While coaches put little stock in moral victories, McMaster men's basketball coach Patrick Tatham has to be encouraged as his team dropped a narrow 72-69 contest to the Ryerson Rams Friday night in Toronto. It was Coach Tatham's first game back at Ryerson, where he previously coached, and his Marauders almost upset the 10th-ranked team in Canada.
McMaster got off to a good start behind Miles Seward, and took a 25-20 lead after the opening quarter. Seward scored 12 in the opening 10 minutes. The teams played even through the second quarter, and McMaster carried a 34-30 advantage into the intermission.
The third quarter saw Ryerson pick up the pace, and the Rams finally grabbed the lead at 44-41 midway through the period. The Marauders managed to keep pace for the rest of the third, and after 30 minutes the Ryerson lead was a single bucket at 51-49.
The teams continued to spar over the final quarter, with neither able to build any kind of cushion, and it looked like whoever had the ball last would win. McMaster trailed 69-67 with 30 seconds left, when Matt Quiring made two clutch free-throws to tie the score at 69-69.
Coming out of a timeout, Ryerson regained the lead on a set play for guard Miles Charvis. Now trailing by two with 22 seconds left, it was McMaster's turn to try and run a play that would either force overtime or win the game. Unfortunately, the Mac inbounds pass was stolen and McMaster was forced to foul. Ryerson made one of two throws to bump the lead to 72-69, and while the Marauders had a final chance to tie in the dying moments, they could not complete the comeback.
Seward finished with 29 to lead McMaster in a terrific effort, while Quiring added 13 and Kareem Collins chipped in 11. Ryerson was led by J-V Mukamba and Keevon Small, who each scored 14.
Neither team shot very well from the floor, but the free-throw shooting will haunt the Marauders as they missed nine from the charity stripe (19 of 28) in a game decided by three points.
McMaster will regroup and play the Toronto Varsity Blues Saturday at 8-pm. All the action is available on OUA.tv
