By Eli Shupak
There was no mercy rule in effect at Kerr Hall Gym last weekend.
After losing by a point to Ottawa two weeks ago the Ryerson Rams had something to prove to themselves and the rest of the OUA East when they faced the Ottawa Gee Gees last Saturday night. The result was a 96-69 pounding of the division leaders, evening the Rams’ record at 3-3 midway through the 1995 season.
“We wanted to bury them and make a statement,” said Rams’ head coach Terry Haggerty. “This is night and day from what happened in Ottawa.”
Ryerson took a 51-44 lead to the dressing room at halftime, playing a very patient offensive game. In the second half the Rams picked it up on defensive, holding the Gee Gees to five points in the first 10 minutes while building up a 20-point lead.
Two technical fouls, including one on Ottawa’s bench, set the tempo and sent Ryerson on their way to victory.
“The first 10 minutes of the second half was about as good as it gets,” Haggerty said. “It was a great team effort.”
When the lead got up to 25, Ryerson continued to pour it on hoping to really deflate the Gee Gees and build up a large enough spread in case of tie-breakers at the end of the season. The Rams actually led by as much as 34 late in the game.
“Momentum’s everything,” Haggerty said. “We had a lull there for about 10 days where we just didn’t do things very well. Hopefully this shows (Ryerson) we’re back.”
“We had our backs to the wall,” said Rams captain Lui Cinello. “We learned that we can’t just show up. We have to go out and play good basketball if we want to win.”
Alex Beason led the Rams with 30 points, while Ainsworth Slowly chipped in 18. Dave Reid led all Ottawa scorers with 17.
The night before the Rams got back on the winning track, snapping their 3-game losing streak with an 82-70 victory over Queen’s.
Beason led the Rams once again with 20 points, despite playing half of the game. Peter Stelter had 20 to lead the Golden Gaels.
Duncan Prescott, Pavle Lalovic and Kevin Morton all saw their first OUAA action of the season Friday night against Queen’s. They replaced Radcliffe Golbourne, Adrian Foster and Rowan Jones, who has left the team for personal reasons.
The Rams travel to Kingston on Saturday for a rematch against Queen’s. They are at York next Tuesday, before returning to Kerr Hall on Feb. 11 when they host Carleton at 8 p.m.
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