Badger men and women split versus Ryerson
The second-ranked Brock men’s basketball team moved to 5-0 in the Ontario University Athletics standings with an 80-75 overtime victory on the road against the seventh-ranked Ryerson Rams.
“That was fun,” Brock head coach Charles Kissi said. “Once again when we needed them, the reserves stepped up big.
“People can stop talking about our depth now. We have it.”
Brock led by eight after the first quarter and three after three quarters before regulation time ended with a 67-67 score. The Badgers outscored Ryerson 13-8 in overtime.
It was a victory for Brock but Kissi said it was anything but pretty.
“However, we got stops when we needed them and made shots when we needed them,” he said.
Kissi credited his coaching staff and Brock’s travelling fans for helping his team pull out a big triumph.
“We got a great road win against a great team with the best fans in the country behind us; the Brock fans.”
Leading the way for the Badgers were: Cassidy Ryan, 32 points and five rebounds; Dani Elgadi, 13 points and five boards; Daniel Cayer, 11 points and five rebounds; Johneil Simpson, 10 points and six boards, and, Kascius Small-Martin, seven points and five rebounds off the bench.
Top scorers for the Rams were Jean Victor-Mukama (23), Myles Charvis (18) and Tanner Ngom (11).
Ryerson lost its second straight game to fall to 2-2 on the season.
Next up for the Badgers is a Friday night road tilt versus the University of Toronto Blues (2-1).
In women’s action, Ryerson built quarter leads of 20-17, 38-25 and 62-37 on the way to a 81-58 victory over the Brock Badgers.
“We did a better job in the first half executing our offence and getting looks we wanted,” Brock head coach Ashley MacSporran said.
Brock struggled on the defensive glass Wednesday.
“They got their points off of second and third offensive boards,” she said. “Our focus was to make them a one shot and done offensive team and force outside shots.”
Brock could have only been down nine at the half, but gave up an offensive rebound for a score and then turned the ball over to give the Rams a layup.
The Badgers started the second half strong with three defensive stops and three great looks at the rim, but missed three layups. Ryerson then went on a run aided by Brock turnovers. Brock eventually played better.
“We finally settled down, executed our sets, pushed the tempo and got transition layups,” MacSporran said.
Rookie Kristin Gallant led Brock with 23 points and five rebounds. Other key contributors were: Ana Caldeira Rua, 10 points; Shannon Northey, 10 points off the bench; Courtney McPherson, six points and eight rebounds; and, Ieva Sukeviciute, eight points and six boards off the bench. Ryerson was led by Marin Scotten (19) and Sofia Paska (18).
Next up for the Badgers (2-3) is a road game Friday in Toronto (1-2).
“One day to regroup and focus before some much-needed rest and home games,” MacSporran said.
