Lakehead Finishes Zanatta Games at 2-1 with Victory over Brandon

Media Release
Lakehead University Athletics Department
www.thunderwolves.ca

T-Wolves Finish Weekend Strong

Thunderwolves win 84-69 against a gritty Brandon Bobcat team

October 5, 2013 — Thunder Bay, Ont.

The men's basketball team ended their John Zanatta invitational on a winning note, 84-69 over the Brandon Bobcats.

Very little came easy for the 'Wolves in the early going. It was clear that the rookie-stacked roster still had some soul searching to do, with the Bobcats leading 21-19 after ten minutes, which included 2 technical fouls being assessed to Brandon players for on-court chicanery.

Lakehead did make up the ground in the 2nd quarter to lead 38-34 at the break.

Brandon's swift group of athletes were a handful for Lakehead defenders, most notably Kenonte Ramsey, who scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting, including some late three's that made things interesting for the capacity Thunderdome crowd.

After making runs to establish double-digit leads in the 3rd and 4th quarters, Lakehead's defense broke down repeatedly, which wasn't helped by costly turnovers in the open court leading to lay-ups and open three-pointers for Brandon. The Bobcats narrowed the T-Wolf lead to 74-69 with two such consecutive plays, only to have Lakehead push back in the final minutes on a 10-0 run of their own to close out the game.

Brandon's other top scorers were Emerick Ravier with 11 points and 5 rebounds, while Ilarion Bonhomme made 5 assists with 9 points.

For the 'Wolves, Henry Tan led with 19 points (8-9 FT) and fellow guard Dwayne Harvey scored 15 points with 7 assists and 5 rebounds. Jamar Coke scored 13 points, including some clutch 3-pointers down the stretch.

Lakehead made 23 of 28 free throw attempts, compared to Brandon's 6 of 12.

Coach Scott Morrison:

"After a disappointing loss yesterday I was pleased with the way our young team bounced back today and made a better effort to execute the game plan. Kudos to Jamar Coke, Henry Tan and Anthony McIntosh for bouncing back after a rough outing Friday. Everyone contributed to a team win today, it was a good way to finish this segment of the pre-season."

– 30 –

MEDIA:  For more information, or to request an interview, please contact Lakehead Sports Information Director, Hugh Mullally, at (807) 766-7157, or spinfo@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University’s Athletics Department features a comprehensive Campus Recreation program across both its Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario campuses. Working hard to promote a healthy and active campus lifestyle, Campus Recreation provides a great selection of outdoor and indoor intramurals with its C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse (containing a 15,000 square foot Thunderdome gymnasium, state-of-the-art Wolves' Den fitness centre, 50-metre eight-lane swimming pool, cardio room, Kinesiology labs, squash court, and change rooms complete with saunas) and the 50,000 square foot ‘Hangar’ building (an athletic facility home to a 200-metre track, pro-grade artificial turf field, climbing wall, weight training, aerobic and cardio areas, as well as the University’s Sports Medicine Clinic) .

Winnipeg tops 'Wolves in Zanatta Games Round 2

Media Release
Lakehead University Athletics Department
www.thunderwolves.ca

Wesmen Outlast T-Wolves, 82-78

October 4, 2013 — Thunder Bay, Ont.

The men's basketball team were handed their first loss of the pre-season on Friday evening, 82-78 at the hands of the Winnipeg Wesmen.

The Wesmen, a team that has dropped a string of games to the T-Wolves in recent years finally got revenge, thanks to a huge game from forward Steven Wesley, who torched the 'Wolves for 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting.

The Wesmen were on a mission from the hop, leading 24-17 after the first quarter as Lakehead struggled to find its rhythm on the offensive end. Halftime score was 39-32 for the Wesmen.

From there on out the two teams would play even down the stretch, exchanging runs, finally with the 'Wolves making a late effort and tying the game twice in the final minutes, but Winnipeg having an answer both times.

