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RAMS PLAY HOST TO CANADA’S BEST

By Grant McDonald

Ryerson’s men’s basketball invitational went off without a hitch, but the same couldn’t be said of the Ryerson squad.

If Ryerson could play as good as they host, they’d be one hell of a team.

Last weekend, Ryerson University hosted the women’s Canada Basketball Invitational Tournament. The tournament featured universities from as far as Cape Breton University and Collège Édouard-Montpetit and as close to home as York University and the University of Toronto.

Unfortunately, the Rams were nowhere to be found as they lost every game, falling to dead last in the standings.

The Cape Breton Capers took the gold medal in a fantastic 66-58 win against the York Lions.

The Rams first fell victim to the gold medal winning Cape Breton team in their first game, losing by a score of 89-43. Next they challenged Collège Édouard-Montpetit, dropping the decision 87-79. Their final game was lost to Collège Montmorency by a score of 66-40.

Ryerson’s men’s team played in the tournament at Humber College over the weekend, which featured teams from, among other schools, like Centennial College and Champlain Regional College.

The men’s squad picked up a win and two losses in the tournament, scoring 100 points in their win over Centennial College.

So does a tournament like this shed light on a team stuck in the shadows?

Program Manager of Sports and Recreation David Dubois says only good can come from a tournament like this.

“It’s unfortunate we didn’t do as well as we wanted, but it gives us exposure,” he said.

Ryerson has always run good events, Dubois added, pointing out that Ryerson is downtown, and that the subway line makes it accessible. He also said that people just like to come to Toronto.

A formula like this one makes Ryerson seems like the perfect host.

Tamara Sam, assistant manager of marketing and sponsorships at Canada Basketball, was very impressed with the running of the event.

“Ryerson was an amazing host, they left us worry-free… the tournament ran itself, and that can be attributed to Ryerson,” Sam said after the final game.

Sam also thinks that any type of exposure at a national level is good for Ryerson, especially since Canada Basketball was running the event.

Even opposing coaches agreed that this school ran a good show.

Gold-medal winning coach Fabian McKenzie of Cape Breton University said after his team’s win that Ryerson’s organization of the event was “phenomenal.”

“Everything was top notch,” McKenzie said. The event is great for the school because it lets Ryerson play against some of the top teams in the country, he added.


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