March 4, 2010

Game Notes (pdf)

THIS WEEK: The Bishop’s Gaiters Men’s Basketball returns to the postseason with a semifinal matchup against the UQAM Citadins.

FOLLOW, FOLLOW: Follow the Gaiters on Twitter via the Gaiters’ website (www.ubishops.ca/gaiters) or at twitter.com/BishopsGaiters.

NOTHIN’ BUT NET: Friday’s game will be webcast in French on SSN Canada (www.ssncanada.ca).

THE RECORDS: The Gaiters are 12-16 overall (10-16 vs. CIS), and finished 7-9 in the QUBL. The Gaiters won three of their last four games to clinch the fourth and final playoff spot. UQAM is 16-14 overall (11-10 CIS) and finished in first place with an 11-5 record. The Citadins have also won three of their past four games.

LAST TIME OUT: A career high 29 points by rookie sensation Onnex Blackwood went for naught as the Gaiters suffered a 90-83 loss at Laval last Saturday. Blackwood went 11-for-18 from the field and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. His 29 points led all scorers, and is the highest total by a Gaiter since Junior Nicolas scored 36 against Acadia on January 3, 2009. The true freshman went 7-for-11 from the free-throw line and tied for the team lead with four assists and two steals. Oraine Green added 25 points, also a career high, and grabbed six rebounds and made four assists. Hermon Tesfaghebriel was held to six points but had seven rebounds.

LAST MEETING WITH UQAM: The Gaiters used a balanced attack to score a come-from-behind 75-65 win over the UQAM Citadins last Friday night at the Mitchell Gym. The Gaiters trailed by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, but used a stifling defence to chip away at the lead, before finally taking the lead early in the fourth quarter. In total, five players scored in double figures for the Gaiters, led by 20 points from Onnex Blackwood, who went 6-for-11 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line, and picked up three rebounds. Oraine Green scored 11 points on 3-for-7 shooting. The Gaiters' three graduating seniors: Tim McAleenan, Damon Thomas-Anderson and Hermon Tesfaghebriel all took advantage of their last home game to score over double figures. Thomas-Anderson netted 13 points, while Tesfaghebriel and McAleenan added 11 each. UQAM was led by Adil El Makssoud's 19 points and eight rebounds, with Gregory Saint-Amand added 15 and Jules Diagne scoring 14 points.

THE SERIES: The Gaiters and UQAM will be meeting for the fifth time this year, and the home team has won all four games. UQAM picked up a 75-63 win on November 28, and a 79-59 win on February 12, while Bishop’s scored a 76-69 (OT) win on January 15, and a 75-65 win on February 26. UQAM leads the all-time series 15-13. This will be the first-ever meeting in the playoffs between Bishop’s and UQAM. In the series this year, the Gaiters have been led by Onnex Blackwood’s 15.0 points per game, while Hermon Tesfaghebriel has averaged ten. For UQAM, Adil El Makssoud averaged 16.3 points, while Gregory St-Amand scored 13.0 and Jules Diagne scored 12.5.

SCOUTING THE CITADINS: UQAM possesses the QUBL’s third-rated offence (72.9 ppg), but the top-rated defence (67.6 ppg). UQAM leads the league in rebounds (32.3/game) and outrebounds their opponents by an average of 4.0 per game. Adil El Makssoud leads the Citadins with 12.9 points per game, fifth in the league, with Jules Diagne averaging 10.8 and Eric Côté-Kougnima (10.2) and Arthaud Plesius (10.0) also averaging double digits. Diagne has picked up 6.0 rebounds per game, while El Makssoud has grabbed 5.9.

DON’T GO OUTSIDE: Neither the Gaiters nor the Citadins have had much success from three-point territory this season. The Citadins average only 5.4 3-pointers per game (40^th out of 43 in the CIS), while the Gaiters have scored only 5.1 (41^st in the CIS). The Citadins shot 0.313 from outside the arc (38^th CIS), while the Gaiters are 0.278 (42^nd). The Citadins failed to make a single three-pointer in either of their games in Lennoxville.  

ALL-STAR ONNEX: Rookie guard Onnex Blackwood was named a QUBL First Team All-Star in the annual league awards. After putting up one of the best rookie seasons in league history, he became the first rookie to be a First Team All-Star since Laval’s Jean-François Beaulieu Maheux in 2006-07. Blackwood finished third in the QUBL with 15.7 points per game, and was seventh with 5.8 rebounds per game. He is only the third rookie since 2002-03 to average at least 15 points and five rebounds per game. He has scored 49 points in his last two games, including 20 the last time the teams met.

TIM THE TOOLMAN: Tim Hunter finished atop the QUBL leader board in both steals (2.4 per game) and blocked shots (1.1 per game). Hunter, who recently started seeing time at point guard, finished second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), and was third in the league with 3.6 assists per game.