By Jason Primo
The Ryerson men’s basketball team played hard last weekend but fell short in both of their games. On Friday, the Rams faced the third-place Royal Military College Paladins. In the first half the Rams were sizzling from the field, shooting 52 per cent. Even though the Paladins sunk only 41 per cent of their shots, they posted a 34-26 halftime lead by nailing five three pointers.
The second half was even worse for the Rams. They shot a dismal 6 of 19, or 32 per cent from the field. The Paladins hit five more from behind the arc. The threes were a result of second chance opportunities. The Rams were outrebounded 34 to 17 for the game. The Rams played a 1-2-2 match up zone. The zone’s objective is to contain the interior and prevent second chance opportunities.
“When a team hits a three after we missed a defensive rebound, those are back breakers,” said first-year head coach Patrick Williams. “We didn’t contain the interior like our zone’s supposed to.”
Missed rebounds were not the only flaws that hurt the Rams.
The Paladins scored 24 points off the Rams’ turnovers.
The leader of the Rams charge, Vladimir Matevski, had a disappointing game. Matevski only scored six points, ten points below his average, and shot three for 13, or 23 per cent from the field. Matevski attributed his lack of scoring to playing out of his natural position.
“I was in the point guard position, I was trying to set up my teammates,” said Matevski. “I wasn’t concentrating on my offense.”
The Paladins have one of the best players in Canada in Kevin Dulude. The six-foot-four, 215-pound forward averages 23 points and 10 rebounds per game, and shoots 45 per cent from the field. Against the Rams, he scored 20 points, shooting eight of 17, and dominated the glass by grabbing 14 rebounds. On numerous occasions Dulude was wide open from behind the three point line. He shot four of nine from downtown, or 44 per cent. Ryerson’s coach Patrick Williams told reporters Dulude was open because that was the game plan. “Shooting is not the staple of Dulude’s game,” said Williams. “RMC doesn’t shoot the ball well, we just rotated late.” The Rams lost 67-46. The following day, the Rams lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the Queens University Gaels, 69-67. The Rams had a chance to tie the game but no foul was called when Vladimir Matevski drove to the basket. “It was like Carter in the Laker game,” said Williams. “Overall, we executed and played the way we wanted to play.” The Rams play the 16-0 Carleton University Ravens this Friday.
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