Badgers recognize Brown and Saunders
Tyler Brown wore his Brock Badgers jersey at home for the last time Wednesday.
The 23-year-old Hamilton native and teammate Mitch Saunders were honoured on seniors night in a game which saw the Badgers defeat the visiting York Lions 94-81. Brown had a game-high 26 points in the contest.
“It hasn’t really sunk in and I have been thinking about it a lot,” Brown said. “It is going to be crazy when the game is done knowing it will be my last time playing at Brock in the Bob Davis gym.”
The six-foot guard can’t believe his career is nearly over.
“The five years flew by and I remember just like it was yesterday that I was in my first year and now I am on my way out,” the Cardinal Newman alumnus said.
The social sciences major will leave Brock a much different person than when he arrived.
“When I first came to Brock, I was a kid and I think that I grew up a lot. I learned a lot from all the different coaches and the five years really matured me and I view life in a different light now, outside the court and in basketball,” he said. “I maybe didn’t take things too seriously coming in and was late for things like class or a lift or something. Now you realize those habits will affect you outside of basketball and in the real world if you want to get a job.”
Brown, who was averaging 15.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game heading into Wednesday night, feels making it to 2017-18 nationals was the highlight of his career.
“Making nationals was a high point because it was always a goal of ours,” he said. “To do that, was pretty cool.”
The low point in his career was last season when he felt the team underachieved.
Brown is hoping to play again in the Canadian Elite Basketball League this summer after suiting up last summer with the Niagara River Lions.
“Then I am going to look at my options because I want to be playing basketball after Brock,” he said. “I am going to see where I can go after this year, maybe stay here and play pro or go overseas.”
Saunders, a 22-year-old Oakville native, is savouring his final days in a Brock uniform, including a seniors night where he scored five points and grabbed seven rebounds in 14 minutes of playing time.
“I just want to make the best of it, try and take in as much as I can and try and appreciate the moment,” he said.
He plans on taking time to reflect on his career.
“These five years have gone crazy, crazy fast, but I have learned so much and I wouldn’t trade it for the world; the guys I have met; my teammates and the coaches through it all,” the 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward said. “It has just been a crazy experience and a crazy journey.”
Saunders, who was averaging 1.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game before Wednesday’s game, is appreciative of what Brock basketball has done for him.
“It is understanding what it takes to be genuinely good at something and what it takes to be a near-professional at something day in and day out,” he said. “You have to commit yourself to something, find your passion and go after it. Basketball has taught me more about that than anything.”
Like Brown, the sports management major said the chance to play in the national championships was a career highlight.
“Nationals was a wild experience and I really enjoyed it,” he said.
Saunders also pointed to his teammates as a joyous part of his time at Brock.
“I have always enjoyed my teammates and we have always had a close-knit team all five years,” he said. “There were never any locker room issues. These guys have all been super important to me and I enjoyed it all.”
Saunders admits to a few low points along the way.
“Being a student/athlete and handling everything, you kind of go through these lapses in time where you do find things are getting really hard and you get down on yourself,” he said. “I was dealing with some stuff last year where I was very frustrated with myself and just the situation.
“There were some points that year that were the lowest of my five years but I got through it and came back for this year and I am trying to make the best of it.”
Brock head coach Willy Manigat felt it was important to have former Brock head coach Charles Kissi on hand to help fete Brown and Saunders. Kissi recruited both players.
“These guys are on their third coach in three years and for them to go through that and still put themselves aside to actually focus on what a new coach is trying to do and try to buy in as much as they can as fast as they can, speaks volumes about their character,” Manigat said.
“They have been through hell and back. When you commit to a program, you think you are going to be there with the coach that recruits you, Now they are on their third coach in three years and they are still doing what they need to do to make the team have success.”
York fell to 2-15 with the loss while the Badgers improved to 10-7. Manigat will take the win but wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance.
“I don’t care about the score and I don’t want to make it sound like I don’t appreciate winning because it is hard to win in our league against anybody. This is a team we lost to,” he said. “It has nothing with them. It is about us doing what we want to do and doing it the right way. We weren’t disciplined in what we were trying to do as a basketball team.”
The team displayed a lack of attention to detail.
“There was none at the level that if you want to win tomorrow or Saturday,” he said. “We have to go play Ryerson and if we play Ryerson the way we played this team with a lack of intensity and attention to detail, it’s not going to go well.”
STATS PACK
Badgers 94 Lions 81
BPSN Player of the Game: Brock’s Godsman Kwakwah with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
For the Brock Badgers: Tyler Brown 26; Kwakwah 25; Daniel Cayer 12; Daniel Caldwell 11; Noah LaPierre 11.
For the York Lions: Prince Kamunga 25; Tyler Pryce 14.
Game stats: Field goal percentage: Brock 43.4, York 46.4. Free throws: Brock 18-26, York 18-25. Rebounds: Brock 44, York 28. Turnovers: Brock 12, York 21.
Up next: Brock is at Ryerson Saturday
