MBB | Western Downs Nipissing, Voyageurs & Gaiters Go Down to The Wire

MBB | Western Downs Nipissing, Voyageurs & Gaiters Go Down to The Wire

The Voyageurs Pre-Season Tournament wrapped up on Sunday with a pair of games.  Nipissing and Western provided the appetizer on the day while the Voyageurs-Gaiters match provided both the main course and dessert.

 

The Lakers-Mustangs game was never in doubt, with Western scoring the first basket of the game and never relinquishing the lead.  After a dominating opening half, Western took a 58-20 lead into the break and cruised to a 100-56 win.  Leading the way for the Mustangs was Julian Walker who tallied 24 points on 10-11 shooting.  Omar Shiddo chipped in with 20 points on 7-7 shooting.  Joshua Alexander-Martel paced the Lakers with 17 points.

 

In the second game of the day, the 2-0 Gaiters battled the 2-0 hosts in the defacto championship game and what had the potential to be a great game did not disappoint.  With 13 lead changes, this was a see-saw battle from the opening tip.  The Voyageurs took a 2 point lead into the half but a cold shooting third quarter (2-13) by the hosts saw the Gaiters get the upper hand heading into the final period of regulation.  The Voyageurs fought back, eventually taking a three point lead with 0.9 seconds left thanks to a pair of converted free throws by Haroun Mohamed.  Undeterred, the Gaiters advanced the ball to the half court courtesy of a timeout and executed their set play to perfection as Carl Jacob drained a 3 as the buzzer sounded to force overtime.

 

In the extra frame, it was more of the same as the teams went toe-to-toe.  A Kadre Gray step-back 3 with 4 seconds left on the clock put the Voyageurs up by as many points.  Bishop's looked to recreate their earlier magic, advancing the ball through a timeout.  This time, however, the shot coming out of the set play rimmed out and the Voyageurs emerged as tournament champions. 

 

Tournament MVP Gray led all scorers with 40 points in the game, adding in eight rebounds.  Sam Ivey chipped in with 16 points of his own and Litha Ncanisa secured an 11 point, 10 rebound double-double before fouling out.  For the Gaiters, it was Abdul Kamane leading the way with 25 points on 11-12 shooting.

 

Tournament All-Star Team

Kadre Gray - Laurentian - MVP

Sam Ivey - Laurentian

Nervens Demosthene - Bishop's

Ibrahim Ngom - Bishop's

Julian Walker - Western