Andrew Cunningham and Jelane Pryce rounded out the scoring for the Wesmen with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

For the 'Wolves, Dwayne Harvey had a strong game scoring 27 points with 9 rebounds. Veteran Forward Anthony McIntosh had a career-high 19 points to go with 11 rebounds. Freshman Henry Tan scored 12 points, showing lots of speed in the open court.

Coach Scott Morrison:

"Despite our goal of improving every night this weekend, I felt we took a step back in terms of our defensive execution tonight. Winnipeg is a very good team that does not let you get away with poor execution. They make you pay for poor rotations and screen defense with outside shots and dribble penetration to the bucket. Despite our performance we were still in the game late thanks to the gritty performance of Dwayne Harvey, but mental errors prevented us from finishing it off."

The Wesmen play tomorrow at 3:00pm vs Algoma.

Lakehead will conclude their John Zanatta Invitational against the Brandon Bobcats at 8:00pm tomorrow evening.

– 30 –

MEDIA:  For more information, or to request an interview, please contact Lakehead Sports Information Director, Hugh Mullally, at (807) 766-7157, or spinfo@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University’s Athletics Department features a comprehensive Campus Recreation program across both its Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario campuses. Working hard to promote a healthy and active campus lifestyle, Campus Recreation provides a great selection of outdoor and indoor intramurals with its C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse (containing a 15,000 square foot Thunderdome gymnasium, state-of-the-art Wolves' Den fitness centre, 50-metre eight-lane swimming pool, cardio room, Kinesiology labs, squash court, and change rooms complete with saunas) and the 50,000 square foot ‘Hangar’ building (an athletic facility home to a 200-metre track, pro-grade artificial turf field, climbing wall, weight training, aerobic and cardio areas, as well as the University’s Sports Medicine Clinic

From Tbaynewswatch.com

Basketball Wolves start pre-season with win

By Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com

• 
  Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com 
  Lakehead guard Henry Tan (right) drives to the net against Algoma's Brett Zufelt Thursday night at the Thunderdome.

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Henry Tan spent last season on the sidelines, recovering from a torn ACL that derailed his NCAA dreams.

On Thursday he showed why the Lakehead Thunderwolves were only too willing to wait for him to recover.

Tan, making his pre-season debut in the Zanatta Invitational, scored 14 points, helping the Wolves to a convincing 79-54 win over the first-year Algoma University Thunderbirds, playing their first CIS contest after making the jump from the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association.

It was a great confidence boost, the Vaughn, Ont. native said.

“It feels great, being out there for the first time, playing my first college game and playing after my ACL injury. I just wanted to play my style of game and just help the team out any way possible,” Tan said.

“I think I did a pretty good job. I just wanted to get a lot of paint touches, finish around the rim and do well in transition.”

Though Tan technically qualifies as a rookie, he spent most of last season training with the Thunderwolves while rehabilitating his injured knee.

But with seven key players gone from last year’s national finalist team, the Wolves are going to have to make plenty of adjustments this year.

Learning how to win all over again is important, which is why it was key to start the season off on a winning note.

Although they trailed the Thunderbirds 4-0 in the early stages of the Thunderdome contest, they rolled out to a 20-8 lead after the opening quarter and took a 39-22 lead into the half.

“We had to set the pace early, especially with the young guys coming in. We have a lot of them. With the veterans, and me, kind of returning, and having that experience from last year, I think it will help us not just in the beginning, but throughout the year,” Tan said.
“There’s a lot of good things we did today, but there’s a lot of improvements we can make too, especially with Algoma playing (just) their first game in the league.”

The Wolves were led by returning guard Dwayne Harvey, who paced the attack with 17 points.

It was a chance for coach Scott Morrison – who leaves the team next week for a sabbatical in Maine coaching in the Boston Celtics system – to see exactly what he’s leaving behind for interim coach Matt Erdman to work with.

There was good and bad he said.

