Badgers hold court at Meridian Centre
Brock drops hoops doubleheader to Ryerson in downtown game
Nearly 3,200 fans packed Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines Saturday to watch the Brock Badgers hosting the Ryerson Rams in a basketball doubleheader.
While the Brock women dropped an 81-55 decision in the opener and the men lost 71-62, it was special night at the downtown arena, which was packed with Brock students, staff, faculty, alumni, as well as the general public.
“It’s a great experience for our guys to play in front of that many people,” men’s coach Madhav Trivedi said.
His counterpart with the women’s team, agreed calling the opportunity to turn the home of the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions into a sea of Badger red a “great experience for our players.”
“You can’t replicate the game conditions and atmosphere this event provides,” Mike Rao said. “We are very fortunate to have this opportunity. “I love our effort and fight.” Brock led the men’s game 27-11 after the first quarter and took a 38-22 lead into halftime, but Ryerson netted 49 points in the second half, outscoring the Badgers
26-10 in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback win.
“What we need to learn from this game is that even when you’re up big in this league anybody can come back,” said Trivedi. “You’ve got to continue to chip away and take care of your floor.”
He gave Ryerson a “lot of credit” for the come-from-behind win that stopped Brock’s winning streak at three games.
“They are a championshiplevel team and they showed it tonight where they stayed poised and chipped away at the lead,” Trivedi said. “That’s one of the best teams in the country and we are right there.”
Johneil Simpson led the Badgers with 19 points and seven defensive rebounds. Cassidy Ryan, Tyler Brown and Kascius Small-Martin each scored 10 points.
Simpson, 28 points, 10 rebounds; Small-Martin, 22 points; Ryan, 21 points; were key contributors in a 103-54 victory over the visiting Toronto Varsity Blues the night before at Bob Davis Gymnasium.
In the women’s game versus
Ryerson, Brock’s Melissa Tatti’s game-high 22 points, but it wasn’t enough to knock off the talented Rams. Ryerson led 18-15 after one, but increased the gap to
40-25 at the half and never looked back.
Sofia Croce added 10 points and Welland native and Jean Vanier graduate Courtney McPherson grabbed eight rebounds before leaving the game with an eye injury.
The Brock women were also seeking their fourth win in a row after topping the Blues before. Tatti, with 22; Kristin Gallant, McPherson, 13 apiece; scored in double digits in a 74-50 win Friday night. The Brock men, 5-2; and women, 3-4; visit the Carleton Ravens – men’s, 7-0; women’s, 5-1 – Friday in Ottawa.
Hockey
Brock went 2-0 in women’s hockey, while the men’s team went 1-1. Hunter Accursi, Carley Blomberg, Kim Brown, Morgan Dezell, Maggie Spratt-Mallick, Katreena Whiteye found the back of the net as the Brock women improved to 4-1-1-2 with a 6-3 road victory over the York Lions.
Marissa Ryalls, Amanda Ieradi each scored a goal and Jensen Murphy made 42 saves backstopping the Badgers 2-1 win over the visiting Western Mustangs the night before.
Brock, 4-1-1-2, visits Western, 6-2-0-1, Friday night.
In men’s action on the weekend, goals from Adam Berg, Connor Brown, Ryan Burton Jake Ringuette, Tyler Rollo carried the Badgers past the visiting Waterloo Warriors, Brock’s fourth win a row.
Adam Lloyd tallied for the Badgers in 2-1 loss to the Western Mustangs the following night in London, Ont.
Brock, 9-4, hosts the Laurier Golden Hawks, 5-8, for a 7:15 p.m. faceoff Friday at Seymour-Hannah Sports and Entertainment Centre in St. Catharines.
Volleyball
The Brock Badgers defeated the Trent Excalibur in four sets – 25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 25-15 – extending their win streak in women’s volleyball to three games.
Brock, 4-3, was led by Laura Condotta, 14 kills, 20 digs; Darby Taylor, 10 kills, eight digs; Grace Edwards, 10 kills, four service aces, seven digs; Mikaylla LawHeese, 11 digs; Sara Rohr, nine digs, 23 assists.