Rams Grind Out 88–64 Win Over Lakehead to open 2017
Shaking off the rust: You could tell it was the first game back from winter break as the first quarter was an absolute brick fest with the Rams emerging 11–8 at its conclusion. Both team’s struggled mightily shooting the ball all night long, with Lakehead shooting just 34.4% on the night and Ryerson at 44% (which was heavily boosted by a 32 point 4th quarter after the game was out of reach.
MAJOR KEE ALERT: Forced into the starting lineup due to Adam Voll’s knee injury (no timetable on his return), Small made a big impact and delivered by far his best performance as a Ram. The freshman forward terrorized the T-Wolves with his on-ball pressure and length right from the tip. While only being credited with 4 steals, his tips and arms in the passing lanes led to many of Lakehead’s 24 turnovers. There were also multiple possessions where he was able to score, swipe away the inbounds pass and score again:
Small finished with 17 points on 5/8 from the floor, as well as 5 boards and those 4 steals. If Voll is forced to miss extended time, Small will slide in quite effectively at the 4 spot with Juwon Grannum moving up to the 5 in the starting lineup.
Don’t Forget Theo: Chase Vassell was also sidelined on Friday night while nursing a shoulder injury, and Theo Demeke did a great job taking his minutes. Demeke went 2–4 including a corner triple, and didn’t look at all out of place being in with the starters.
3rd Quarter Fireworks: This was the first truly close game the Rams have played at home so far this season, and emotions were running high between both squads as no shots were dropping and the game was getting increasingly chippy. The intensity carried over to the benches as head coaches Roy Rana & Manny Furtado got into a heated verbal exchange, which ended with the officials warning both and Furtado saying “If he tells me to shut up, I’ll tell him to shut up, I don’t care where we are.” It was punctuated by a stare down of epic proportions and led to athletic director Ivan Joseph coming over to sit at the scorer’s table and keep the peace.
BACARIUS DUNKINS: Yeah, this was sick, wicked and nasty.
In his 5th year Dinkins remains a stud as an undersized 5 man, and he posted a double-double line of 16 points, 10 boards as well as a block and a steal. Hopefully Lakehead is able to turn their season around and sneak into the playoffs, because Dinkins deserves one more run at an OUA Final Four in his last season before heading overseas to play professionally.
Deeks & Diressa: The All-Star backcourt carried the Rams through their offensive woes, and whenever the Rams needed a big bucket to cut a run or shift momentum they were able to produce. Adika finished a complete effort with 20 points on 8–18 from the floor, four rebounds, four assists as well two steals. Manny did his damage efficiently, scoring 14 points on 5–10 from the field (including 3–6 from downtown), and chipped in two assists and a steal of his own.
Game Against the Gryphs: The Rams will be hoping that their shooting from the 4th and not the first three quarters carries over into tonight’s game against the Guelph Gryphons, who suffered an 11 point loss to the Varsity Blues last night. Guelph only managed two double digit scoring quarters, so the Rams suffocating defence should have a field day.
