 2 seconds to go before 1 last desperate foul. Game over.

Abdul led us in scoring with 20 points, but he was not as efficient as usual. Nervens had 19 points, 7 rebounds & 3 steals. Big Jonah who has been getting better each week had a career high 10 points. The skilled 7 footer is regularly contributing off the bench and that bodes well for next season when we lose Dave. Dave had 8 points & 13 rebounds (*leads RSEQ in rebounding)

The 2 losses definitely hurt. However, we are playing much better and seeing progress each week. We still control our own destiny from a playoff perspective. Our guys continue to work hard each day in practice and the new guys are slowly getting up to speed. February will be a big month for us. Not to look past McGill who we play this week, but those games won't likely impact our playoff scenario. McGill is in a class by themselves presently in our league. They will finish first in league play and the rest of the teams will have to hope that in a 'do or die' 1 game playoff format they falter...any team can have a bad shooting night!

Friday we host McGill and Saturday we are at McGill.

Game time at McGill is 6:00pm. 

RSEQ Week #6

Thursday @ UQAM

BU             26    18    18    23   -   85
UQAM      22    22    19    25   -   88

Defensively this may have been the worst we have been all season. Despite that we had leads as large at 8 points in the 3rd quarter, but could not put UQAM away. We are definitely a work in progress as far as being able to manage a lead and put enough distance between ourselves & our opponents to seal a victory. A big part of that is belief & confidence that you only get by having success in those situations.

With UQAM clinging to a 1 point lead we had 2 opportunities to go ahead on attacks to the basket in the last 30 seconds. Unfortunately we missed both attempts. The game was sealed with about 7 seconds to go on a very questionable call as we made a play for the ball while fouling, but got called for a flagrant foul that gave UQAM 2 shots and the ball back. It was hard to complain about the referees though as we did shoot 37 free throws compared to UQAM's 12.

Abdul...25-28 from foul line in 2 games! 

A disappointing loss, but not fatal with regards to the playoff race. Abdul led all scorers with 31 points. Yassin had 15 points playing a very good offensive game. Dave Belanger muscled his way to 13 points & 7 rebounds. Our best player for a good part of the game was Kevin Davis. In 17 minutes he had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals & a couple of assists. He played well at both ends of the floor, but unfortunately tweaked his hamstring and had to sit the our game on Sunday.


Sunday vs. UQAM

BU             27    18    18    21   -   84
UQAM      18    17    24    18   -   77

Season high 24 points for Dave Belanger

This game was supposed to be played Saturday night, but it was postponed due to weather.  That gave us another practice to clean up some things defensively. Our defensive transition  was poor Thursday and we did not guard the ball well at all. That was much better in this game. Right now we are making some mistakes that we might normally make in September or October, but when you have 4 new guys in your line up that will happen.

After giving up 11 points in the first 2 minutes we tightened up defensively and rebounded the ball well. We again had opportunities to really extend leads, but could not put UQAM away as early as we would have liked. UQAM did take a brief 1 point lead early in the 4th quarter, but our guys played with poise and sealed the victory in the final few minutes.

Dave was outstanding scoring 24 points & grabbing 12 rebounds. Abdul continued his fine play with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Yassin played his best overall game as a Gaiter scoring 13 points, grabbing 4 rebounds & blocking 3 shots. Recently added freshman guard DJ Ngom was a spark off the bench with 5 points, 5 rebounds and a couple of assists. He is just a guy who brings a lot of positive intangibles and fits what we need.

That leaves us in 4th place 1 game ahead of UQAM for the final playoff spot. This Thursday we head to Concordia to play the 3rd place Stingers. Game time is 8 pm. Hope to see you there.
Rod

Gaiters & Galt Team Up for Charity

On Friday December 29th @ 1 pm Alexander Galt Regional High School will be hosting our BU Gaiters vs. the UNB Varsity Reds in a USport non-conference game in Galt's newly renovated gymnasium in the first of a 2 game series.

Game 1 vs UNB is a collaborative event as the Gaiters & Alexander Galt are joining forces to support families in need in our local community. Winter apparel (coats, boots etc...), non-perishable items & cash donations (cheques greater than $10 will be issued a tax receipt) will be accepted on December 29th @ Alexander Galt.

Donations will be distributed to Lennoxville Elementary School, Ecole Primaire Saint-Antoine & Alexander Galt. 

We are trying to help fulfill needs of the three schools in our community of Lennoxville, including families in need, breakfast programs and getting some winter basics distributed. It is a continuation of the work our players started by raising  over $750 for the Alexander Galt Christmas Basket Fund earlier in December and the service of Robert Pinkston, former Gaiter Soccer coach and community leader, who launched a Winter Jacket campaign years ago.

