Playing their last two games before the December break, the Varsity Blues men’s basketball team went out on a winning note with a 92-79 victory over the Windsor Lancers. Toronto will head into the break with a record of 6-2, placing third in the OUA East, just behind the Ottawa Gee-Gees (7-1) and the Carleton Ravens (8-0). The Blues began the weekend with a disappointing 86-77 loss to the Western Mustangs. Toronto had a 47-35 lead after the first two quarters, but a disastrous second-half collapse led to the team’s second loss of the season.
The Blues offence was beset by poor shooting and fouls throughout Friday’s contest, as Toronto shot a miserable 43.2 per cent from the field. In comparison, the Mustangs made the most of their scoring opportunities, shooting an efficient 54.4 from the field, sent to the free-throw line 30 times compared to the home side’s ten. While Bluesman Rob Paris had 25 points and made five three-pointers on six attempts, it wasn’t nearly enough in this game.
Toronto fared much better against the Windsor Lancers, who came into the game with a 5-2 record. It was a harder battle than the 92-79 final score indicated, especially against the sixth-ranked team in the country. Windsor got off to a good start, jumping to an early four-point lead in the first quarter. The Blues finally netted their first basket at the 7:40 mark of the first quarter as Paul Seragutis drained a couple of free throws. Later in the first quarter, a Paris threepointer would give U of T its first lead. The game stayed tight throughout the first quarter, with neither team taking control early on. The Blues were hampered by back-to-back fouls, trying to get rebounds in the offensive end, which kept them from fi nishing the fi rst quarter with the lead.
When the second quarter rolled around, Lancers forward Greg Surmacz began to hurt the Blues’ chances with his strong play in the paint. The big forward, dominant at times against the Blues interior defence, would contribute 26 points and six rebounds to the Windsor cause. Ryan Steer was also a handful, as he had a game high 27 points and eight rebounds.
Sensing a shift in momentum, Blues head coach Mike Katz threw in big man Andrew Wasik to give the team a spark. The strategy led to positive results, as Wasik scored a basket right before the shot clock expired, and followed up with a couple of offensive rebounds to give Toronto a 27-21 lead. The Lancers battled back with a fl urry of baskets to close out the half, with forward Greg Allin hitting a diffi cult shot despite Blues defenders all over him—Toronto would enter the half trailing by a single point.
In the third quarter, the Blues discovered their shooting touch, which had been inconsistent through the fi rst two frames. Starting forward Ahmed Nazmi, who registered 22 points in the game, showed both range and consistency with his shots, an effi cient 75 per cent from behind the three-point line. Nazmi would go on to capture player of the game honours.
Buoyed by an enthusiastic home crowd at the Athletic Centre, Toronto would fi nally take control of the game in the second half. Fifth-year point guard Michael Degiorgio fi nished the game with 13 points, 12 assists, and was one rebound shy of the rare triple double. Forward Nick Snow and thirdyear guard Nick Magalas also contributed to the victory with 14 and 13 points respectively. Overall, Windsor held a slight edge in rebounds, 32-28. Toronto’s superior perimeter shooting, however, put the game out of Windsor’s reach. In the fi nal two quarters the Blues shot 67 per cent (10-15) from three-point range to the Lancers 25 per cent (3-12).
Head coach Mike Katz was ecstatic at the way his team played, and was quick to point out that beating the defending OUA champions was a reason to celebrate.
