by... Clint Simmons <clintsimmons@hotmail.com>
DAY ONE Thu, 21 Oct 1999Hello one and all! The UNB Men's Basketball program is proud to provide to you a recap of the days events at the Eric Garland Men's National Basketball Tournament.
The eight team tournament began in earnest with a 2:00 PM tipoff featuring the McGill Redmen vs. the Saint Mary's Huskies. In a closely contested battle, the Huskies, who are defending National Champions, came out on top 74-67. Saint Mary's was led by point guard Jonah Taussig and forward Cory Janes. Taussig opened the 1999-00 season by scoring 13 points and Janes led the team with 15.
McGill was led by Kirk Reid, who scored 14, and Marcario Domenico, who also potted 14.
Saint Mary's earned the edge on the glass, out-rebounding McGill 37-28.
In game number two, York university squared off against perrenial AUAA power Acadia. This game was won in the first half as Acadia sprinted out to a 39-23 halftime advantage. York pulled things together in the second half to make a game of it, actually outscoring Acadia 36-33. The final score saw Acadia on top, 72-59.
Acadia was led by top scorer Richard Brenton (15 pts.) and point guard Saj Joseph (12 pts.). The top scorer for York was David Tyczynski with 14. Paul Nixon chipped in with 13.
Although Acadia was outrebounded 43-28, they managed to win the turnover battle, forcing York into committing 22 while they committed only 16.
Saint Mary's and Acadia now square off in one semifinal on Friday evening, Oct. 22.
The night cap witnessed the season opener for the UNB Varsity Reds. The hometown Reds did not disappoint as they easily handled their opponent, the Windsor Lancers. Final score was 89-60 in favor of UNB.
Mike Kierstead turned in a spectacular performance scoring 29 points on 10 of 15 from the floor. Mike King was steady with 11. UNB was also given a big boost from its bench in this contest. First year guard Andy Cotter scored 10 and returning post player Bram Russell also scored 10. The Reds scored 51 points in the first half and held a 17 point advantage. While the second half was closer, they never relinquished the lead and played a solid opening game.
Windsor was lead by guard Sefu Bernard who scored 16 and forward Mike Maggio who scored 10. Although Windsor dominated the glass, outrebounding the Reds 40-29, UNB held Windsor to only 34.5% shooting from the field for the game.
One other point of note; third year starting center Henry Rogers suffered an as yet unidentified injury to his foot and was forced to leave the game after only ten minutes of action. Hopefully things will turn out okay for the Reds starting post.
In the final game of opening day, the UBC Thunderbirds bettered the Seahawks from Memorial, 82-69. UBC held an 18 point advantage (44-26) by halftime and the Seahawks could not close the gap. Jon Fast scored 17 for UBC and Zaheed Bakare scored 18.
Memorial was led by their fifth year seniors, Jermaine Bruce (18 pts.) and David O'Keefe (15 pts.).
UBC earned the right to challenge the hometown Varsity Reds in the tourney's other semifinal on Friday evening.
DAY TWO Fri, 22 Oct 1999
Hey Hoop Fans! Well, day two has come and gone at the Eric Garland Men's National Basketball Tournament. It was another day of exciting action and the finals are now set...so without further delay, here's the recap for day two:The first game of the day saw the McGill Redmen tip off against the University of York. This game was no contest as McGill sprinted to a 55-36 halftime advantage and never looked back, winning 101-80.
McGill used a balanced scoring attack to beat the Yeomen with five players scoring 13 or better. Leading the way were Kirk Reid and Mike Rawas who scored 22 and 19 pts, respectively.
It was a two man show for York as they were led by Paul Nixon, who scored 19, and David Tyczynski, who scored 18.
York shot a paltry 41.5% from the field for the game while McGill shot the ball at a 58.3% clip. The rebounds were dead even at 35 each while McGill won the turnover battle, causing 25 while committing only 19.
Game two of the afternoon featured the Memorial Seahawks pitted against the Windsor Lancers. This one was even more a no-brainer as Windsor was simply outmatched this day. Memorial ended up winning by the final talley, 110-77.
Memorial once again relyed heavily on their starting five and were rewarded with 94 total points. Leading the way were center Matthew Chapman and guard Jermaine Bruce. Chapman scored 24 and hauled in 11 boards while Bruce paced the offence, scoring 23 while also dishing 7 assists.
Windsor was led by Mike Maggio and Anthony Rizzetto. Maggio paced the team in scoring with 20 while Rizzetto chipped in with 18.
While the rebounding differential was small (43-40 MUN) the game was again seemingly won on the strength of team shooting. MUN shot a blistering 61.5% from the field compared to the 39.3% put up by Windsor.
Semifinal number one featured the hometown UNB Varsity Reds vs. the Thunderbirds from the University of British Columbia. Alas for UNB fans, the final score was not one to be remembered. UNB lost a hotly contested battle, 89-81.
The game was tight the whole way with neither team jumping out to a lead greater than ~5 pts. UNB held the edge at half time 44-37 but UBC roared back scoring 52 pts. in the second half.
UBC was led by Halifax native Kevin Keeler who scored 19 and hit several big three's in the second half. Jon Fast scored 23 and point guard Courtney Kolla scored 21. Keeler and Kolla both dished out 6 assists while Fast was Chairman of the Boards, hauling in 7.
UNB was again led by sophomore forward Mike Kierstead and Junior guard Mike King. The two St. John natives combined for 44 pts. with King leading the team with 23. Kierstead led the team with 9 rebounds while Ryan Johnston passed off for a team leading 4 assists.
