Ottawa, ON – What a beautiful sight to behold isn’t it? The OUA, after an extended pause following the end of the Fall Semester, finally kicked off Winter 2022 with a pair of strong matchups in Men’s and Women’s basketball.
York vs Ryerson
Women’s Basketball | Ryerson 79 – York 55
The 6-0 Ryerson Rams opened up the second half of their OUA season with a Subway Series matchup against the 3-3 York Lions. The Rams began the evening picking up right where they left off in 2021, outscoring York 28-7 in the first quarter.
Thanks to 5-10 shooting from three-point range, the Rams entered halftime up 39-26. It was tighter in the third quarter, with the Lions outscoring the Rams 20-18 to cut the lead to 11 heading into the final ten minutes. There though, the Rams defence took over, holding the Lions to nine points and, on the flip side, receiving some timely three-point magic.
The Rams took this one by a blowout 79-55 and moved to 7-0 on the year while the Lions fell to 3-4. Marren Scotten finished as the top scorer for the Rams with 17 points, while Cyanna King’s 14 points led the way for the Lions.
Men’s Basketball | Ryerson 100 – York 97
On the Men’s side at Mattamy Athletic Centre, the matchup was a little less marquee. The 3-3 Ryerson Rams took on the 1-6 York Lions, with the Lions 0-3 on the road heading into the game.
Out of the gate, the Lions were the stronger team. Paced by nine points from Prince Kamunga and eight from Chevon Brown, the Lions jumped to an early 22-12 lead. In the second quarter, the Rams started to come alive, though,
Jaeden Lewis picked up eight points, and Aaron Rhooms, who struggled shooting 1-4 in the first quarter, picked up six as the Rams cut the lead to 47-40 at halftime.
The Rams came flying out of the gate to start the third quarter on a 14-2 run in the first 2:35, pushing their lead to 59-52 with 5:27 to go. The Lions battled back, though, and a pair of threes from Brown and Kamunga knotted the game up at 64 with 2:11 to play in the third. The teams closed on the quarter with the Rams up 68-67.
A back and forth final quarter saw the Rams and Lions continuously trade the lead, but when Ankit Choudhary hit a three with 1:46 to go to put the Rams up 92-86, it looked to be over. The Lions fought back to cut the lead to 98-97 with just one second left, but that’s as close as they got as Choudhary hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.
Ryerson moves to 4-3, and York falls to 1-7. Aaron Rhooms paced the Rams with a double-double of 25 points and 15 rebounds, while Chevon Brown was the top scorer on the night with 39 points and nine three-pointers.
McMaster vs Western
Women’s Basketball | McMaster 69 – Western 61
In the other set of games to re-open the schedule, the 5-1 McMaster Marauders travelled to London to take on the 6-0 Western Mustangs in the Women’s matchup. The game opened up with a tight first quarter as the teams traded leads and the Marauders headed into the break up 17-14.
The Mustangs opened the second quarter on a 10-3 run thanks to threes from Madalyn Picton and Arianne Saumare, but McMaster brought it back, led by eight points from Sarah Gates. The Marauders held on to a 34-26 lead after 20 minutes of play.
It was another tight showing in the third quarter as seven Marauders picked up points along with six Mustangs, and McMaster went into the final frame up 53-44.
In the final frame, it was eight points, and a made three from Sarah Gates, along with an 0-5 goose-egg from beyond the arc for Western that doomed the Mustangs. The Marauders took this one 69-61, moving to 6-1, and sitting tied with the Mustangs at 6-1.
Sarah Gates led the way in scoring for McMaster with 24 points, while Sarah Harvey and Madalyn Picton tied for the lead on Western with 14
Men’s Basketball | Western 93 – McMaster 74
In the other matchup at Alumni Hall, the 5-1 McMaster Marauders came into town to play the 4-2 Western Mustangs.
The evening started with a bang for the Marauders as Mychael Paullo hit a pair of threes in the first 2:34 to give the Marauders an early 10-3 lead. The Marauders faded in the rest of the quarter, though, and thanks to seven points from Jerric Palma at the start of the quarter and collective group effort by the end, the Mustangs held a 24-21 lead after one.
In the second quarter the two teams essentially played even, with the Mustangs taking a one point lead into halftime 42-41.
In the third quarter it still remained tight, but by the last few minutes, a few key McMaster misses and some timely baskets from Aryan Sharma pushed the lead for Western up to 69-60.
Thanks to lights out shooting, the Mustangs took over in the final 10 minutes. Going 5-9 from three and 9-19 overall while the Marauders missed all seven of their three-pointers in the quarter sealed McMaster’s fate. When the horn sounded, the score was a resounding 93-74 for the Mustangs.
The win moved McMaster and Western into a tie in the standings at 5-2 each. Aryan Sharma paced the Mustangs with 24 points off the bench, while Jordan Henry picked up 21 for McMaster in the loss.
Cover Photo: @JaySmithBall/Twitter