The good came in the form of rookie Igor Lebov, who scored eight quick points in the fourth quarter. Seven-foot centre Brent Wallace also showed flashes of brilliance, collecting six points and five boards, while second-year guard Alex Robichaud put up seven points.
Still, Morrison said there is work to be done.

“I definitely didn’t like our execution in terms of our game plan. At this time of the season the game plan is pretty simple. It’s mainly just regurgitating stuff that we’ve been working on for two months now,” Morrison said.

“It’s just basic stuff in our system and I thought we did a bit of a bad job.”

Morrison said he didn’t want his players getting overconfident with the result, saying a lot of their hoops were due to inexperience on the Algoma side.

“They aren’t the strongest team at this time of year and I don’t the score is reflective of how we played. We didn’t play all that well. Maybe we got a little fool’s gold, made some lucky shots.”
Beyond the arc: Lakehead will take on Laurentian at 8 p.m. on Friday, while Algoma plays Brandon in the 3 p.m. contest ... A.J. Barber led the way for the Thunderbirds with 12 points. Jimmy Bilenga had nine ... No Algoma player had more than four rebounds. Harvey led Lakehead with nine ... Wallace blocked a pair of shots.

'Wolves Open Season with Win over Algoma U

Media Release
Lakehead University Athletics Department
www.thunderwolves.ca

Men's Hoops Win 79-54 Over Algoma

October 3, 2013 — Thunder Bay, Ont.

The men's basketball team began their John Zanatta Invitational with a 79-54 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds.

The game presented the newest member of the OUA in Algoma University, who will play in the OUA East division. This weekend will give them an opportunity to see what CIS competition is all about, as Lakehead gave them a lesson in the Thunderdome on Thursdayevening, jumping out to a 21-8 lead after ten minutes.

The T-Wolves would cruise from there, using the opportunity to get their bevy of new players some court time. Lakehead led 39-22 at the half.

Veteran Dwayne Harvey led all scorers with 17 points to go with 9 rebounds, and showed himself as an emerging floor leader for Lakehead's new look team. Freshman Henry Tan scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

Lakehead out-rebounded Algoma 48-23.

For the Thunderbirds, A.J. Barber led with 12 points while Jimmy Bilenga scored 9.

Coach Scott Morrison:

"While it wasn't pretty, it was great to get on the floor competing against a different team. I was pleased with our hustle at times but disappointed in the execution of our game plan. Our young players have to learn that executing a game will give you a chance to win against the tougher teams."

Algoma will play the Brandon Bobcats tomorrow afternoon at 3pm.

The Lakehead men continue play tomorrow evening at 8:00pm against the Winnipeg Wesmen.

– 30 –

MEDIA:  For more information, or to request an interview, please contact Lakehead Sports Information Director, Hugh Mullally, at (807) 766-7157, or spinfo@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University’s Athletics Department features a comprehensive Campus Recreation program across both its Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario campuses. Working hard to promote a healthy and active campus lifestyle, Campus Recreation provides a great selection of outdoor and indoor intramurals with its C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse (containing a 15,000 square foot Thunderdome gymnasium, state-of-the-art Wolves' Den fitness centre, 50-metre eight-lane swimming pool, cardio room, Kinesiology labs, squash court, and change rooms complete with saunas) and the 50,000 square foot ‘Hangar’ building (an athletic facility home to a 200-metre track, pro-grade artificial turf field, climbing wall, weight training, aerobic and cardio areas, as well as the University’s Sports Medicine Clinic) .

Season Opens Thursday with Zanatta Games

Media Release
Lakehead University Athletics Department
www.thunderwolves.ca

Zanatta Invitational Begins Thursday Evening

October 2, 2013 — Thunder Bay, Ont.

Homecoming 2013 is upon Lakehead Athletics this weekend, with a full schedule of events, including 11 basketball games making up the John Zanatta Invitational tournament.

The visiting women's teams include the Algoma Thunderbirds, Manitoba Bisons and the Laurentian Voyageurs.

On the men's side, the Algoma Thunderbirds, Brandon Bobcats and Winnipeg Wesmen will visit the Thunderdome.

