The McMaster men's basketball team put forth a dominating effort and ran away from the York Lions by a score of 97-62 on Saturday afternoon in Hamilton.

Behind some very solid interior scoring from Leon Alexander and Taylor Black, McMaster jumped out to an early lead on the Lions.   York's Nick Tufegdzich and Nathan Culbreath did their best to keep York close, but at the end of the opening period McMaster held a 22-17 lead.  

The second quarter was all maroon, as McMaster exploded for 30 points while holding York to 16.  Normally a deadly shooter, Marauder Joe Rocca turned into a playmaker, dropping two nifty dimes to Black who finished with slam dunks.   Along with the offense, the Marauders defended hard and controlled the boards, en route to holding the 52-33 advantage at intermission.  Black and Alexander were a combined 13 of 15 from the floor in the first-half.

Heading into the third quarter with a big lead always creates fear of a letdown, but the men in maroon actually held York to its lowest scoring quarter, as the Lions could only score 14 points.  McMaster kept on the pressure at both ends and held a 75-47 lead by the end of the third.

With the game in hand, Marauder Coach Amos Connolly went to the bench liberally in the final quarter and 11 of 12 players hit the scoresheet.    McMaster played hard to the final buzzer and won the fourth quarter to complete the 35-point victory.

Top shooter was Black, who registered a double-double with 20 and 12 boards. Alexander finished with 15; Adam Presutti had 13, followed by Rocca and Trevon McNeil who each scored 11.  York got 19 from Tufegdzich to lead the way.

McMaster crushed York on the boards by 52-28, while shooting 52% from the floor compared to the Lions' 33%.    In a complete team effort, the Marauders registered 25 assists on 38 made field-goals, displaying terrific ball movement.

The win was the 100^th career victory for Coach Connolly, who assumed the McMaster mantle in 2010.

McMaster's next two games are on the road before hitting the exam break, with a contest at Western on November 26 and at Windsor on November 29.