ALGONQUIN 77, SENECA 61

NORTH YORK, Ont. – The Algonquin Thunder showed their desire on Saturday afternoon to win an OCAA medal and it paid off against the Seneca Sting. The Thunder trailed early, but overcame a double-digit deficit to win the OCAA bronze medal game 77-61.

Having played one game already in the morning, the Thunder looked sluggish at the beginning. The Sting, however, came out with an up-tempo after finishing their game less than three hours prior. That short break would be the undoing for the Sting as fatigue played a factor in the game's second half.

Seneca scored the first basket of the game on a put-back by the emerging Kevin Cornwall. Jamal Boyce then nailed a three-pointer to give the host school a 6-5 lead. Full of confidence after blowing out the George Brown Huskies earlier, Seneca went on a 9-0 run highlighted by a now common alley-oop dunk by Cornwall which drew cheers from the crowd. Seneca led 20-8 at the end of the first quarter.

The Thunder began to claw back from the early deficit thanks to a balance offence which saw eight players score a field goal in the quarter. Seneca was 0-for-4 from the charity stripe in the quarter while the Thunder failed to attempt a free throw. One of the bright spots all tournament was Seneca's Calmar Morgan who began to heat up the second quarter. A 7-0 run by the Thunder erased most of the Sting's early lead. At the half, the Sting led 35-29.

The teams exchanged baskets for the better part of the third quarter before the Thunder began hitting their shots and Seneca's players began to show signs of fatigue. The Thunder tied the game for the first time since the score was tied at three, only to see Boyce convert on a hoop-and-harm. Algonquin would take a 53-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

Algonquin's game really picked up in the fourth quarter as Garnet Blais opened the quarter with a quick three-pointer. Nehemiah Campbell followed up with a two for a 58-49 lead. Seneca tried to mount one final surge as Vadim Halimov took a charge at one end and Boyce knocked down a two to pull within eight. Romaine Lawrence took over from there, hitting back to back three point shots to make it 64-51. A Seneca timeout did little to slow the momentum as Lawrence hit another three-pointer to increase the lead to 20.

Boyce was the top scorer for Seneca with 17 points and four assists. Morgan and Halimov each added 14. Morgan also added eight rebounds. Cornwall was named Player of the Game.

Algonquin was led by Player of the Game Lawrence who scored 20 points. Blais had 14 points and 13 rebounds while Campbell scored 13 points and had five assists.

This was Algonquin's first OCAA medal in men's basketball since winning silver in 2009. Seneca's Morgan and Algonquin's Lawrence were named to the OCAA Championship All-Star team.

Source: Seneca College

Photo Credit: Sergio Mendoza