Action will get underway Thursday evening with the Lakehead women's and men's teams taking on the Algoma Thunderbirds in their first games of the exhibition season. The women tip off at 6:00pm, with the men at 8:00pm.

A full weekend schedule follows:

Thursday,  October 3

6:00 pm             Lakehead v. Algoma (WBB)

8:00 pm             Lakehead v. Algoma (MBB)

Friday,  October 4

1:00 pm             Manitoba v. Algoma (Women)

3:00 pm             Brandon v. Algoma (Men)

6:00 pm             Lakehead v. Laurentian (Women)

8:00 pm             Lakehead v. Winnipeg (Men)

Saturday, October 5

11:00am            Wall of Fame Ceremony (Hangar)

1:00 pm             Laurentian v. Algoma (Women)

3:00 pm             Winnipeg v. Algoma (Men)

6:00 pm             Lakehead v. Manitoba (Women)

8:00 pm             Lakehead v. Brandon (Men)

TBNewswatch.com Training Camp Preview

Rebuilding year

By Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com

• 
  Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com 
  Lakehead coach Scott Morrison has just four players from last year's men's basketball team returning in 2013-14.

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Scott Morrison is tempering his expectations.

His championship-game roster all but disintegrated, the Lakehead Thunderwolves coach is building a new style of basketball team, this one from the top down.

On Thursday the 11-year veteran unveiled the second seven-footer of his busy recruitment season, 7-foot-1 transfer Andrew McCarthy, who spent two years at the University of Massachusetts and more recently, on season at Massassoit Community College.

Earlier in the summer seven-foot Australian Brent Wallace agreed to join the retooling Thunderwolves.

The Wolves, who lost to Carleton last spring in the national final, also added a pair of Canadian transfers, 6-foot-7 Srdjan Pejicic of Waterloo, Ont. and 6-foot-7 forward Justin Bell of Mississauga.

The trio of players will help fill the void left by six graduations, the unexpected departure of long-distance shooter Joseph Hart to pro ball in Spain and the decision to sit all-star guard Ryan Thomson for the entire season to nurse his surgically repaired knee.

The new makeup of his roster means Morrison and his staff will have to revisit the run-and-gun style that took them to four straight CIS Final championship weekends.

“For one thing, we’re going to have to learn how to coach guys that big and use them in our system,” Morrison said. “Our system has been built around having small guys that are quick. These big guys can run the floor not too bad, so it shouldn’t hurt us too bad, but we’ll have to learn to use their size whereas before we were using quickness.

“It will be a learning process for us. But at the same token, they have to learn to play at this level up here, where there aren’t as many big guys to bang around and maybe they’ve got to step out in the perimeter every now and then and move their feet a little bit.”

Realistically, with so much new talent arriving in Thunder Bay, the team will have plenty of work ahead to maintain the level fans have come to expect at the Thunderdome.

The emphasis this year is on player development and gaining experience at the CIS level, though Morrison isn’t ruling out any February magic, despite all the losses.

“We’re going to do everything we can to win this year, but I think the expectations are a little bit lower,” he said. “Hopefully we can get back to competing for the top spot as soon as possible, maybe even by the end of the year.”

In addition to Hart and Thomson, the Wolves will be without what amounts to a wall-of-fame worthy crew of graduates, a group that includes all-time leading rebounder Yoosrie Salhia, two-time CIS defensive player of the year Greg Carter, super-sub Joseph Jones, long-distance threat Ben Johnson, local standout Matthew Schmidt and oft-injured forward Brendan King.

In fact, only four players return from last season – guards Nathan Wainwright and Dwayne Harvey and forwards Joey Nitychoruk and Anthony McIntosh.

While he has hope, Morrison, as usual, isn’t booking his flight to Ottawa for nationals just yet.

“I think it would probably be an insult to the graduating guys to say our best case is to win the whole thing, because we had a pretty strong team last year and fell just short,” Morrison said.

