Here are your all-stars and MVP from the Wesmen Classic this weekend:

• Ross Bekkering – Calgary
• Erfan Nasajpour - Winnipeg
• Matt Witwer – Minot State
• Aaron Patterson – Minot State
• Brad Rootes – Brock
  Tournament MVP
• Scott Murray - Brock

Obviously all-stars are going to be the ones on teams on the a-side of the draw, so here’s a look at a few others who deserve a little love, the all-stars who weren’t all-stars, in no particular order:

Nicolas Cooke, RMC: The freshman, 6-foot-9 post played virtually every minute for the short-staffed Paladins and posted a nice 19-point, 16-rebound game in the opener against Winnipeg. Cooke was two rebounds off tying the tournament’s single game record for boards (more on this in a minute) and flashed a nice inside-outside game. A lanky big man who can step out and shoot the three, Cooke would be a good fit in any program in this country.

Henry Bekkering, Calgary: Yeah, yeah he gets enough pub. But the fact remains he put up a solid weekend and was a tough match-up for any opposition. He showed an array of shots, was a bull around the glass and getting to the hoop, yet still had a consistent soft touch on jumpers and pull-ups. Averaged 18.3 points per game to go along with eight rebounds per, including a 20-and-11 effort in the third-place final.

Jeff Price, Calgary — How deep are the Dinos? We’re not including Robbie Sihota, yet could easily include him in this group of ‘others.’ Price, however, was perhaps the second-best point guard in the tournament, behind Rootes, averaging 17.3 points and 5.7 assists per game against just two turnovers per.

Leonil Saintil, Acadia — This tournament was not a good memory for the No. 2-ranked Axemen who completely threw the fifth-place final away and lost in overtime to the Manitoba Bisons. Point guard Paulo Santana, last year’s AUS player of the year, returned from injury but looked far from 100 per cent and the Axemen looked off track for most of the tournament. The bright spot, however, was Saintil who posted a 21-point, 19-rebound effort against the Bisons (breaking the tournament record that had stood for 22 years) and two double-doubles in three games. He averaged a monsterous 20 points and 12.7 boards per game.

Darcy Coss, Manitoba — Had a quiet first couple of days before breaking out in the fifth-place final for 34 points (eroneously reported on-site as 36 at first) along with eight rebounds against Acadia. Averaged 23 points per game and hit 15 threes over the weekend and averaged 5.3 rebounds per.

Mike James, Winnipeg — The best player on the Wesmen not named Nasajpour this weekend. James, the second-year forward, was a bright spot on a Wesmen team that rarely had other players step up. He averaged 11.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in under 19 minutes per game.

By Henry Bekkering’s standards, I know this isn’t much, but just thought we’d upload a look at the Calgary Dinos forward in warm-up at the Wesmen Classic. It’s a small peak at what the guy can do. And yes, I’m well aware that you already know what he can do. We’re hoping to track down some video of the dunk competition to have uploaded to the site exclusively. So if anyone has something they think should be seen, let us know.

 

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For the second time in the past three years, the Brock Badgers are the Wesmen Classic champions. It’s a 98-88 victory. The Badgers, who come here every two years, have won the tournament the last three times they’ve been here.

9:41 — Andy Leraas, a reserve sophomore post with MSU, just took an intentional foul by clobbering Muir going to the hoop. He walked back towards centre court and said, a couple of times, “that’s not happening on my hoop.” That kind intensity would have been nice about 45 minutes ago but it’s foolish now especially considering the fact those free points kill any chance of Minot making a late run. 97-85 BU with 1:12 to go. It could be a single-digit deficit if not for that.

9:37 — All five players on the floor for BU are in double figures. Muir (20), Kemp (18), White (15), Rootes (13), Murray (13). 92-71 with just under four to go.

9:33 — Rootes just strolled over to my table here courtside and asked me to “type something about how Mike (Kemp) is only a good defender because he fouls all the time.” Uh, done.

By the way, the Kemp-Rootes-Bianchin-Murray group is a great example of developing players in Ontario. Those guys came up playing in the Niagara Red Raiders travelling team and have played together all the way through here until their fifth year. It’s no surprise that this team plays well together. They’re not the most talented group in the nation, but they showed this weekend that they’re a tough team to count out. Good wins against Brandon, Calgary and (soon to be) Minot. A satisfactory 5-3 conference record isn’t wholly indicative of how good they can be. Also, Muir just went for his 20th point of the game, and the lead matches that total at 90-70 with 4:30 to go.

