THUNDER BAY – Sports – The men’s basketball team enters the first round of the Wilson Cup Final tomorrow in Waterloo versus the Ryerson Rams. The last time these teams played was in November of 2011, when the Thunderwolves posted one of their largest margins victory of the regular season, 95-54 in the Thunderdome. That being said, expect no pushover in the Rams on Friday. They have battled through the season to finish with a 13-9 record in the OUA East, and earned their way to the Wilson Cup Final Four with a 74-71 victory over the Ottawa Gee Gees, the OUA East #2 seed who the Thunderwolves only beat by 6 points in November.
The Rams are led by sophomore sensation Jahmal Jones, who was also named an OUA East first team All-Star earlier today. Jones ranks first in the CIS in minutes, 749 in 22 games (34 min/game) and averages 15.5 points per game along with 4.6 assists and 4.2 rebounds per contest. He also has 42 steals this year (1.91/game). Jones is complemented by Jordan Gauthier, who also clocks a lot of court time at 31 min/game while averaging 15.5 points/game and 6.4 rebounds/game.
Lakehead will be bringing its full roster to Waterloo, although with a few nagging injuries, it is unclear who will be good to go come game time. With Ryerson’s very athletic roster, it will take a full effort from all of the Thunderwolves to get back to OUA Championship, which would also punch their ticket to the CIS Final 8 in Halifax the following weekend.
Coach Scott Morrison shares, “In the play-offs, regular season records and stats can be thrown out the window. The successful team at this time of year is most often the team who can combine the highest levels of effort, execution and team work for the longest period of time. Like the other three teams competing this weekend, we have the capabilities to get the job done provided our players understand the pre-requisites.”
Game time is 6pm, with live coverage being provided on The Score Television Network.