The season began with a whimper, but ended with a bang.
The Varsity Blues Men’s basketball team completed their 22-game regular season Friday night with a hard-fought 83-75 win over the Queen’s Golden Gaels, recording their third straight win. Friday’s win, which had no significant playoff implications, lifted
Toronto’s record to a respectable 10-12 in the OUA East Division, leaving them in fourth place.
The win streak could not have come at a better time, as the men’s OUA East Championship is set to begin Friday.
“We are peaking at the right time,” said Tom Grochmal about the three-game winning streak. “We’ve proved time and again that we can beat any team on our court.”
The game against Queens was a lacklustre affair for the most part, with both teams failing to capitalize on numerous opportunities. The Golden Gaels were unable to use Toronto’s 21 turnovers to their advantage, as their greatest lead of the match was only five points.
“Tonight was the definition of winning ugly,” said Grochmal, who contributed seven points to the victory.
Both teams exchanged leads until the final two minutes of the second half, when Toronto took an eight-point advantage. Paul Zyla hit a clutch three-point basket with two minutes remaining, and then made three of his five free throws to give the Blues a commanding lead.
“It was nice to win tonight, but there is still a lot of room for improvement,” said Paul Zyla, who had a strong game, scoring 21 points and pulling down seven rebounds.
Kenny Hillborn scored 15 points in 22 minutes of play, and Matt Sturgeon notched 14.
Sturgeon was injured in the first half when his leg collided with a Queens’ player. The injury was not too serious, as he played a solid 10 minutes in the second half. Bradley Millington played well for Queens, also scoring 21 points.
The Golden Gaels finished their season with a disappointing 5-17 record, missing the playoffs for the second consecutive year.
The Blues, on the other hand, will face the OUA East #5 Laurentian Voyageurs in quarterfinal action on Friday, March 1 at 6 pm.
Varsity Blues head coach Ken Olynyk is impressed with his team’s determined performance over the past two weeks.
“This team has definitely matured over the season,” he said. “We showed real growth down the stretch, winning some big games.”
Toronto split the season series with Laurentian 1-1, losing the first game 78-63 and defeating the Voyageurs 75-50 a month later. Olynyk believes his team has a good chance to go far in the playoffs.
“We aren’t favourites to win, but we’re still ready to go,” said Olynyk.
“I think a lot of people are going to find out that we are a team to be reckoned with.”
