Kevin Lassel

Men's Basketball 2/17/2023 11:00:00 AM Maggie Veitch, McMaster Sports Information

Men's basketball set for final two contests of regular season

HAMILTON, Ont. - The McMaster Marauders will face the Waterloo Warriors and the Toronto Varsity Blues in the final two games of the 2022-23 OUA regular season. Looking to close out the schedule on a high, the Marauders will look to pick up two wins and officially lock down a spot in the post-season.

Waterloo vs McMaster
Burridge Gymnasium | Hamilton, Ont.
February 17th, 2023 @ 8pm

Toronto vs McMaster
Burridge Gymnasium | Hamilton, Ont.
February 18th, 2023 @ 8pm

After last matching up during the 2021-22 season, McMaster will look to make it seven in a row against Waterloo. On March 4th, 2022, the Marauders put on a clinic in Burridge Gym, defeating the Warriors 88-69. It was a dominant showing from start to finish for the home team who put 30 points up in the first quarter alone - sending at statement from the onset of the whistle. Mychael Paulo led all scorers with 17 points on the night on an efficient 7-10 shooting from the floor to go with six rebounds. Jordan Henry and Nathan Charles both poured in 16 points each, with Charles grabbing a double-double with 14 boards off the bench. At this point in the 2022-23 campaign, Waterloo sits in last place in the OUA West division and are out of playoff contention. The Warriors are coming off a big win against the Toronto Varsity Blues (69-61) and will look to spoil the party in Hamilton on Friday night.

The Marauders and Varsity Blues faced off last weekend in Toronto. The McMaster Marauders men's basketball team suffered a 66-51 road loss to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Friday night. In the first contest of the weekend, the Marauders struggled on the offence, shooting just 28.8% from the field. McMaster recorded 10 assists and 41 rebounds on the night but it wasn't enough to keep pace with the Varsity Blues. Mike Demagus and Mychael Paulo were the only Marauders to reach double-digits, finishing with 17 and 13 points respectively. The two combined for eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. Coming off the bench, Nathan Charles added six points for the maroon and grey. In the final contests of the 2022-23 OUA season, Toronto sits in the middle of the pack in the OUA Central division.

The McMaster Marauders will look to get back in the win column this weekend after two weeks of tough road competitions against the Windsor Lancers, Toronto Varsity Blues and TMU Bold. With this weekend's games being the final ones in Burridge for the men's squad, the maroon and grey will need to find some momentum to ride into next week's playoffs.

Last Time Out

Last weekend, the McMaster Marauders men's basketball team fell just short in a contest with the TMU Bold by an 83-78 final. The visitors got off to a quick start, leading by as much as eleven points during the first quarter but the Bold stormed back to tie things at 20-20 after the opening frame. Both teams knocked down eight shots from the field and recorded eleven rebounds a piece to keep things even. TMU would rally in the second quarter, narrowly outscoring McMaster 19-16. The Marauders shot 41.7% but it was the Bold's 15 bench points that proved key to hold a narrow 39-36 lead at the break. The hosts carried their momentum into the third quarter, recording 25 points while going 9-for-17, resulting in their best shooting period of the contest. TMU took a 64-55 lead into the final quarter. After being down by 13 points in the closing 10 minutes, McMaster battled back, narrowing the advantage to just three with under a minute to play. Ultimately, the comeback would fall just short and the game would favour the Bold.

Players to Watch

Waterloo Warriors

#9 Kanayo Nnadi, 4th Year (Elig.), Guard