The Reds actually won the rebounding battle, 32-27, but committed 18 turnovers while forcing only 13. UNB shot an impressive 55.1% from the field but converted on only 35.3% of their 3-Pt attempts.
On the bright side, UNB again received solid bench play from forward Bram Russell and guard Andy Cotter. Russell scored 11 while grabbing 6 boards while Cotter scored 7.
As for the injury to starting center Henry Rogers...the news is not so good. He did not play in this game and may be out for 2-3 weeks. Don't quote me on this but I believe he suffered a severe hyper-extension of his big toe (Kind of like a sprain I believe). The blow is certainly a serious one to the Reds inside defence and rebounding and here's hoping that Henry makes a full and speedy recovery.
The second semifinal of the evening pitted AUAA rivals, St. Mary's Huskies against the Axemen of Acadia. The defending National Champions took it to the Axemen, winning by a final score of 101-65.
The St. Mary's attack was once again led by forwards Patrick Toulouse and Cory Janes. Toulouse gave the Acadia defence all they could handle and then some, scoring 21 while also grabbing 10 boards. Janes scored 17 pts.
Acadia was led by forward Mark Seaborn, who scored 16, and forward Richard Brenton, who scored 9 and hauled in 7 boards.
The Huskies outrebounded the Axemen 36-28 and forced Acadia into 19 turnovers while committing only 13 themselves. Again, shooting played a big role in the outcome with St. Mary's firing at a 60.0% clip while holding Acadia to only 36.8% from the field.
So, the final is set. St. Mary's will take on the UBC Thunderbirds. UNB will battle Acadia in the third place game.
Until tomorrows update...
DAY THREE Sat, 23 Oct 1999
Greetings Hoop Fans! Well, another Eric Garland National Basketball Tournament has again come and gone. By all accounts, the officials and volunteers behind the scenes for this years tournament did another fantastic job!And now, on to the action for day three. The battle for seventh place was contested by the universities of York and Windsor. The all Ontario affair was a see-saw affair with York jumping out to a 42-39 half time lead. Windsor however stormed back with a very strong second half and managed to pull out a hard fought 84-76 win.
Leading the way for Windsor again was Mike Baggio who scored 26 and grabbed 8 rebounds. Anthony Rizzetto netted 14 and Jeff Mulligan chipped in with 10.
Paul Nixon again played a big role for York University, canning 12 points and coralling 9 rebounds. The leading scorer for York was none other than Chris Peskun, who drove for 15.
In the fifth place game, the Memorial University Seahawks waged war against the McGill Redmen. This game was a classic barn-burner with Memorial winning on a last second putback.
Forward Matthew Chapman demonstrated that he is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the AUAA, scoring 36 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. Fifth year senior guard Jermaine Bruce played Robin to Chapmans' Batman, scoring 17 while dishing out 9 assists.
McGill was once again led by the potent combo of Marcario and Reid. Domenico Marcario scored 21 while Kirk Reid tickled the twines for 17.
Memorial held the slim advantage at half time, 44-42. The combatants drew to a even draw at 41 during the second half, thus making the final 85-83 in favor of the Seahawks.
The battle for third place featured perrenial AUAA contender Acadia versus the hometown UNB Varsity Reds. UNB and Acadia play to a virtual standstill in the first half with the Reds holding a one point advantage, 45-44. The second half was a back-and-fourth affair for most of the half until UNB used up one final push which eventually allowed them to better the Axemen, 86-81.
Mike Kierstead continued his spectacular play, pacing the Reds with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Jeff Cotter also played very well, scoring 26 on 3 of 5 from behind the arc.
Acadia used a balance attack to try and keep pace with the Reds. Five players scored in double figures, to UNB's two, with New Brunswick native Barry Anderson leading the way with 14. Mark Seaborn chipped in with 12.
The win was a solid victory for the Reds and one on which they hope to build a solid foundation for the upcoming AUAA season.
The championship game featured the defending national champion St. Mary's Huskies against the upstart University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.
The general consensus was that St. Mary's would win this one relatively comfortably but, as if often the case, the prolific prognosticators were proved wrong, courtesy of a convincing 72-66 victory by the Thunderbirds.
St. Mary's held a one point advantage at the half, 30-29 but were outscored 43-36 in the second half.
UBC was once again led by the duo of Jon Fast and Halifax native Kevin Keeler. Fast scored 19 and grabbed 9 rebounds while Keeler scored 22 while hitting some absolutely huge shots down the stretch.
St. Mary's was able to keep it close thanks in large part to the inside play of Patrick Toulousse. Toulousse scored 15 and grabbed 8 rebounds. His frontcourt mate, Cory Janes, scored 13 and grabbed 5 boards. Point guard Jonah Taussig, normally their leader and a very solid player, had an off-game, scoring only 4 points in 40 minutes of action.
So, to wrap it up, the final standings looked like this; 1. UBC
2. St. Mary's
3. UNB
4. Acadia
5. Memorial
6. McGill
7. Windsor
8. York
While I do not have a listing of the tournament all-stars or MVP in front of me, I do remember that,
The tournament MVP was Kevin Keeler of the UBC Thunderbirds.
Tournament All-Stars were; Mark Seaborn - Acadia
Mike Kierstead - UNB
Patrick Toulousse - St. Mary's (pretty sure)
I won't speculate on the rest.
That's it in a nutshell. I hope you all are able to take in next year's tourney. I'm sure it will be even better than this year!
Go Reds!
... Clint Simmons