Box Score The odds were stacked against the McMaster men's basketball team coming into Thursday night's game vs. the Saint Mary's Huskies, but the Marauders rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit to defeat the visitors from Halifax 77-75 and close out the non-conference schedule.

Coming into the contest, McMaster was without starting guards David McCulloch and Miles Seward, who were both out due to injury.  Then the men in Maroon found themselves even more shorthanded when starting forward Sasha Simic suffered a lower body injury in the first quarter, which forced him out of the game.  

Always a contender in the AUS conference, the Huskies got 18 points from Osman Barrie in the first-half and took a 48-29 lead into the intermission.   

McMaster coach Patrick Tatham went to a zone defense in the third quarter and it seemed to give Saint Mary's some trouble.  Trailing 54-38, the Marauders rode the hot hand of Kareem Collins and went on a 16-0 run to tie the game at 54-54.   The Huskies ended the run as the third quarter closed, but their lead had dwindled to 60-56 heading to the final 10 minutes.

Things got a little chippy in the fourth quarter, and when Huskie big man Barrie picked up his fourth foul, SMU coach Jonah Taussig was ready to sub him out of the game.  But before he could get a sub on the floor, Barrie committed his fifth foul and was then assessed a technical for arguing the call too vociferously.  Collins made three free-throws and Mac closed to within a single possession of the Huskies. 

With SMU in front 73-71 and just over a minute left in the game, Marauder Josh Nardini corralled a loose ball and drained a trey that put McMaster in front 74-73.  Nardini then made a driving lay-up on Mac's next possession and the lead was three with 40 seconds to go.  The Huskies did their best to draw even in the waning moments, but could not find the tying points they needed and McMaster held on for the character win.

Collins led McMaster with a game-high 23, while Matt Quiring added 20 points and 12 boards for the double-double.  Nardini and Danylo Kostecki each chipped in 13 big points, on a night when the Marauders needed scoring from new sources.  Barrie's 18 led the Huskies, but he was held scoreless in the second half before fouling out. 

McMaster will now prepare for the start of OUA conference play on Wednesday, October 25th when the Guelph Gryphons make the trip to Hamilton.  The doubleheader sees the women tip-off at 6-pm, followed by the men's game at 8-pm.  

Marauder 2017-18 season tickets can be purchased at the LINK