9:29 — I’m not moving on my “Brad Rootes is the best PG in Canada” assertion. He’s done a ton for the Badgers this weekend and his ability to make his teammates better is a big reason why I put him there. He can score the ball, he can shoot it and he sees the floor extremely well. He’s a cerebral player too. The only knock, if you call it that, is that you can find guys at the point who are better defenders, but that’s hardly a low point of Rootes’ game. He does little things very well: Case in point, he chases down a loose ball in the halfcourt, taps it out to a teammate after beating everyone to it, then gets it back right away on a quick pass to the corner where he drills a three. The defender, who got beat to the ball, hadn’t even recovered to go out and guard him in the corner.

Third quarter score: Brock 77, MSU 61.

Another side topic: Anyone who read this blog in its infancy saw the small piece about the Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational high school boys tournament two weekends ago. The MVP there, Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, who scored 46 in the final, was the MVP of the high school portion of the Classic tonight, dropping 25 in the final as the Garden City Fighting Gophers worked over the Oak Park Raiders 87-64. Oak Park is one of the province’s best teams and GC made the Raiders look like a JV squad. Ogungbemi-Jackson, remember, is only a Grade 11 and he’s the best guard we’ve seen in Winnipeg in years.

9:21 — It’s unbelievable how Minot can get beat down the floor after makes. The Beavers did it again — probably the fifth time this quarter — and White finished with a two-hand dunk after he was literally standing alone in the Minot end and everyone in white just chased him. 77-59.

9:19 — Boy you can’t say enough about how Brock has shot the ball in its last two games, especially here tonight. Muir just added a turnaround J. Meanwhile, MSU has really gone to its bench, likely as a statement to its starters who have not done much of anything tonight, save for Patterson. 75-52 BU, 1:44 left third.

9:18 — Make that officially 20-plus… Murray gets a transition lay-up and then the Badgers force a turnover on the inbound, which Rootes slides to Murray for another two. Kemp, on the next possession, drills a three and it’s 69-43 in the span of less than a minute.

Side topic: There’s more than one team here this weekend that will have some concerns about reloading for next season. The Winnipeg Wesmen lose Erfan Nasajpour, Dan Shynkaryk and Matt Opalko and turn their attention to a collection of sophs and youngsters to take the lead. Brandon loses Yul Michel, Adam Hartman and Yuri Whyms, all significant contributors to say the least and Brock will lose a chunk of its core when Murray and Rootes move on, not to mention Rohan Steen, who didn’t play due to injury at all this weekend. By the way, Brock has moved near the 20-point mark with its lead,ahead 62-43 with 4:40 left in the third.

9:13 — MSU falls asleep. After a make at one end, no one from the Beavers is back to defend and Kemp has a freebie all by himself. 58-43, 5:52 left third.

9:11 — Brock is moving the ball well. A quick around-the-horn finds Kemp open for a three he knocks down. 56-40 with 7:30 to go in the third.

9:07 — One more half to go before the 41st Classic is in the books. Minot has a heck of a road to hoe to come back in this considering the confidence with which Brock is playing.

Ross Bekkering is your Wesmen Classic slam dunk champ, posting two perfect scores. Bekkering’s finest piece was a hand-to-hand exchange behind the back in the air that he threw down with a windmill.

Halftime score: Brock 51 MSU 36.

8:51 — Wheels falling off for Minot. The Beavers turn it over and Murray hits a transition three followed by another MSU turnover.

8:49 — Rootes brings it up in a 3-on-2, one hands a bounce to White who flushes with two hands. Then a turnover leads to another BU lay-up. 48-34. Brock actually forced another turnover and had a free bucket coming but White botched a sure dunk and the Badgers came up empty. Still, the lead is 14 points with 1:35 to go in the half and MSU calling timeout.

8:48 — At least tonight, Muir looks like a good addition down low for Brock. He has nine points and has been efficient when he has the ball. 44-34.

8:47 — For the first time tonight, the Badgers have upped the lead into double digits at 42-32

8:45 — Rootes and Bianchin hook up again on a back-door cut for a lay-up. Minot overplays on the wing and that’s a play Rootes has executed a number of times this weekend. 38-29, under four to go.

8:43 — A Muir bunny in the low block makes it 36-27 and pushes Minot into a timeout.

8:42 — Well we know Patterson has shown up. He has more than half of MSU’s points with 16 of its 27. Kemp drills another three, though, and it’s 34-27.

