Wolves Rained Out by Rams, 78-65

Thunder Bay – SPORTS – The ‘Wolves found out why the Ryerson Rams are the #1 ranked team in the CIS on Friday, as the Rams shot a scorching percentage through three quarters and coasted to a 78-65 win.

Boxscore
The Rams were out to assert themselves early on, as their star guard Aaron Best scored five straight points to open the game. Lakehead would get their first 10 points from Bacarius Dinkins, but the rest of the team did little offensively in the first quarter. Rookie Quincy Johnson did hit a three, but the ‘Wolves were in a deep hole, 27-13 after 10 minutes.

The basket seemed to be five feet wide for all of Ryerson’s players, as everyone connected early and often from three. It was a shooting barrage like none other seen in the Thunderdome in recent times, with the Rams hitting 11-of-15 from behind the arc (77%) in the first half.
The ‘Wolves trailed 49-29 at halftime, and once the lead stretched to 30 points in the third quarter, coach Manny Furtado sent in his reserves for the remainder.

Through three quarters, the Rams were shooting 61% from three. They finished on the game at 47%.

On a positive note, Lakehead’s bench players out-played those of Ryerson’s, winning the final quarter, 22-7.

“Our guys gotta understand what it’s gonna take the rest of the way, what it takes to beat the best” said coach Manny Furtado post game. “Every possession counts. At the end of the game our bench guys got some meaningful minutes and can hopefully use that experience as a building block moving forward.”

Dinkins finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds for the ‘Wolves, while rookie Kache Kopec came off the bench and made the most of his 24 minutes, scoring 20 points (4-of-8 from three) to lead his team in scoring.

Kadeem Green was Ryerson’s leader with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks. Aaron Best had 15 points and 5 assists.

The Thunderwolves take on the Toronto Varsity Blues tomorrow at 8pm.

Webcast available via OUA TV.

Audio broadcast via CILU Radio, 102.7fm