By Armen Zargarian
The Rams men’s basketball team defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 75-71 on Saturday afternoon at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC).
The two teams had identical 6-6 records coming into the game, and the series between them this weekend will determine their playoff seeding in the Ontario University Athletics East Division.
“Home court is really important because Laurentian is one of the toughest places to play,” said Rams head coach David DeAveiro. “So we definitely want to get that fourth seed.”
The score throughout the game was indicative of just how close the two teams really are.
After a quick start by the Voyageurs, DeAveiro countered with two quick substitutions and the Rams answered back, being only down two after the first quarter. The rest of the half was a seesaw affair, with the biggest lead for either team being just three points.
The Rams defence was particularly solid, holding Laurentian scoreless for five minutes in the second quarter.
Towards the end of the half, Laurentian head coach Jeffrey Shawn Swords, earned a technical foul after he voiced his displeasure about the lack of fouls called on his players who were constantly attacking the paint.
Despite their good intentions to share the ball and box out, the Rams were up just one point, 27-26, in a low-scoring first half.
In the third quarter, Laurentian found some holes in the Rams defence and were able to convert with multiple layups. They pushed their lead to five points and DeAveiro called a timeout to stress spacing to his team.
The Rams climbed back on the broad shoulders of rookie sensation Aaron Rhooms, who poured in 28 points and added seven rebounds.
The Rams started the fourth quarter with a series of stops until Curtis Gordon hit a catch-and-shoot three-pointer to push the Voyageurs back up to five.
“As a team we have to fight through these pressure situations,” said Rams guard Jaaden Lewis.
Lewis found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, knocking down multiple jumpers from the perimeter.
With just 47 seconds remaining, the score was tied at 59-59, until Rhooms hit a pull-up jumpshot out of the timeout.
The Rams managed to get a defensive stop and Laurentian was forced to foul after trying to trap and get a steal.
Lewis stepped to the line with three seconds remaining to seal the game for the Rams.
“I train and put myself in those situations,” said Lewis, who knocked down both clutch free-throws. “[I] Take my time, go through my routine [and] I’m prepared for it.”
UP NEXT: The two teams have a rematch scheduled for tomorrow at 3 p.m., at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
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