8:40 — MSU back into that 2-3 zone, which they try to really extend out and pressure on the perimeter. Brock misses two looks at a three, but they attack the zone and find some holes for a White lay-up on a penetrate and pitch. 31-25.

8:38 — Teams trade baskets and Patterson hits a tough three in a BU defender’s face. Rootes comes down and does the same, however, for Brock and its 29-25 Brock with 7:45 left in the second.

First quarter score: Brock 24, Minot 20.

8:30 — Sporting a 21-20 lead, White puts it on the floor baseline and gets a lay-up plus the foul. He knocks down the free throw and BU leads 24-20 with 42 seconds left.

8:28 — Brock takes its first lead after Rootes and Bianchin execute a high screen/roll for a 16 footer from Dusty. 19-18 BU.

8:26 — Bianchin comes down on the next Brock possession and completes a three point play. 16-15, 2:50 in first.

8:25 — Rootes hits a tough three at the top of the key with a man in his face, 16-12 MSU.

8:24 — After an 8-0 run by the Beavers, Mike Muir stops it with a three point play for BU. 14-9, 4 to go in first.

8:21 — A mini 5-0 run for MSU as we approach halfway through the first Q.

8:18 — MSU switched to man-to-man right after the first possession. Brock has scored the last four, tied at 6.

8:15 — Patterson returns the favour with a three, then completes an and-1 on the next possession.

8:13 — Curiously the Beavers start in a zone against a Brock team that shoots a ton of threes. Scott Murray gets them started with one from the corner.

8:11 — Here’s your starters for Brock: Brad Rootes, Mike Kemp, Scott Murray, Owen White, Dusty Bianchin. And for Minot: Joe Gathings, Matt Witwer, Jesse Ford, Aaron Patterson, C.J. DeWitty.

8:01 — We’re about nine minutes away from tip here for the final of the 41st Wesmen Classic. Brock in visitors red, Minot in home white.

Final score: Calgary 99, Winnipeg 79.

5:58 — Erf hits another three and has a game-high 36. Ross Bekkering’s 25 leads Calgary, with Robbie Sihota popping for 21. All are now on the bench.

5:56 — A 10-0 run for Calgary and suddenly its 93-71 and a total blowout with 2:20 to go.

5:52 — Henry Bekkering’s first dunk of the weekend is a thundering two-hander in traffic. Erf hits a three to put him to 33 on the night but Winnipeg still trails 83-71 with under four to go.

5:34 — Calgary has quietly built up a 72-56 lead after Ross Bekkering’s second dunk of the game. End of three.

5:25 — After the Wesmen had cut it to three, the Dinos get an and-1, followed by a technical to Peter Lumoro that gives the Dinos five more points. 57-50 currently with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

5:02 — Halftime: Calgary 46, Winnipeg 38

5:01 — A late run, including an Erf three has the lead down to 44-38 with 13 seconds left. Erf has 19 points in the half.

4:55 — The Dinos continue to get to the low block and post Ross Bekkering up against Dan Shynkaryk, it’s probably an advised match-up considering Shynkaryk has his hands full playing one-up on Ross.

4:52 — Henry Bekkering just hummed a skip pass over his teammate’s head into the stands here at Duckworth, giving a wake-up call to a few fans in the front two rows. Someone needs to check for contusions.

4:50 — Both teams just trading baskets with Calgary leading 34-21. Winnipeg just can’t match the athleticism on the Dinos, although Erf is doing everything he can to keep them in this.

4:38 — Ross Bekkering just finished with a two-hand flush in transition and Calgary leads 25-12 with 2:35 to go in the first. I’m officially declaring this game over.

4:36 — Nick Lother got a technical for Winnipeg. I’d personally just like to see a guy who plays starter’s minutes but has scored six points all weekend not squawk at the refs because he didn’t like a call. But that’s just me.

4:33 — The Wesmen trail 13-10 and Erf has four steals already, less than five minutes into the game.

Final score: Manitoba 88, Acadia 84.

4:00 — Acadia has two looks at three from Leighton and they both rim out.

3:59 — Berry fouls out with Acadia having to foul. Ansah to the line and he hits two with 22.7 left. Plenty of time for an AU look.

3:57 — Coss again! He replies with another two, 85-84 Manitoba with 28.3 left and UM with possession. Timeout on the floor. Coss has 36 and has been splendid when the Bisons have needed him. Acadia has done its best to keep Ansah away from the ball, so Coss’ makes are gigantic.

