Laurentian Loses Uphill Battle with Mustangs

 

Laurentian Loses Uphill Battle with Mustangs

By Chris Lennox

Top Performers

 

 

Western: Andrew Wedemire; 18pts, 1blk, 3stl, 2ast, 13reb, 7-7fg, 3-4ft

Laurentian: George Serresse; 16pts, 3reb, 6-10fg, 2-4 3fg

 

 

Sudbury,ON–Laurentian faced a hard, uphill battle for most of the game after allowing 23 Western points in the first period while scoring only eight. Both the team and the crowd were deflated until midway through a gritty third-quarter during which Laurentian outscored the Mustangs 26-18. Western didn’t make the same mistake in the fourth quarter, however; with the same intensity they brought in the first half, the ‘Stangs eventually coasted to a 76-60 victory on the road.

Laurentian (0-1) was hoping to redeem themselves after last season’s 78-53 drubbing at the hands of the Mustangs (1-0), and while they did lessen the margin slightly tonight, poor shooting combined with some great games by key Western players made for a relatively comfortable win for the Mustangs.  

Western had 10 more personal fouls than Laurentian throughout the game, many charged on Voyageurs’ attempts at quick-step dribble penetration from the likes of guard Isiah Pasquale and forward Tychon Carter-Newman. Unfortunately, Laurentian’s mediocre 65.4% from the line gave the Mustangs a rather effective way to bail themselves out by committing personal fouls.

Even worse for the home squad was their field-goal percentage, shooting a frigid 37.7% throughout the game. The fourth-year Pasquale was ice-cold, shooting 1-10 from the field including going 0-7 from beyond the arc. Still, Carter-Newman made up for his poor night at the charity stripe by going an efficient 5-6 from the field. Much of this productivity came from his quickness and athleticism in the open court, converting on several of Laurentian’s fast-break opportunities.

Demonstrating his ability to score from everywhere on the court, third year hometown forward George Serresse paced the Voyageurs with 16 points, shooting a very efficient 6-10 from the floor, 2-4 from beyond the arc and 2-3 from the stripe.

Laurentian simply couldn’t match the offensive skill of the Mustangs, who got great lines from veterans Ryan Barbeau (19pts, 4ast, 3-4 3pt) and Andrew Wedemire (18pts, 13reb, 7-7 fg). Western had a large edge in AST/TO ratio and looked far more polished; Laurentian showed a willingness to push the tempo, but at times would be better served by slower, more methodical offensive sets.