After a tough loss to Durham on Friday night our men's team were back in action on Saturday January 18th at 6:00 pm against the Fleming Phoenix (3-9) at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre. Despite their record, Fleming has played teams tough all season long including a competitive game against Algonquin back on November 16th in Peterborough when the Wolves came away with a 10 point win.
After an emotional game the night before, it was important for the Wolves to get off to a strong start and they did just that, coming out on a 9-0 run. The Wolves continued to control the pace through the first 10 minutes opening up a 24-10 lead. Ted Braden was a force inside the paint early on, scoring 8 points and grabbing 2 rebounds in the frame.
Fleming found their footing in the 2nd quarter cutting the lead down to 6 and forcing Wolves head coach Trevor Costello to call his 1st timeout with 5:44 to go. The rest of the quarter was a back and forth affair, but the Wolves managed to finish the half with a 9 point lead. Ted Braden continued to be a force inside finishing the half with a game high 13 points. Simon Desta started to heat up in the quarter finishing the half with 8 points.
The 3rd quarter was a game of runs. Fleming was the better team to start the half putting together a 8-0 run to cut the lead to 1. The Wolves would answer back with an 8-0 run of their own to restore the lead. The Phoenix would once again cut the lead to 1 with 4:56 to go, but the Wolves would settle down to end the quarter with a 72-60 lead. After a quiet 1st half, OCAA leading scorer Tesloch Luk put up 8 points to increase his total to 13. Simon Desta also had 8 points in the quarter.
The Wolves put their foot down in the fourth opening up a lead as large as 28 points before ultimately winning 96-74. Simon Desta had a game high 21 points to go along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Tesloch Luk finished with 20 points and 7 boards. Ted Braden had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Jansen Balmaceda was also in double figures with 13 points.
The Wolves improved their record to 9-4, good for 4th in the OCAA East standings. The Seneca Sting who are in 3rd have an identical record to the Wolves but own the tiebreaker thanks to a 79-68 over Algonquin when they met in the 1st semester. The Wolves and Sting will meet again on Friday January 24th at 8:00 pm in Toronto. The next day Algonquin will travel to Barrie, ON to face the 9-2 Georgian Grizzlies who sit in 2nd in the standings. A big weekend awaits with huge playoff implications on the line.
