With the first half of the CIS Men’s basketball season coming to a close, below are the Top 5 players who put in work during the week of Nov 23 – Nov 27, 2010.
#6 Paul Gareau – Regina Cougars – CW
The Regina Cougars came into the weekend looking to snap a brutal 4-game losing skid which included margins of defeat of 40, 24, 28, 30 points. 6-7 forward Paul Gareau decided to take matters into his own hands, he set a career-high of 42 points on Friday night as the Cougars defeated the Calgary Dinos 88-70. He shot an efficient 13/20 from the floor and 16/19 from the charity stripe.
He’s performance on Saturday against the same Dinos included a solid double-double of 17 points (7/10 FG, 5/5 FT) and 10 rebounds as the Cougars mauled the Dinos again to improve their Canada West record to 6-4. Regina faces a tough Alberta Golden Bears team next weekend to wrap the first half of the season.
#6 Jacob Doerksen – Trinity Western Spartans – CW
In his final year of CIS Basketball, Jacob Doerksen continues to exploit defences from all angles, and this weekend was no different. The Spartans hit the road and swept the Winnipeg Wesmen 93-70, 93-77 and again there was no stopping Doerksen, he put up a season high 30 points (12/16 FG, 1/2 3FG, 5/5 FT) including 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
The following night he decided to show his rebounding ability, yanking down a season high 17 boards (8 offensive) to go along with 24 points (9/15 FG, 1/3 3FG, 5/8 FT).
Doerksen who shouldn’t have any trouble inking a pro contract once the curtain closes on his collegiate career had another outstanding weekend pushing the Spartans winning streak to 8 straight, which ties the Carleton Ravens for the longest in the country.
#12 Matthew Buckley – Laurier Golden Hawks – OUA
The Laurier Golden Hawks haven’t been mentioned amongst the elite teams in Canada, but that should be up for consideration after an impressive 2-0 weekend road sweep. Matthew Buckley was instrumental in helping the Golden Hawks defeat the Ryerson Rams 89-76 on Friday night, he put game highs of 23 points (10/17 FG, 0/1 3FG, 5/5 FT) and 15 rebounds. He also added 4 assists and 2 steals to cap an all-round performance.
Saturday afternoon against the highly touted Toronto Blues front line, he notched his second straight double-double with 17 points (7/11 FG, 3/3 FT) 11 rebounds, 3 assists as Laurier upset the Blues 94-85. The Golden Hawks improved their conference record to 6-2 and are currently tied for second place in the OUA west. Their only losses have come against OUA East teams, Ravens 88-80 and Laurentian Voyageurs 88-87.
#32 Mark Gibson – Brock Badgers – OUA
The Brock Badgers and their new interim head coach Brad Roots are finding ways to win games using the long ball and outstanding team effort. Third-year 6-6 forward, Mark Gibson continues to be one of the most consistent players on the Badgers roster, this weekend Gibson who missed 5 games earlier this season found his groove. The Toronto native led the Badgers in both scoring and rebounding to round out an outstanding weekend.
Friday night he put up 22 points (10/20 FG, 1/1 3FG, 1/1 FT) 11 rebounds, 2 blocks to defeat the York Lions 70-61, he improved those numbers the following night with 27 points (12/19 FG, 3/3 FT) 12 rebounds, 2 blocks as Brock improved its record to 5-3 in the OUA West standings.
#9 Cam McIntrye – Waterloo Warriors – OUA
Cam McIntrye exploded for 42 points (13/21 FG, 11/15 3FG, 5/5 FT) 6 rebounds, 5 blocks as the Warriors defeated 90-76 Ryerson Rams on Saturday. During the third quarter, he scored 25 points and hit five 3-pointers. The Waterloo Warrior’s solid play during the 1st half of the season has earned them a 4-4 record in the bunched up OUA West division.
Honourable Mentions:
#14 Greg Stewart – Thompson Rivers Wolpack – CW
Despite the Wolfpacks’ horrendous record of 1-11. Greg Stewart continues to dominate inside, in two games against the Fraser Valley Cascades he pulled down 46 rebounds while scoring 38 points. His Friday night performance included a monstrous double-double of 19 points, 26 rebounds and 5 blocks.
#08 Maxwell Allin – Laurier Golden Hawks – OUA
Dropped the first triple-double (17 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists) of the young CIS basketball season in a 94-85 win against the Toronto Blues.
#10 Mark Woodland – Memorial Seahawks – AUS
His 38 point performance point (13/18 FG, 4/7 3FG, 8/8 FT) and 7 rebounds were enough to give the Seahawks their first AUS victory, defeating the Saint Mary’s Huskies 108-98
#5 Joey Haywood – Saint Mary’s Huskies – AUS
In three games of action this week Joey Haywood averaged 26 points per game, earning the Huskies their first victories of the season. He currently leads the CIS in scoring with an average of 27.3 per game.
#4 Christian Upshaw – St. Francis Xavier X-men – AUS
After back to back losses last week, 5-10 point guard Christian Upshaw led the X-Men in scoring in both games against the UPEI Panthers. He poured in a game 27 points and 4 steals on Sunday to improve the X-Men record to 3-2.