The Wolves men's basketball team had a season of ups and downs finishing 7th in the OCAA East with a 8-10 regular season record. Their season came to a close in the qualifying game at the hands of the Mohawk Mountaineers, the eventual bronze medalists. Read about their season below.
Regular Season
After a solid showing in pre-season, the Wolves turned their attention to the regular season. They kicked things off at home on October 28th against the St. Lawrence Surge. After a tightly contested game, Algonquin pulled away for a 70-59 win, much to the delight of the home crowd. Unfortunately things took a turn after this one. The Wolves dropped their next 6 games in a row going into their final 2 games of the 1st half. Thankfully they were able to right the ship picking up wins against the Fleming Knights and cross-town rival La Cité Coyotes to close out the first half. With a 3-6 record, the Wolves needed a big 2nd half to get back into the mix.
The 2nd half was kinder to the Wolves. They rattled off 4 straight wins in January, increasing their winning streak to 6 games. That stretch included wins over La Cité, Loyalist, St. Lawrence, and Centennial. As the calendar turned to February, so did the Wolves fortunes. Algonquin went 1-4 in February with their only win coming against the Fleming Knights on February 17th. The following day the Wolves played their final game of the regular season against the 2nd place Durham Lords. The occasion allowed Algonquin to celebrate graduating Senior Chris Lachapelle who played his final home game in an Algonquin uniform.
The game was close throughout but the Wolves eventually fell 85-81. To top things off, starting point guard and leader Nathan Garcia left the game with a season ending shoulder injury. The Wolves finished 8-10, good for 7th in the OCAA East. This earned them a trip to Hamilton to take on the Mohawk Mountaineers in the qualifying game.
Qualifying Game
On Saturday February 25th Algonquin took on the Mohawk Mountaineers. Mohawk finished 2nd in a strong OCAA West division with a 14-4 overall record. The Wolves put up a fight trailing by only 1 at the half, but Mohawk flexed their muscle in the 2nd half finishing with a 96-77 win, ending the Wolves season.
OCAA Awards
3rd year Forward Ted Braden was the lone Wolf to receive OCAA recognition. He was named an OCAA East 2nd Team All-Star.
The season was full of ups and downs for the Wolves. The young squad will look to build off the experience they earned this season with hopes of finding more consistency in 2023-24. The Algonquin Students' Association would like to take the time to congratulate the players, coaches and support staff for all their hard work and dedication this past year. We look forward to seeing some more exciting basketball action next season.