MBB: Timberwolves place 4th at Dalhousie Tournament
The UNBC Men's basketball team made the trip to Dalhousie University over the holiday break, competing with teams from across Canada at the Rod & Joan Shoveller Memorial Tournament. The Timberwolves earned fourth place in the tournament. Check out the game-by-game recaps below.
Game One - UNBC tops UPEI 76-67
Game three of the 26th annual Shoveller Memorial Invitational Basketball Tournament saw the UPEI Panthers take on the UNBC Timberwolves.
Superior outside shooting got it done for UNBC as they took the win 76-67.UPEI jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead in the first with D’Adrian Allen (Toronto, ON) picked up the team’s first eight points on his own. The Timberwolves battled back into it with solid pick-and-roll attack, capped off by a great dish down low by Volodymyr Pluzhnikov (Kharkiv, Ukraine). Allen dropped in another layup as time was expiring on the first quarter, with his Panthers trailing 17-15 to the Timberwolves.
The second quarter was slow offensively for both teams, but UNBC quietly built their lead as they went on a 13-3 run through the first seven minutes. The Timberwolves scoring was spread throughout the lineup as multiple players were tied for the lead in scoring with only six points. Heading into the half Matt Brar (Abbotsford, BC) hit a much needed shot from long-range to keep the Panthers in it, as UNBC went into the half leading 35-23.
The Timberwolves continued to hold their lead early in the second half by utilizing the three-point shooting touch Anthony Hokanson (Vancouver, BC), as he went 2-3 from deep in the quarter. UPEI was able to find their touch from deep as well late in the third as they made a quick run to bring the game back within single digits. Dakelle Brooks (East Preston, NS) dropped in a layup as the last few seconds of the third quarter ticked away, with his Panthers trailing by nine heading into the fourth.
The scoring slowed down again in the fourth quarter. Adam Pahl (Okotoks, AB) hit a shot from deep for the first points three minutes into the quarter. Hokanson kept the game in double digits late in the fourth with timely scoring, but the Panthers continued to pressure by getting to the line and stopping the clock. Time ran out on the Panthers however as the clock expired and UNBC took this one 76-67.
Dakelle Brooks earned the player of the game honour for UPEI with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists, while Adam Pahl was named player of the game for UNBC with nine points and six rebounds.
In the second semi-final matchup of the Shoveller Memorial Invitational Basketball Tournament, the host Dalhousie Tigers were taking on the UNBC Timberwolves. After finishing the first three quarters with neither team able to gain an edge, the Tigers put together a run in the fourth quarter and held on to take the 91-86 victory.
It was a rough start for the Tigers on the offensive side of the court with turnovers adding up early. On the other end of the floor, the Timberwolves were moving the ball well and finding the open man to hit outside shots. After finding themselves down seven, the Tigers called a timeout, and their game on the attacking end changed completely. Shots started falling for Sven Stammberger (Halifax, NS) who picked up seven of the team’s first 13 points, and Alex Carson (Lower Sackville, NS) found his range from outside as well. The Tigers still couldn’t seem to get stops, however, as the Timberwolves continued to get outside shots from Volodymyr Pluzhnikov (Kharkiv, Ukraine). At the end of the first, the score was knotted at 16-16.
Second-chance points were huge for the Timberwolves to start the second quarter as they were out rebounding the Tigers 21-10 so far, with nine of them being on the offensive side. Vaggelis Loukas (Athens, Greece) collected five rebounds and was making them count by putting them back up. The Tigers finally started to get stops on the defensive end with two minutes to in the half and made a small run to get ahead 37-33 with less than a minute to go. With just a few seconds to go the Timberwolves came down the court on a fast-break and Daniel Stark finished the layup with just two seconds left, despite getting hit hard on the way up. With that, the teams headed into the halftime break tied at 36-36.
The Timberwolves came out of the break shooting the lights out, hitting their first three shots, two of them from beyond the arc. Sascha Kappos (Miami, FL) stepped up for the Tigers out of the break, finishing through contact down low and then stepping out to hit the shot from long range. The Timberwolves continued to spread the floor and get inside the paint on the attacking end, maintaining a five-point lead for most of the third quarter. The Tigers made a push late in the quarter, with a huge dunk from Sven Stammberger of a drive from the wing, and capped off by an end-to-end drive by Xavier Ochu (Milton, ON) who finished at the rim as time expired in the third quarter. Heading into the fourth the Timberwolves still held a one-point lead at 65-64.
