By Armen Zargarian
The Ram’s men’s basketball team defeated the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 84-79 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) Wednesday night.
The game hung in the balance with 40 seconds left when Rams guard Mouhamed Ndiaye made the game-securing steal at the top of the key and finished it off with a thunderous dunk to put the home side up by five points with 35 seconds left.
“Seeing [Varsity Blues guard Evan Shadkami] being a little bit hesitant made me think I have the wing-span, I have the size, let me just put my hand out there and see what happens,” said Ndiaye.
Ndiaye’s late game steal was one of 12 caused by the Rams scrambling defence.
“We get better when it’s desperation time and we need to get a stop,” said Rams head coach David DeAveiro.
The Toronto-based rivalry was evident early, with Marcus Upshaw and Varsity Blues guard Anthony Torelli going face to face and exchanging pleasantries.
It was a seesaw affair in the first half, with Upshaw causing havoc on the defensive end with steals, taking charges and being a vocal leader. The third-year guard finished with three steals, five assists and six rebounds.
The Varsity Blues pushed their lead to 10 in the second quarter, scoring points off Rams turnovers and grabbing offensive rebounds with consistent effort.
But, the Rams pushed back with a 10-0 run, fuelled by star guards Ankit Choudhary and Aaron Rhooms, who helped tie the game at 39-39 going into the second half.
The final 20 minutes of the contest started out with the Varsity Blues assuming control, pushing the lead back to 10 and forcing DeAveiro to call multiple timeouts.
The Rams battled back again, propelled by role players like third-year forward Nick Hamilton and third-year guard Jaren Jones.
“I’m [an] older guy so I know what it takes to win,” said Jones. “It’s not all about just scoring, you got to set the tone. That’s what fuels me.”
Jones was a huge spark for the Rams, being all over the court taking charges, getting offensive rebounds and saving loose balls. He finished with a game-high four steals.
With less than six minutes left, Jones drove the ball and finished with an and-one, giving the Rams their first lead in the second half. On the next possession, Jones stole the ball and extended the Rams lead to three points and made it 73-70.
The Rams held their lead from that point on to win their sixth straight game.
“[At the] beginning of the season, it was a bunch of young guys coming together, we started off slow,” said Jones. “Now, we got to work at being consistent and we’ll be good.”
UP NEXT: The Rams play three of their final five games of the regular season on the road starting with a rematch against the Varsity Blues on Feb. 19 at the Goldring Centre. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
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