The Gaels have won more games than all of last season after defeating a nationally-ranked opponent.
The Gaels (3-1) dropped the seventh-ranked Lakehead Thunderwolves 96-87 last Friday night and fell to the Guelph Gryphons 83-73 on Saturday.
Head coach Stephan Barrie said the team still has some inconsistencies to work out.
“The game of basketball is a game of runs,” Barrie said. “Limiting runs and trying to maximize your own is really the name of the game.”
Rookie guard Roshane Roberts scored 14 points during the Gaels’ second-quarter 25-2 run, which was enough to hold off Lakehead.
After losing to Carleton and McGill in the preseason, a win over a CIS Top 10 team is a milestone for the Gaels.
“We just had not been able to beat a team that was in that upper echelon,” Barrie said. “That’s something now that we’ve added to what we’ve done, but hopefully we’re not satisfied with that.”
Five Gaels finished the game in double digits. Greg Faulkner and Roberts led the team with 22 and 17 points, respectively.
The Gaels fell behind early against Guelph on Saturday, but were able to battle back and secure a 29-22 lead. The Gryphons went on a 15-4 run to end the first half up 37-33, but the Gaels closed the gap to two points by the end of the third quarter.
A 8-0 Gryphons’ run to start the fourth sealed the Gaels’ fate.
Faulkner scored a team-high 17 points, while rookies Sukhpreet Singh and Mark Paclibar contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Barrie said the team’s lack of energy at different key points in the game hurt the Gaels.
“We want to be a team that’s pushing the ball, and we want to be pressing on defence,” he said. “But we also want to make sure that we’re making good decisions, and we’re not being aggressive to a fault.”
The Gaels play against the Brock Badgers tonight and the McMaster Marauders tomorrow.
Tags
CIS top 10, Gaels, Lakehead Thunderwolves, Men's Basketball
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