MBB | Wesmen cruise past UFV

WINNIPEG – The No. 3 seed Winnipeg Wesmen stayed true to their identity, crashing the glass hard, while getting out in transition and playing tough defence, shutting down the No. 11 seed Fraser Valley Cascades 96-69.

The Wesmen out-rebounded their opponents 47-27, and scored 48 points in the paint, led by a double-double from Donald Stewart, who had 25 points and 17 boards, missing just four shots from the field while netting nine of his 11 free throw attempts in a relentless display.

Mike Mikhailov added ten boards and eight points, while four Wesmen finished in double figures.

“It felt really good to win that battle on the glass,” said Stewart.

“They’re a great front court, with conference all-star talent. They’re really special. We really wanted to try and be physical.”

The Cascades got 11 points and seven rebounds from Dario Lopez, and seven points and nine assists from Dylan Kinley in the loss.

“They’re really good at rebounding. In the first half they were killing us on the glass,” said Kinley.

“At halftime we wanted to own it. We did a little bit better in the third, but we slipped up late in the fourth.” 

A total of 31 of the game’s 45 first quarter points came in the paint, as the two sides crashed the glass hard.

Canada West All-Star Mikhailov led all players with four rebounds, plus six points in a three-point Wesmen lead.

Fraser Valley stayed stride for stride, with seven different players getting on the score board in a wild first ten that also featured seven steals, including two from UFV’s Takeshi Croke.

In a gritty battle in the second quarter, it was Stewart who stood out.

The physical forward recorded 11 points, and grabbed six boards, propelling the Wesmen to a 47-34 lead at halftime, which included a 9-0 run in the first three minutes, capped by an Elijah Mensah three.

Croke had the play of the half, though. With a man draped all over him, he found Marcus Flores with a behind the back no-look pass that wowed the crowd. 

Stewart and company picked up where they left off on the glass in the third. The powerful big added four rebounds, including a tough snag in tight under the basket five minutes in, which he put back, adding to his team-leading totals.

Entering the fourth, the Wesmen had 41 rebounds, compared to 19 for UFV.

Flores and Croke connected in the third, but in reverse as the latter cut to the basket for an impressive take, and Uyi Ologhola followed that up with a drive for a deuce with a man in his face for a 4-0 run seven minutes in, but the Wesmen had an answer again for the mini run.

Elijah Mensah had the highlight of the quarter, flashing an impressive shimmy-shake, one-hand slam that got the local fans to their feet, as the Wesmen opened up a 20-plus point lead after three.

Ismail Hernandez put up a team-high seven points in the fourth for UFV, going five-for-seven from the field overall, but a combined effort on the glass and four triples helped Winnipeg keep a 20-plus point cushion the rest of the way.

The Wesmen will move on to play the No. 2 seed Calgary Dinos tomorrow, with the winner advancing the nationals.