3:56 — Coss another one, a fall away two. But Saintil a putback makes it 84-83 AU with 45 and counting left

3:55 — Acadia gets the next hoop, a Saintl lay up.

3:54 — Pressure in the full court forces an AU turnover.

3:53 — An Acadia turnover then a foul puts Ansah on the line and he makes both, Manitoba back in front 81-80. He has 23, Coss has 32

3:52 — Kraus a pair of FTs, 80-76. Coss has been big. Another three, to cut it to one.

3:51 — Joel Pankewich a steal and lay up for Manitoba.

3:50 — Leighton is heating up and that’s not good for Manitoba. He just hit a three in the corner to open the OT scoring. Manitoba gets two back on the other end 75-74, but another three from Leighton ups the lead to four.

3:49 — UM’s ball to start the OT period.

3:46 — With one second left, Coss’ desperation heave from three is short, so we’re going to OT. After the two costly turnovers, someone has to check on AU coach Les Berry to make sure he hasn’t committed a homocide.

3:45 — Ansah a three! Off a turnover on the inbound, now Acadia turns it over with a back-over

3:43 — Coss a three off a screen goes airball out of bounds. 22 seconds left so Manitoba has to foul down three. Timeout UM. Also, Acadia is an AUS-worst 58.8 per cent free throw shooting team.

3:41 — The Bisons are going to get a chance to tie. Berry at the line and misses both with 38 seconds left but the Axemen tip the rebound back to Berry who lays it in. 35.6 seconds left, timeout UM, AU leading 72-69. Plenty of time to execute and get a look. UM will inbound from halfcourt.

3:40 — Bison ball. Coss gets fouled to shoot two and he makes the first and clanks the second. Under a minute left…

3:39 — Coss a gigantic pull up three to cut the lead to two. 1:26 to go. Dean has fouled out but neither team is in the penalty yet.

3:38 — Leighton another three, 70-65 and then a huge Saintil block on Ansah at the other end, Acadia’s ball with under 2 to go.

3:33 — Now Leighton, who shoots the three at 50 per cent in conference, hits a three. Kraus has a fast break layup and the guy who was in the dunk competition changes his mind in mid-air and blows a lay-up that would have put his team up by six with 3:20 left. As it is it’s 67-63 AU and the Bisons have two free throws coming after a foul on the other end.

3:31 — Graeme Mitchell takes a foul on an Acadia fastbreak, Peter Leighton hits two free throws to make it 63-62, UM. But Acadia has just jumped in front with a Luckern Dieu hoop.

3:28 — Uh, Shawn Berry is an athlete. After the Axemen moved the ball around him, found him in the corner and the Bisons failed to rotate on him, he drove baseline and threw down a two-hander over a Bison defender. Another lay-up for Acadia, 61-60 with 5:30 to go.

3:26 — Coss hits a big three but Saintil is all alone on the other end for a lay-up, the second straight such hoop for Acadia. 61-54.

3:23 — The Bisons are still hustling and working hard for the ball, but their shot selection has been suspect in this run of Acadia’s. The Axemen aren’t producing a lot on offence, but the Bisons seem to have to work a lot harder for their hoops. Myron Dean just scored a lay-up that made it 57-50 early in the fourth.

3:18 — As Acadia chips away — the score is 55-50 after three — it’s a good time to mention that the Bisons are 1-4 in one-possession games this season and 1-10 in games decided by 10 points or less.

3:14 — Kraus hits a three and suddenly it’s 53-47 with 3 left in the third.

3:09 — Acadia’s doing its best to muster a run, but Darcy Coss put an end to five straight Axemen points with a three-pointer that made it 53-41 with 5 left in the third.

2:50 — More self-destruction from the Axemen. While getting a chance to play for last shot, Shawn Berry turns it over on a carry, then Isaac Ansah gets fouled with zeroes on the clock, giving Manitoba two more points on the free-throw line. Halftime it’s Manitoba 49, Acadia 34.

2:44 — A FRACAS! Andy Kraus of Acadia and Manitoba’s Darcy Coss get into it with some pushing and shoving and words exchanged. Fun times. Coss got the original foul, now they’re assessing techs to Kraus and Coss, as well as Leonel Saintil for Acadia. The Bisons will get the two technical free throws.

2:40 — Steve Baur takes a timeout for Acadia, trailing 43-29 with 2:15 to go in the half. The Bisons are playing with energy while the Axemen look like a team disinterested in playing in the fifth-place game. No hustle and they’re getting beat to every loose ball.

