Men's basketball wins two key home games
By Michal Tellos
Sports Editor
February 11, 2009
 The Lancers men’s basketball team picked up two clutch home wins last week, first against the McMaster Marauders, and then against the Brock Badgers.
Like the women’s game, the men’s game against McMaster was a close affair, and the home team initially trailed hugely.
Early in the first quarter, lucky Marauder shots and unfortunate Lancer attempts put the boys down 17-0.
The crowd was stunned and it seemed as if the lead would be permanent, but the Lancers managed to close the gap to just two points by the second half.
The third frame was all Lancers, while the final quarter was about even.
The game eventually went to Windsor by a score of 76-74, after a missed attempt for the buzzer-beater.
Leading the game for the Lancers was Corey Boswell, who scored 23, and Isaac Kuon, who scored 16. Greg Surmacz helped with seven points and 10 rebounds.
Saturday night against Brock, fan appreciation night, was not nearly as close, and according to Head Coach Chris Oliver it was one of the most complete team games of the season.
“I thought we played pretty well defensively. One kid for them was a really good player, he’s good. He hit some tough shots. As long as we contested some of the shots we did a pretty good job. But as a team I thought it was our most complete game. We played fast and we played hard for forty minutes, which is what we have struggled with,” he said.
The player that Oliver referred to was Brock’s Owen White who put in an incredible individual performance, scoring 33 and adding 13 rebounds, not sitting down until the final two minutes. White made all 11 shots from the free-throw line, and made some tough fade-away jump shots, but the Lancers nonetheless shut the Badgers down.
Surmacz also had a double-double, including 19 points and 11 boards, while Kuon led the team in scoring with 21.
The team’s pace has changed down the stretch, and it’s partly due to a full line-up back in full swing.
“We’re playing much harder in terms of a faster pace on offence. We’ve got Kevin Cameron back, and we’ve got Monty [Hardware] healthy, so we have our full rotation. So far it’s been pretty good,” said Oliver.
The men will now travel to Thunder Bay to play Lakehead in two straight games, neither of which will be easy contests.
“Going up to Lakehead is always tough. The fans are into it, it’s a great environment. They’ve got probably the leading scorer right now in our league in Kiraan Posey. Then Western obviously. They’re good, and we beat them here so they’re going to want to get us back,” said Oliver.
Oliver made it explicitly clear that the only goal right now is home court advantage in the playoffs.
“One hundred per cent. That’s the goal. It’s great to play here in this environment. Just with how this league has gone this year, everyone is pretty good. If you can avoid that quarter-final, that’s one extra game. So that’s one reason.”
In the OUA, six teams from each division make the playoffs, and the top two gets byes. Windsor is currently second in the west.
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