ACAC Teams at 2018 CCAA Men's Basketball Championship
by ACAC Sports Writer Curtis J. Phillips
The basketball rims must be a different size out Quebec-way as the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) champion SAIT Trojans and ACAC Wildcard team Lakeland College Rustlers struggled in their opening games at the 2017-2018 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men's Basketball National Championship hosted by College Montmorency Nomades in Laval, Quebec.
Against the eventual tournament champion Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Seneca Sting, the Rustlers had a hard time finding the bottom of the mesh.
In the first and third quarters they shot a dismal 3-for-18 and 4-for 23 respectively from the field last Thursday.
Down 63-39 with only 6:31 left in regulation, Lakeland went on an amazing run to outscore the OCAA champion 30-14 but came up short 77-69.
"It was a combination of being on a neutral site and being at the nationals for the first time for this team," said Lakeland coach Sheray Thomas in an telephone interview while waiting at Toronto's Pearson International Airport . "We played very good defense and the second quarter was pretty even. We had a couple of unforced turnovers and turnovers and then we were playing catchup and we just couldn't get over the hump."
Artavis Holiday (3rd year, Marvell, Arizona) had 19 points and 13 rebounds playing a game high 31 minutes. Prentice Gardner (4th year, Oakland, California) added 14 points and Brandon Isaac (2nd year, Vernon, British Columbia) had 13 points.
Seneca sharp shooter Trevor Hutton had 15 points in a balanced attack for the Toronto school.
Khalil Miller, a 6-foot-8 centre, added 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots
A second quarter 3-for-19 shooting hiatus for the Trojans against the Pacific Western Athletic Association (PACWEST) champion Douglas Royals, found them down 36-28 at halftime Thursday.
"We struggled in the first half; we had too many guys trying to play hero ball. We have to move the ball," said Trojans coach Marty Birky, in an interview with Brody Mark.
Returning to the CCAA championships for the second consecutive year in a row, the Trojans regained their shooting form for the remaining 20 minutes but could never regain the lead.
They came close at 4:26 of the third 42-44 after two Charlie Conner (1st year, Lacey, Washington) free throws.
With 25 seconds remaining on the clock a Connor three-pointer brought them within two 76-78.
The final was Douglas 80, SAIT 76.
"Douglas got here because of their defense, and it's what won them the game tonight," said Birky in an interview. "They frustrate you, don't let you do what you want and then sit back and crowd the paint. If you can't hit shots, it's hard to beat them, and that's what happened."
Douglas windexed the boards to a tune of 56 rebounds while SAIT managed 42.
Gemie Muya-ntalaja (1st year, Toronto, Ontario) had 16 points and nine boards while Julian Apakoh (3rd year, Emerald Park, Saskatchewan) added 14 points.
Murphy Beya, a fifth year 6-foot-3 guard from Ottawa, Ontario who was the leading scorer (15.8 points per game) and rebounder (10.6 rebounds per game) for the Trojans during the ACAC regular season had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Royals fifth-year guard Grant Campbell was top marksman with 19 points to go along with seven assists for the New Westminster, British Columbia school.
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Photo CCAA: SAIT Trojans Gemie Muya-ntalaja goes in for a layup |
In their bronze medal quarter final Friday, the Trojans were up against the OCAC Wildcard team Humber Hawks from Etobicoke.
Humber is no stranger to the CCAA men's basketball tournament with six gold, four silver and three bronze since 1988.
SAIT too is familiar to national attention with two gold, five silver and one bronze since 1982.
The Hawks opened the game on a quick run with nine unanswered points, their largest lead of the game, before the Trojans scored their first basket at 7:31 of the first quarter on a Connor hoop.
The Trojans battled back to take the lead with their largest margin at 2:22 of the second 49-40 on a pair of Beya free throws.
Trojans up 84-76 with 2:39 in regulation, the Hawks brought it within a field goal with 36 seconds left 84-82.
Beya was fouled with 18 seconds remaining but missed both attempts to still leave the door wide open.
Fouled with seven seconds remaining, Beya nailed both free throws for the final SAIT 86 Humber 83.
This time the Trojans dominated the glass with a 42-33 advantage
The 6-foot-4 Muya-ntalaja led the Calgary school with 18 points and 19 rebounds.
"Gemie Muya is a special guy. He plays like he's 6-foot-8, but he's, maybe, 6-foot-3," said Birky. "I like to recruit guys with some dog in them and guys who never stop going, and that's Gemie. His motor never stops."
In their own their bronze medal quarter final Friday, the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Dynamiques ((Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec) exploded against the Lakeland College Rustlers 97-63.
Despite only being down three after the first quarter 17-14, Lakeland was outscored by 14 points in the second quarter and 17 in the fourth.
"When you only have 13 offensive rebounds and they have 30 offensive rebounds, combined with the shooting and playing lackadaisical, this is what happens," said Thomas. "Plus they had some open threes."
Paul Smith-Profit (4th year, Sacramento, California) had a team high 15 points. Holiday added 14 points and 12 rebounds for Lakeland who shot 32.9% from the field and were out rebounded 54-27.
Lakeland was 4-for-28 beyond the three-point arc while the Quebec side was Downtown Freddy Brown hitting 12-of-28.
In the bronze semifinal Saturday, the Trojans would go to overtime, falling to the Holland Hurricanes 83-79.
In regulation, two Apakoh free throws made it SAIT 68-66 with 1:51 remaining,
A Roosevelt Whyley jumper would tie it for Holland with 45 seconds remaining, sending the game to OT at Centre de l'activité physique
A Muya-ntalaja free throw 20 seconds into overtime would be the only lead the Trojans would hold 69-68.
"We played a team that averaged over 100 points per game this season, and we held them to 26 in the first half by crushing them inside," Birky said. "Unfortunately, in the second half, they flipped the script.
"Holland's a good team; they're deep, they're big, they're athletic. They really exposed our lack of experience in the second half."
Five Trojans players would score in double figures, Conner leading the way with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in 44 minutes. Nicholas Molina (4th year, Calgary Alberta), who would play a team-high 45 minutes, added 17 points.
For the second year in a row the Trojans finish in fifth place. Gemie Muya was named Tournament Second Team All Star status.
In the placement match for 7th/8th status the Rustlers tipped off against the Hawks and fell 100-79.
"We came out pretty strong and we had some chances and we did miss some layups and two-on-ones," said Thomas. "We let Humber get in the grove and they got into transition and started finishing. We made a bit of a comeback but it was a bit too late."
Rustlers' Terrell Murdaugh (4th year, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) led a balanced attack with 16 points.
The gold medal was captured by Seneca Sting 86-73 over Douglas Royals
Bronze medal went to Holland Hurricanes beating Montreal's Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf 91-87 in double overtime.