Badgers sweep Voyageurs
The Brock University Badgers men’s basketball team remain undefeated following a 71-55 win over the Laurentian Voyageurs Saturday night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
Laurentian jumped out to an early 6-2 lead before the Badgers answered with an 18-0 run to take a 20-6 lead early in the second quarter. Brock held a 30-14 lead at the half.
Brock extended its lead to 21 points (42-21) midway through the third quarter and led 50-34 at the end of 30 minutes. With three minutes left in regulation, Laurentian cut the lead to nine points, 64-55. Brock closed the contest with a 6-0 run en route to its 13th straight victory.
“I was really impressed with our defence this weekend,” Brock coach Charles Kissi said. “I thought we started the game with great intensity in focus.
“It dropped a little in the second half, but overall I thought we were very strong.”
The Badgers were led by Dani Elgadi, who finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Also in double figures were Tyler Brown (16 points, six assists), Cassidy Ryan (12 points, five rebounds) and Johneil Simpson (11 points, four rebounds).
“A lot of guys gave us very good minutes,” Kissi added. “We’ve come to these games very well prepared and ready to play and stuck to our game plan. That’s going to be important for us as we build towards the end.”
Brock shot 44.1 per cent (30-68) from the field, 35.3 per cent (6-17) from beyond the arc and 62.5 per cent (5-8) from the free throw line.
The Badgers next action is Friday when they host the McMaster Marauders at 8 p.m.
Badgers 76 Voyageurs 57
The women’s team rolled past the Voyageurs 76-57 to open the home doubleheader.
The Badgers led 31-19 after the opening quarter and extended their league to 50-31 at the half. The 31 points is thought to be a Brock record for points in the first quarter.
Laurentian answered in the third quarter by outscoring Brock 16-6 to cut the lead to 56-47 after 30 minutes. In the fourth quarter, Brock went up by as many as 26 points with 3:21 left in regulation.
“Tonight was one of our best efforts if we ignore our third quarter,” Badgers coach Ashley MacSporran said. “We had a monster first quarter. We have been focusing on coming out hard and strong and attacking hard. We ran the floor hard and dictated the the speed and tone.”
Brock had five players in double figures, led by Bailie Campbell who recorded 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. Courtney McPherson contributed with 12 points and seven rebounds while Ieva Sukeviciute added 11 points and four rebounds. Rounding out the Brock leaders were Kristin Gallant who collected 10 points, seven rebounds and five steals and Stephanie Findlay who chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds.
Laurentian was led by Emily Tinnes with 17 points, five rebounds and six steals.
“Campbell was great offensively off bench tonight. She attacked the zone hard and smart,” MacSporran said. “Sukeviciute made huge plays on offence and defence with blocks on rotations.
“We had five girls in double figures, which is so crucial moving forward. We can’t rely on one more two players. We are capable of more. The stat I love is all but one player had above four rebounds. We play all 10 who are healthy of our 12. That’s crucial.”
The Badgers shot 41.5 per cent (27-65) from the field, 11.1 per cent (1-9) from beyond the arc and 75.0 per cent (21-28) from the charity stripe.
The Badgers, who also won Friday and now have four wins on the season, host the Marauders Friday at 6 p.m.
“We needed these to set up for big games at home next few weeks and McMaster rolling in this week,” MacSporran said.
