3-0 start in hoops
Brock Badgers heading into weekend in men’s basketball on 3-game winning streak
Brock rebounded from their only two losses of the men’s university basketball season by starting the new year 3-0.
Among the key contributors to the Badgers’ 12-2 record in league play, tops in the Ontario University Athletics West Division, is Dani Elgadi.
This week’s male athlete of the week, the 6-foot-7 forward from Waterloo averaged 24 points and 10.5 rebounds in back-to-back victories over the Algoma Thunderbirds on the weekend in Sault Ste. Marie.
On Friday night the fifth-year humanities major led all players with 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 7946 victory. Elgadi also had a gamehigh double-double — 22 points, 10 rebounds — in a 78-62 victory as Brock completed the sweep of the Thunderbirds the following day.
In the Friday win over Algoma he became just the sixth player in the history of the men’s basketball program at Brock to score 2,500 career points.
The Badgers visit the Guelph Gryphons, 3-11, Friday night before hosting the Windsor Lancers in an 8 p.m. tipoff Saturday at Bob Davis Gymnasium.
Windsor was 6-8 heading into a road game against the McMaster Marauders, 2-12, Wednesday night.
Wrestler pins down gold
Wrestler Kristina McLaren went 4-0 at the Brock Open to pin down female athlete of the week honours. The St. Catharines native won three of her matches in the women’s 51-kilogram division by technical superiority and the other by a pinfall.
McLaren, a fourth-year kinesiology major, will be going to the USport Wrestling Championships Feb. 23-24 at Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie as one of the favourites to win her division.
The university’s men’s and women’s teams, both nationally ranked, won both team titles at the Brock Open.
Brock wrestlers with topthree finishes in the men’s classes were Kingston Wong, second, 54 kg; Sam Jagas, first, 57 kg; Chris McIsaac, 65 kg; Tyler Rowe, first, 72 kg; Jevon Balfour, 76 kg; Clayton Pye, third, 90 kg.
Top-three finishers for Brock in the women’s weight classes: Kristina McLaren, first, 51 kg; Emily Schaefer, first; Hannah Taylor, second, 59 kg; Indira Moores, first, 67 kg; Skylar Grote, first; Shauna Kuebeck, second, 72 kg; Darrion Sterling, first, 82 kg.
Losing skid ended
Starter Baelie Campbell scored a game-high 24 points, Miranda Smith added 14 from the bench, and the Brock Badgers grounded the Algoma Thunderbirds 66-55 to snap a five-game losing streak in women’s university basketball.
Courtney McPherson led Brock, and all players, with 11 rebounds to go along with 10 points as the Badgers avenged a 59-56 loss to Algoma in the opener of a two-game weekend series in Sault Ste. Marie.
Campbell, with 16 points, McPherson, 14, and Stephanie Findlay, 12; reached double digits in scoring in the first loss.
Brooke-Lyn Murdoch was Brock’s top rebounder with seven.
The Badgers, 5-9, visit the Guelph Gryphons, 6-8, Friday and host Windsor the following day. Tipoff at Bob Davis Gymnasium is 6 p.m.
Windsor, 11-3 in women’s hoops, visited the McMaster Marauders, 10-4, Wednesday night.
Standout in goal
The Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks outshot the Brock Badgers 42-22 but, thanks to Jensen Murphy, wound up on the wrong end of a 3-1 final score in women’s university hockey.
Murphy made 41 saves backstopping the visiting Badgers back into the win column after a 3-0 loss to the Queen’s Golden Gaels the night before in Kingston.
Kimberly Brown, Christina Ierardi and Kailey Peirson, into an empty net, each scored a goal in Saturday’s win over the Ridgebacks in Oshawa. With the victory, the Badgers improved to 8-34-2 moving to within one point of the 9-2-4-2 Western Mustangs for third place in the division.
Brock is home to the 6-2-6-0 Waterloo Warriors Saturday. Faceoff at the Seymour-Hannah Entertainment Centre is 2:15 p.m.
The Ryerson Rams are in St. Catharines the following day, also for a 2:15 p.m. start.
Brock gets the Blues in OT
The Brock Badgers host the Guelph Gryphons today hoping to return to the win column and improve to 1-2 to Guelph this season in men’s university hockey.
In their last game, Brock allowed two unanswered goals, the second 3:21 into overtime, and dropped a 3-2 decision to the host Toronto Varsity Blues to fall to 10-6-4.
Ayden MacDonald, on the power play, and Cosimo Fontana found the back of the net for the Badgers, who were outshot 31-23.
It was Brock’s second game in Toronto in three days.
On Friday the Badgers doubled the Ryerson Rams 2-1 on goals from Dexter Weber, on the power play, and Brandon O’Quinn.
The Badgers were outshot 3022. Clint Windsor earned the victory in net for Brock.
Puck drop versus the Gryphons, 15-4-1, at Seymour-Hannah is set for 7:15 p.m. today.
Saturday’s schedule has Brock at the York Lions beginning at 7 p.m.