Our athletes appreciate the tremendous support we receive and are excited to give back whenever the opportunity presents itself. Helping lead this particular initiative is tri-captain, Kevin Davis.  Kevin is a 4th year Psychology major from Baltimore, Maryland who heads our Jr Gaiters youth program and volunteers at Galt in the Basketball Sport Concentration program. Kevin is expected to have a big impact on the court for the team. Unfortunately injuries have derailed  his career thus far at BU as he has only dressed in 1 game. This past August Kevin scored 11 points vs. Canisius College in the Gaiters first game before injuring his knee. He is expected back in the line up for the UNB games. Despite not having played a game yet in Lennoxville he is very familiar with the great atmosphere our community creates at our home games. "Being on the bench injured in street clothes has been so frustrating. Seeing & feeling the energy our fans bring to our gym makes me all the more excited to get back playing!"says Davis.

We are so fortunate to be part of a community that not only comes together to support our Gaiter teams, but is also generous when an opportunity like this presents itself.  

 Game 2 of the Gaiters vs. UNB series takes place Saturday December 30th at 5:00 at Bishop's. Donations will NOT be accepted on site at BU on the 30th, but if you would like to donate & were not able to do so on the 29th please contact me at: rgilpin@ubishops.ca. 

Take note, our women's basketball team will be hosting a tournament on December 29th & 30th which includes the Ryerson Rams coached by Gaiter alum Carly Clarke & the McGill Martlets coached by another former Gaiter Ryan Thorne. Admission is free to all games on December 29th & 30th. For more info please go to: www.gaiters.ca

We hope every has happy & safe holiday season!

RSEQ Week #5

Friday vs. Laval

BU          19    22    10    19   -   70
UL          15    23    23    19   -   80

If you told me before the game that we would hold Laval to 39% shooting, shoot 49% ourselves while  having 20 assists I would have thought that those would likely be winning numbers.  They would have been if we were able to keep them off our glass & reduce our turnovers...Combined Points off TO's &  Offensive Rebounds: Laval 56   BU 17.  If we just do an average job in either of those areas we win by 10.

Frustrating, but there were definitely some positives. Most notably we competed & executed defensively (until there was a rebound too many times!) and shared the ball well at times. We tried to change some things up in our 3rd quarter routine, but we need more work there. I know that will get better after Christmas. I do take some solace in the fact that the Raptors are a much more experienced team than us and might be a just as bad 3rd quarter team than us!

$756.50 raised for charity!

So, after a good first half and a sub par 3rd Q we were still in the game. With just over a minute to go it was a 5 point game. We missed a couple of good looks at the basket and had to foul which stretched Laval's lead. To Laval's credit they are playing well. They are a very athletic & veteran group who is currently sitting in first place in our league at 4-1. Disappointed with the loss, but I am excited about our team moving forward after Christmas as we will have 4 more players in the line up that will dramatically improve our depth, athleticism & overall toughness.

Abdul led us in scoring with 16 points while adding 7 rebounds & 5 assists. Dave chipped in 15 points while Alex had 10 points & 7 assists.

On a more cheery note, our guys raised $756.50  for the Alexander Galt Christmas Basket Fund on Saturday by bagging groceries at Provigo-Lennoxville. A great initiative that was the brainchild of Gaiter alum Charles Kobelt 10 years ago. It really has a positive impact this time of year & gives our guys a chance to give back to a community that supports us so well.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season. We are back in action on December 29th at 1 pm @ Alexander Galt Regional High School vs. UNB. We play them the next day again at 5:30 pm in the friendly confines of the Mitchell Gymnasium at BU. More info to follow later in December.
Rod

RSEQ Week #4

Saturday vs. #6 McGill

BU          19    14    16    29   -   78
MU         24    26    30    20   -   100

We started off playing pretty well at both ends of the floor. The tide started to turn later in the 1st quarter after 3 consecutive turnovers. That ignited a McGill run that would last the next 20 minutes or so. McGill is very good defensively and their pressure just took us out of our rhythm. We allowed them to bully us & speed us up.  Their pressure & depth controlled the game. We will have to do a better job this week vs. Laval from that perspective as we will be facing much of the same thing this Friday.

Yassin - 17 pts vs. McGill

From a statistical perspective FG%, free throw attempts & rebounding were all equal. However, McGill had 25 more shot attempts than us because we turned the ball over 33 times to their 14. There is just no way to make up for that kind of discrepancy. Having said that, when we were not turning the ball over we did execute reasonably well at both ends. I liked the way we competed and we never did quit. There were  a few lapses and an experienced team like McGill is going to take advantage of that. That is why they are the top team in our league.

Abdul led us with 21 points. Joany had 15 points & 8 rebounds. However, I think the bright spot was Yassin Naji who had a career high 17 points along with 4 rebounds & 3 assists. Yassin is starting to find some consistency in his offensive game which complements his steady defense. That bodes well moving forward.

We finish the semester this Friday vs. Laval at home. We need a good week of practice as Laval is playing very well right now. They are talented, experienced and are the most athletic team in the league.

I will keep you posted.
Rod