2:38 — Clarence Smith, the transfer from Lakeland College, just hit a three for Manitoba and the Bisons stretch their lead to 10, 39-29, with 3 to go in the second. A lay-up from Isaac Ansah just made the lead 12 points

2:30 — Interesting development here in the fifth-place final where the Bisons, 1-9 in Canada West conference play, have a 31-25 lead on the No. 2-ranked Axemen with 6:43 to go in the second quarter.

Final score: Brandon 85, RMC 34.

• Brandon: Whyms, 17 pts, 10 reb; Charlery 16 pts, Marcelin, 10 rebs; Kyle Vince 13 points, Martin Lawrence 10 reb.
• RMC: Cooke 9 pts, 8 reb.
• Rebounds: 51-30 BU
• Turnovers: 20-14, RMC
• FG%: Brandon 52.4%, RMC 21.3%
• 3FG%: Brandon 8-for-19 (42.1%); RMC 3-for-23 (13%)

1:36 — Haven’t fallen asleep here, just not much to say. This is a thrashing. RMC has been better in the third quarter, but who really cares at this point? 83-32 BU with 3 to play in the fourth.

Notes from the first half: RMC hit a FG with five minutes left in the first quarter and then did not score another from the field until 1:48 remained in the second quarter. That’s a span of 13:12 and the Paladins were outscored 32-0 between those makes. RMC was outscored 24-4 in the second quarter.

• Brandon: Whyms, 13 pts, 5 reb; Charlery 7 pts, Marcelin, 7 rebs
• RMC: Duizer 5 pts, 7 TOs.
• Rebounds: 26-10, BU
• Turnovers: 14-9, RMC
• FG%: Brandon 58.1%, RMC 20.7%
• 3FG%: Brandon 2-for-9 (22.2%); RMC 2-for-12 (16.7%)

Halftime score: Brandon 48, RMC 15.

12:55 — Duizer’s jumper finally gets RMC on the board in the second quarter, but Grant responds with another two for BU, so it’s a 24-2 run.

12:54 — I feel like I should be recording every BU point right now because Whyms just hit two more FTs to make the run 22-0.

12:53 — An Oliver three and a Whyms FT make it 42-11. The Paladins have not scored in the second quarter.

12:43 — Charlery hits a three, Marcelin hits two FTs and it’s now a 14-0 Brandon run.

12:43 — Brandon has opened a 29-11 lead here and the bigs are getting it done. Marcelin looks on his way to a rebounding record if he were to play his regular minutes and Whyms as missed just one FG. Martin Lawrence even just got in the mix with a lay-up to make it 31-11.

12:35 — Whyms has a dunk and the Bobcats have opened a 22-11 lead after a driving Nathan Grant lay-up.

12:28 — David Duizer, a nice guard for RMC, knocks down a three, but the Bobcats are scoring on almost every possession. Yuri Whyms has come off the bench and scored lay-ups on the past three Brandon possessions and Dany Charlery just got a transition lay-up. 16-10 BU, 4:18 to play, timeout RMC.

12:27 — A nice rotation from Brandon against the 2-3 leaves Michel open for a 16-footer, which he knocks down. The fifth-year point now has six of the first eight Bobcat points.

12:25 — RMC momentarily takes a lead on a Gavin Viray-Cox three but Yul Michel knocks one down in the lane to put Brndon back in front 6-5 with seven to play in the first.

12:23 — RMC has started off in a 2-3 zone here, which is has been a good strategy against the Bobcats this season. A pair of makes from the two teams’ point guars guards, and a Stevens Marcelin putback has the Bobcats up 4-2.

12:11 — We’re running behind already at the Wesmen Classic in Winnipeg as the high school game prior to this seventh-place game ran a bit long. The Paladins and Bobcats are going through warm-ups now with about nine minutes to tip off in the game that no one wants to play in or, for that matter, watch. There has been a strong contingent of Brandon fans, however, throughout this tournament and that holds true today with the BU fans comprising easily 90 per cent of today’s crowd. That crowd, however, is only about 70 people.

FINAL — Brock 75, Calgary 72. A Sihota three from the corner at the buzzer hits back rim and out.

9:35 — Price forces a three that misses off a high screen/roll with Bekkering. He had Bekkering on the pop but shot instead. A loose ball battle is tied up and Calgary gets it on the possession arrow with 0.9 seconds left. Timeout Dinos.

9:33 — After a Calgary timeout, Murray steps up and hits one of 2

9:31 — After Bekkering hits both FTs, a quick foul puts Murray on the line.

