Rams wallop downtown rivals

By Devin Jones

The Ryerson Rams men’s basketball team ended the first half of their season on high note, defeating the University of Toronto 90-69 Saturday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.

Rams guard Adika Peter-McNeilly scored 20 points on the night, to give Ryerson their seventh straight win heading into the new year.

“We’ve been winning games and that’s always a good thing,” said Rams head coach Roy Rana.  “We’re really happy with where we’re at right now, but at the same time, I think that we know that we have a long way to go, and that we can get better.”

Defence for the Rams has become their mantra, and once it again it was on display, holding the Varsity Blues to only 69 points, 10 points shy of the 59 points that they held Loyalist College to, back in September.

“We’re one of the best teams defensively, in the country,” said point guard and leading scorer Jahmal Jones.  “I think that’s all it is, defensive activity and using our length and athleticism to throw teams off.”

The first quarter of the game was a back and forth battle, with the Rams and the Varsity Blues both trading points, so at the end of the first the Rams were up 25-24.  The second quarter saw Ryerson begin to run away with the lead, outscoring the Blues 24-14.  The first half saw McNeilly score 13 of his 20 points.

The beginning of the third quarter saw the Rams take issue with the referring, giving the Blues a chance to battle back outscoring the Rams 22-21.

“I just thought the refs weren’t consistent, and we didn’t get to play our game defensively, but overall we played pretty good,” said 6’9 forward Kadeem Green.

The fourth quarter saw the Rams once again dominate in convincing fashion, holding Toronto to only nine points, while scoring 20 of their own.

“We had a lot of guys step up and contribute tonight, and so all in all we’ll take the win, said Rana.

The team plans to take some time off in lieu of exams, and are expected to resume practice in two weeks.

The men’s basketball team upon their return in the new year once again faces the Toronto Varisty Blues, Sunday Jan. 5, at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.