By Gavin Mackenzie
Ryerson’s men’s basketball team wrote another script Disney would be proud of last week.
The main characters faced adversity before coming together to pull off a win and the spectators were nervous even though they knew the good guys would eventually come through.
For the third time in three weeks the Rams came from behind to win; this time against Queen’s 75-70, in front of a packed Kerr gym.
Ryerson forward Bill Crowdis never doubted his team’s ability to pull it off, even though it trailed 41-27 at the half.
“At half-time we knew it was time to come out, play some ball, and stop screwing around,” he said. “Being down by 14 means nothing to this team.”
Ryerson hardly looked like the third-ranked team in Canada in the first half. Their shot selection was poor and they missed a lot of easy shots. At the other end of the court their defence was relaxed, and Queen’s scored at will from outside the three point line.
But the Rams awoke from their slumber 12 minutes into the second half. Guard Sam Gilbert and Crowdis combined for three three-pointers in a two-minute span to tie the score.
During the final six minutes the lead switched hands several times, but the Rams pulled ahead for good in the final minute. Then with 22 seconds left Gilbert iced the victory by hitting two foul shots to increase the Rams’ lead to four.
Crowdis led Ryerson scorers with 19 points while guard Jan Michael Nation added 13.
The night before Ryerson visited York and sailed to a less dramatic 85-70 win. Crowdis led the Rams again, scoring 20 points, Gilbert netted 17.
The victories run the Rams’ winning streak to 17 games and maintains their six-point lead in the OUA East over second-place Laurentian. Their overall record is 26-3.
The Rams host the Concordia Stingers Friday night and McGill on Saturday. Concordia is the last team Ryerson lost to and the Rams will be out for revenge.
“It’s payback time,” Crowdis said. “We’re not just looking to win, we owe Concordia a really good ass-kicking.”
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