Wesmen throttle Cascades to advance

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This article was published 22/02/2024 (943 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It is home to their most heated rival, yet the Winnipeg Wesmen seem to have found a comfort zone on the court at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

Thursday night was a prime example.

The Wesmen, fuelled by a 25-point, 17-rebound outing from third-year forward Donald Stewart, thrashed the Fraser Valley Cascades 96-69 in quarter-final action at the Canada West men’s basketball playoff tournament.

“Our goal was just to play as well as we could at the end of the conference season and we just wanted to get a bye,” said Winnipeg guard Shawn Maranan, who had eight points and eight assists in the victory. “We didn’t care who we were gonna play. It didn’t matter who was going to be in front of us. We just had to make sure we were ready.”

The win sent the third-seeded Wesmen into Saturday’s 8 p.m. semifinal against No. 2 Calgary Dinos.

Winnipeg built a 47-34 halftime lead aided by Stewart’s monster stat line: 17 points on five-for-six shooting, one block, two steals, eight rebounds and five fouls drawn.

“That’s what he does,” said Maranan with a grin. “I thought he should’ve been on that (conference) all-star team. He showed today that he’s an all-star calibre player.”

The Wesmen have now posted three of the most significant wins in recent program history on the University of Manitoba campus.

“To be at home and have that much (Wesmen) red in the stands is pretty special,” said Stewart, a member of the squad that earned a national championship berth with a conference semifinal win over the Bisons last spring. “I would say this is a pretty special place for us.”

The Wesmen had a huge 54-27 rebounding edge, including a 21-11 advantage on the offensive glass.

Meanwhile, Alberto Gordo added 16 points for the winners. Ismael Hernandez and Dario Lopez replied with 11 points each for the Cascades.

“We talked about being really physical today,” said Stewart. “They have a great front court and (Dario) Lopez is an all-star level talent and we really wanted to try and be physical. So that start was really important for us.”

In Thursday’s other quarter-finals, it was: Northern B.C. Timberwolves 84, Manitoba Bisons 78; Victoria Vikes 98, Brandon Bobcats 85; and Calgary Dinos 76, Alberta Golden Bears 70.

Timberwolves 84 Bisons 78

The 12th-seeded Timberwolves served up another tournament upset, beating the No. 4 Bisons with the help of a fourth-quarter surge.

UNBC, which knocked off the No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds in a play-in game Wednesday, ended Manitoba’s season and earned a semifinal berth with Victoria on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Spencer Ledoux had 22 points for the winners while Justin Sunga scored 10 of his 16 points in the final 10 minutes. UNBC trailed by three points with 10 minutes remaining.

Daren Watts led the Bisons with 23 points and nine rebounds while Simon Hildebrandt added 20 points and five boards.

Vikes 98 Bobcats 85

The eighth-seed Bobcats promised to put up a fight against the country’s top-ranked team and they delivered, taking a 23-20 lead after 10 minutes.

Canada West player of the year Diego Maffia was weaving some of his usual magic and a strong supporting cast allowed Victoria to pull away late in the fourth quarter.

Maffia, who made eight of his 23 three-point attempts to break his own conference post-season record of six threes, finished the game with 34 points, seven rebounds and four assists. He also turned the ball over three times to a tenacious Bobcats defence.

“I’m just trying to make the right read all the time and I don’t think I was great today making those reads,” said Maffia. “I turned it over too many times but I think when I’m in the game that fuels me, that’s my competitive nature and in moments like that, it’s just kind of when I thrive. I love being in them. I don’t feel any pressure.”

BU closed to within 78-74 with six minutes left in the game but could get no closer.

“(Maffia’s) the best player in the country and he just makes plays where you can’t simulate it (in practice),” said Bobcats head coach Gil Cheung. “He’s crafty and he made tough plays down the stretch, too. They’re well-coached, they’ve got the coach of the year. They’ve got everybody over there. We’re just a little school in Manitoba trying to keep up. We made Bobcat Nation proud today, I think.”

Khari Ojeda-Harvey had 29 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for Brandon, going 10-for-20 from the field including a four-for-eight performance from behind the arc. Elisha Ampofo went five-for-five from three-point ranged and finished with 21 points. Sultan Haider Bhatti added 19 points and a team-high 12 rebounds.

“They play fast, they play aggressive, they run and gun — it’s hard to defend a team like that,” said Maffia. “When we saw them in the (regular) season and it was even closer than this. I think it’s hard to play teams like that — any shot for them is a good shot and they’re shooting from anywhere.”

Elias Ralph had 22 points and nine rebounds while teammates Renoldo Robinson and Shadynn Smid added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Smid and Griffin Arnatt had seven rebounds apiece as the Vikes held a 46-34 edge on the boards.

“Honestly, today it was all rebounding,” said Maffia. “Griffin (Arnatt), Shadynn (Smid) all those guys were working down there.”

Dinos 76 Golden Bears 70

First-team all-conference guard Nate Petrone scored 10 of his game-high 33 points to spark second-seeded Calgary to a comeback win.

Dylan Lutes added 14 points for the Dinos, who outscored the Bears 31-17 in the fourth quarter.

Lars Ishimwe and Isaac Simon chipped in with 14 points apiece for seventh-seeded Alberta.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca