Wesmen Classic Action Heating Up on Day Two!
Winnipeg, MB—Day two of the Wesmen Classic added a few more teams as the CIS men’s competition started. Before we jump into post-secondary basketball, Glenlawn defeated Sturgeon Heights in the consolation semi-final, and in the semi-final Oak Park faced off against Kildonan East.
Lakehead vs. UNBC
In a battle of the Wolves, the Lakehead Thunderwolves took control of the game early, taking a 27-12 lead after the first quarter. With a combination of Yoosrie Salhia and Ryan Thompson, adding 12 and 11 points respectively, Lakehead took a comfortable lead and continued to dominate through the second quarter taking a 20 point lead into the break.
The Thunderwolves took a deeper bite into this contest and stayed in control outscoring UNBC 28-9 in the third quarter. Yoosrie Salhia continued to work down low finishing with 22 points and nine rebounds to lead all scorers. Lakehead defeated UNBC by a comfortable margin 90-50. Lakehead advances to the Semi-Finals, and UNBC moves onto the consolation Semi-Finals.
Brandon vs. Dickinson State
The first quarter started off slow as both teams used a majority of the shot clock to try and create opportunities. Dickinson State made many attempts using the three ball, and midway through the first it started to connect giving them a 14-10 point lead after one quarter. Brandon started to pick up the pace with Jordan Reaves who added 10 points in the first half including a couple of dunks.
The Winnipeg born Reaves continued his hot play helping the Bobcats chip away at the Dickinson State lead. Brandon would continue to build upon its lead late in the third quarter when Kenonte Ramsey and A.M. Benabdelhak started to chip in points of their own to go along with Reaves. Dickinson State’s consistent three-point shooting allowed them to never fall too far behind. With two minutes remaining, Dickinson State hit two huge three’s back to back, and then got another shot to fall giving them a one point lead with 42 seconds to play. Brandon continued to stutter down the stretch as Dickinson State went on a 10-0 run and Brandon trailed by three. The Bobcats were unable to get a shot off and fell to Dickinson State. Jordan Reaves finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
HS Semi-Final: Oak Park vs. Kildonan East
In the first semi-final, the Oak Park Raiders faced off against the Kildonan East Rivers. The Raiders came out gunning right from the start and Brendan Alexander (6’2 G 2014) showed his offensive ability in the attack. Oak Park had help from all over as their attack got KEC’s bigs, Ayob Ayob and Dominic Scarlett, in foul trouble early.
Coach Lundgren spoke to NPH after the game “We’re really happy with today’s game, we knew what we needed to do on the inside guys and I thought that we did a good job. Offensively we got a lot of guys scoring, and it was a game where you just how you draw it up and the guys played really well.”
That’s exactly what happened as Dominic Scarlett fouled out before the third quarter ended, leaving the Reivers without their big combo down low. The Raiders continued to get the ball to Brendan Alexander who had the hot hand scoring 29 points in the game. Alexander spoke about his performance stating,“It was a good game, last night’s game I was a little off and I felt good tonight.”
Also adding to the attack was Junior Sesay, the 2013 guard, a solid second half performance and finished with 24 points. In the second half the Reivers never got close following the halftime break and Oak Park cruised to a dominating 103-60 win. With the win Oak Park will face either Garden City (NPH #19) or St. Pauls (NPH #11) in the championship game.
Mount Royal vs. Mayville State
In the final game of the evening, Mount Royal jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead on Mayville State. Mount Royal would continue its strong play heading into the halftime break with a 34-24 lead. The Cougars were led by fifth year senior and Winnipeg native Nick Loewen who had 10 points at the break. Mayville would make it interesting in the third quarter, tying up the game; however the Cougars would open up another 10 point lead. Mount Royal continued to expand their lead in the fourth quarter, wearing down Mayville and pulled away with the 77-59 win. They will advance to play Winnipeg in the Semi-Final on Saturday.
