Photo by Cole Breiland

Men’s basketball defeat Waterloo 64-59 to advance to OUA West finals

Lyle Morissette
Sports Editor

When something comes around once every 22 or so years, it should not be taken lightly. Thankfully, the ‘Wolves men’s basketball team did not let the opportunity slip away in winning—and hosting—their first playoff home game since 1988, defeating the Waterloo Warriors 64-59 in their OUA West semi-final matchup.
As they have consistently done all season, the ‘Wolves sparked another thrilling second-half comeback after trailing by 11 points at halftime. With a resilience to be admired, and a Waterloo team with its tail between its legs, LU stormed back, outscoring the visitors by seven in the third quarter and winning the decisive fourth quarter 16-7.
Forward Ryan Thomson kept the ‘Wolves in it in the first half by scoring 17 of his 20 points in the first two quarters, while big-man Yoosrie Salhia took over in the second half by battling his way to a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds despite not registering a single point or rebound in the opening 20 minutes. Greg Carter added 11 points with three steals, but more importantly helped cement his reputation as one of the nation’s top defensive players by harassing the Warriors’ leading scorer Cam McIntyre into a porous 1-9 shooting night.
‘Wolves head coach Scott Morrison said the team may have initially been star struck by the importance of the game and the intense crowd.
“I think the environment played a little bit of a role. We were a little star struck, but give the guys credit. They made a living all year on fourth quarter comebacks and we finished off the home season with another one.”
After taking the 58-57 lead on a pull-up jumper by Carter late in the fourth, the ‘Wolves did not look back despite Cam McIntyre’s game-tying free throws with under two minutes left. Those would be Waterloo’s last points on the board though as Salhia sealed the game with the winning basketball on a tough inside finish moments later. The game was officially capped off when guard Jamie Searle finished a broken play with a big layup that sent the sold-out home crowd into a frenzy.
“Waterloo played a strong defensive game in the first half and their experienced players were not affected by the sell-out crowd. We had to really be perfect in the second half with our defensive fundamentals. Credit goes out to both teams for playing playoff basketball tonight and to our guys for hanging in there and taking it one possession at a time in the second half,” said Morrison.
The Thunderwolves now find themselves travelling to Windsor to face the Lancers in the OUA West finals this coming Saturday.