The St. Thomas University men’s basketball team beat the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Rams 90-46 at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym Nov. 14.
The Tommies who are taller than the Rams warmed up on the court while over 100 fans arrived to watch the match.
The game seen a lot of penalties towards both teams along with plenty of unsuccessful free throws, but also plenty of team spirit.
Despite the penalties, the Tommies made a lot of solid passes, two pointers, three pointers, and blocks.
Tommies head coach Scott MacLeod said the team has been developing overall. “Every game has been a step up. We have had incredible success in this game.”
Tommies forward Travis Valanne said that overall the game went good and he felt that they were able to keep the turnovers down in the first quarter.
“We were able to run our defense and work on plays. We had practices all week shooting. Our shots were falling, everyone was ready to go and unload,” said Valanne.
STU showed plenty of domination after Tommies forward Ben Cripps robbed Rams Center Isaac Bokma at jump ball.
Cripps was able to get the ball to Dylan Gallant who passed to Jacob Eatmon who shot but missed.
Gallant got his hands back on the ball who passed it to Jeremy Speller and then to Samuel Drummond who landed a three pointer putting the first points on the board.
Tommies maintained total domination and ended the quarter with the score 28-5 after Travis Valanne landed a three pointer with thirty seconds left.
Brady Atkinson was able to throw a final shot for the Tommies but missed just before the buzzer ended the quarter.
MacLeod felt the team started out solid. “We wanted to focus on the defensive side of the game that we’re strong on,” he said.
“I thought they kept the game in focus,” said MacLeod.
The Rams opened up the second quarter with a three pointer but shortly after their guard Yuchen Ji passed the ball to the referee mistaking him for a Ram.
After both teams received a foul, a time-out was called at 6:22. Both head coach Scott MacLeod and Andrew Barnhill brought their team into a huddle for instruction.
After the time-out, Rams Jim Barron passed the ball from the sideline to Bookma who passed it to Brian Sawler then Ji and back to Sawler who gave it to Ji who eventually made the shot but missed.
The Rams were able to bring their score up 45-22 for the Tommies ending the second quarter.
Valanne felt the team were a little too aggressive coming near the halfway point of the game.
“At the end of the second we started playing too fast and made a lot of poor decisions.”
“After halftime we got back to our plays and played as a team,” said Valanne.
MacLeod felt coming into the third quarter the team was feeling the struggle.
“The team came out of the locker room and had to regroup,” he said.
Gallant started the third quarter with a two pointer bringing the score 47-22.
Rams Sho Tamura received a personal foul after laying out a Tommie on the court from heavy contact between the two.
Gallant then received his second personal foul of the game but recovered by landing a two pointer.
Rams Brian Sawler went down hard after tripping out of bounds behind the Tommies but walked it off until he was able to return to the game.
Ji scored the final points ending the quarter 67-33 Tommies. STU received four fouls and DAL AC received three during the quarter.
STU started the fourth quarter with a lot of the bench guys who quickly scored a basket and showed some quick feet on defence after blocking many of the Rams plays.
Drummond received two free throws after the Rams fouled with 1:41 left in the game. Drummond landed both shots bringing the score 86-46.
The game ended 90-46 for STU who received five fouls in the fourth quarter while the Rams received four.
MacLeod feels the team was well prepared for the game. He said they struggled through the pre-season because the team is young.
“Some are 17-years-old playing against 25 to 30 year olds,” said MacLeod.
“But this team is growing fast,” he said. “They are getting used to the pace of the game but need to be stronger with the ball. They got to grab it and rip it out (of the other player’s hands).”
Valanne feels the team is getting better each day. “We are starting to get a feel of how each other plays.”
“We played for each other and looked to get the open man,” he said.