“But, with Carleton hosting nationals again there’s an extra spot open for Ontario and our goal has got to be at least in the conversation come playoffs to win a couple of games and get there.”

'Wolves Open Training Camp with Roster Changes

Media Release
Lakehead University Athletics Department
www.thunderwolves.ca

Three Transfers Join Men's Hoops

Reloading continues for T-Wolves; Ryan Thomson to sit out, Joe Hart to play in Spain

August 29, 2013 — Thunder Bay, Ont.

(PDF attached)

Coach Scott Morrison of the men’s basketball team announced three transfers to the roster this week: 7’1” center Andrew McCarthy (Scituate, Mass.), 6’7” forward Srdjan Pejicic (Waterloo, Ont.) and 6’7” forward Justin Bell (Mississauga, Ont.).

Says Morrison, "We were in need of front court size and depth this off-season and I believe these three gentlemen, in addition to freshman Brent Wallace, will help provide size, strength and experience in the paint.  All three have much to improve with their games but are still expected to make an impact this season."

Andrew McCarthy (photo left) arrives in Thunder Bay after having spent 2 years at UMass (1 year as a redshirt) and 1 year at Massassoit Community College, leaving him with 3 years of eligibility to play for the Thunderwolves. During his time at MCC, the big man averaged 7.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game.

Srdjan Pejicic joins the Thunderwolves after playing 2 years for the Waterloo Warriors. Pejicic is 6’7” perimeter player with a good touch from beyond the arc, where he shot 47% for his former team. He is enrolled in Lakehead’s Master’s in Outdoor Recreation program.

Justin Bell will join his younger brother Josh in a Thunderwolf uniform to play out his final year of eligibility. The 6’7” forward played previously with Ottawa and York, having shot 50% from the field for 7.8 points per game as a Lion in the 2011-12 season. Justin will pursue his Education degree.

As Morrison states, "McCarthy is a solid finisher and shot blocker... if he can run the floor with our guards and get back to defend the basket he will be a major asset for us. Pejicic will challenge to be the team's top shooter which is a big hole to fill with the graduation of Schmidt and injury to Thomson. Bell will be our strongest player and should fit nicely in a core group with McIntosh, Nitychoruk and the new bigs.  He has a lot of experience and should be an earner on the glass."

Morrison is taking steps to replace 6 graduating seniors, and 2 other key players from last season. Leading scorer Ryan Thomson (Oakville, Ont.) will sit out this year to recover from knee surgery in the spring. Add to that Joe Hart (Southend, England), who recently accepted an offer to play in the Spanish pro league (EBA div.4).

Coach offered his thoughts on the personnel changes:

“It is disappointing to lose Joe especially considering he was one of 4 rotation players returning from last season's roster. With his departure and Thomson's rehab we are left to return 4 players (Harvey, Wainwright, Nitychoruk, McIntosh) from last season's championship game roster.  In many case this would constitute a major rebuilding year, however we are expecting our core of returning guys to show excellent leadership in training camp in order to help our new group learn the basics and catch up. Our goal is to get better every week and hopefully by February be a team that no one is interested in matching up with.”

– 30 –

MEDIA:  For more information, or to request an interview, please contact Lakehead Sports Information Director, Hugh Mullally, at (807) 766-7157, orspinfo@lakeheadu.ca.

Lakehead University’s Athletics Department features a comprehensive Campus Recreation program across both its Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario campuses. Working hard to promote a healthy and active campus lifestyle, Campus Recreation provides a great selection of outdoor and indoor intramurals with its C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse (containing a 15,000 square foot Thunderdome gymnasium, state-of-the-art Wolves' Den fitness centre, 50-metre eight-lane swimming pool, cardio room, Kinesiology labs, squash court, and change rooms complete with saunas) and the 50,000 square foot ‘Hangar’ building (an athletic facility home to a 200-metre track, pro-grade artificial turf field, climbing wall, weight training, aerobic and cardio areas, as well as the University’s Sports Medicine Clinic) .