The Tigers came out with intensity on both ends of the floor to start the fourth, forcing three turnovers in the early minutes and capitalizing on the other end with quick ball movement. The Timberwolves responded to the Tigers run with a strong move from Pluzhnikov getting to the rim, and a big three from Marcus Mackay (Terrace, BC) to bring them back within two. With only four minutes to go, the Tigers picked up their defensive intensity, forcing turnovers and converting on the other end with a 7-0 run to get themselves up 83-74. With his team down, Marcus Mackay buried a three through contact, and hit the free-throw after to complete the four-point play and bring his team within five. In just his second game as a Tiger, Xavier Ochu was huge for the Tigers, driving the lane and picking up crucial points down the stretch. But the Timberwolves continued to hit shots from deep with Mackay hitting his sixth from long range, and Pluzhnikov hitting his fourth to bring UNBC within two. After two clutch shots from the line from Alex Carson, the Timberwolves had the ball down four with just 18 seconds left, but the inbounds pass sailed over the head of the target and out of bounds for a turnover. This resulted in the Timberwolves needing to foul, and Keevan Venoit (Port Williams, NS) putting the game out of reach. The Tigers held on to take the 91-86 win.
Volodymyr Pluzhnikov was named the player of the game for the Timberwolves, finishing with a game-high 25 points to go along with five rebounds and 3 assists. Sven Stammberger earned the title for the Tigers with his 24 point, 11 rebound double-double performance.
Huskies finish third at Shoveller with 76-64 win over Timberwolves
In the game for third place at the Shoveller Memorial Invitational Basketball Tournament, the Saint Mary’s Huskies squared off against the UNBC Timberwolves. After the game being tied up at half, a big third quarter run pushed the Huskies ahead, and they held on to take the 76-64 victory.
It was a fast paced start to this one with both teams shooting well. The Timberwolves knocked down their first four shots from beyond the arc, with Marcus Mackay (Terrace, BC) picking up two of them. The Huskies elected to move to a pick-and-roll style of attack with Osman Barrie (Ottawa, ON) finishing two quick buckets. When the inside game wasn’t working they found the hot hand to hit jump shots, which was Nico Brauner (Wiesbaden, Germany) who knocked down three jumpers early. Down two in the final seconds of the quarter, Jovan Leamy (Toronto, ON) caught a pass on the wing and nailed the shot from deep to put the Timberwolves up 20-19 heading into the second.
The shooting touch cooled down on both sides to start the second, but the Timberwolves seemed determined to live or die by the three with nearly half of their FG’s coming from beyond the arc. Tristan Hyde (Bedford, NS) stepped up off the bench for the Huskies to work down low to pick up the scoring as well as getting it done on the boards. Both teams picked up timely scoring in the final two minutes of the half, and went into the break all tied up at 34-34.
Neither team was able to gain an edge in the first five minutes of the second half with both teams shooting well. Marcus Mackay continued to shoot well from deep for the Timberwolves, hitting back-to-back threes, and then getting fouled on a third before knocking down all three free-throws. The Huskies spread their offense around, primarily coming from quick pull-up jumpers from midrange. Andre Nvitubmura (Ottawa, ON) stepped out and hit back-to-back shots from long range after two defensive stops for the Huskies to end the third quarter and give them a 58-49 lead heading into the fourth.
The teams traded baskets for most of the fourth quarter, both sides getting into the paint at a high rate to get to the line. The Huskies were getting more of these opportunities, however, generated by their strong offensive rebounding performance. With three minutes to go, the Huskies lead opened up to 12. A short run late in the game by the Timberwolves was stopped when Brent Martindale (Kingston, ON) dropped a dagger three to put the game out of reach as the Huskies took the win 76-64.
Marcus Mackay was named the player of the game, as well as the tournament all-star for the Timberwolves as his team finished fourth. He finished with 15 points in this one, going 4-7 from long range. Kordeiro James (Woodbridge, ON) was named the player of the game for the Huskies with nine points and seven rebounds. Kemar Aleyne was named their tournament all-star, collecting 12 points and three rebounds to help his team finish third