9:30 — The Badgers use the whole shot clock and Murray bangs down a three but Henry Bekkering gets to the line on the next possession. 74-70 with 17 to play

9:28 — The Badgers turned it over but Calgary’s next possession was a Tyler Fiddler turnover to give Brock the ball back with 47 seconds left. Timeout Badgers. Brock is over the limit and Calgary has three fouls to give.

9:27 — Bekkering hits a big three to get it to 71-70. Brock is playing not to lose and looking tight.

9:26 — A pair of Price free throws has Calgary down 71-67 with 2 to play

9:22 — Calgary trailes 68-60 with 3:57 to go and Rootes just missed a wide open three that would have been a back-breaker followed by Muir travelling after getting the offensive rebound. Henry Bekkering a bank shot has it to 68-62 with 3:30 left. … Muir hits a HYUGE three in the corner. 71-62, 3:10 left.

9:14 — After a Robbie Sihota lay-up gets the lead down to seven, Scott Murray hits a three for Brock. 63-55, 7:10 left.

9:12 — Henry Bekkering hits a mid-range pull up and Calgary is finally inside single digits trailing 60-51 with 8:40 and counting left in the fourth.

9:06 — A fairly uneventful third quarter to this point and Brock has kept its lead in double digits at 58-455 with 1:44 to play. Calgary has had a couple of bad breaks but the Dinos aren’t getting over the hump with any kind of run.

8:36 — Halftime here in Winnipeg with Brock leading semifinal No. 2 35-25.

8:30 — It’s now a 35-20 game with a 12-0 Brock run. 2:23 left in the half, Calgary timeout.

8:25 — Even Mike Muir is getting into it. The 6-foot-7 newcomer has hit a three and now Brock has its own 7-0 run to up the lead to 28-20. 4:45 left second quarter.

8:24 — A tough rise-and-shoot at the end of the shot clock from Price has the lead down to 23-20. It’s a 10-1 run.

8:20 — A quiet 5-0 run as Calgary at least back to within some striking distance as the Badgers have gone cold from the field. Jeff Price hits an and-1 and cuts the lead now to 22-18, make that an 8-0 run now.

8:15 — Calgary plays for last shot and gets a buzzer-beating jumper from Price but have put up just 10 points in the first quarter. 22-10 Brock after one.

8:09 — A Rootes three has Brock up 18-6 now with 3:24 left and a Calgary timeout. This could get out of hand if Brock continues to have a stroke. The Badgers are a team that rarely see deep shots they don’t like.

8:06 — Tremendous one-handed back door pass from Brad Rootes to Mike Kemp and it’s a 13-4 lead with 4:26 left.

8:03 — A Bekkering putback is the first points for the Dinos and it comes at 6:30 of the quarter. Not a particularly inspiring start from U of C, which is down 8-2.

8:00 — Just FYI folks, Henry Bekkering just won the dunk competition in the warm-up of this game. Give him the $100 prize. Brock’s on the board first with a 4-0 lead, however.

First-half numbers:

• MSU: Witwer, 10 pts, Patterson, 11, 11 rebounds; DeWitty 10
• Winnipeg: Mike James, 16; Nasajpour, nine
• Winnipeg 32.8% FG, MSU 40.8%
• Rebounds: 49-41 MSU
• Turnovers: 22-15 Winnipeg

7:25 — It’s all over but the crying. MSU 77, Winnipeg 53. Minot will be in tomorrow’s final against the Brock-Calgary winner. See you in a bit for the second semifinal.

7:21 — We’re far separated from halftime, I know, but here’s an interesting stat from the first half: Opalko, Shynkaryk, Lother combined for a grand total of zero points and an oh-for-9 effort from the field. The second half hasn’t changed much. Opalko and Lother both have a lay-up each. James, however, continues to impress knocking down another FG.

7:17 — This has gotten very ugly. I assumed Minot would win this game, but not like this. James just hit a lay-up but that followed another MSU three and the score is 72-41 with 4:34 to go.

7:16 — Just been made aware that the university is webcasting the games from the gym. I’m assuming that trumps my random and non-sensical blogs. But hey, a webcast doesn’t provide you with my endearing wit does it? I feel small now.

7:09 — 59-37 at the end of three and time to assess the wardrobe situation among the coaches. While Dave Crook is long known to be a more adventurous dresser, it’s Minot that is mind-boggling right now. Assistants are wearing, from right to left, black shirt with hot pink tie; baby blue shirt with white collar and white tie and white pants, and green shirt with striped green tie (not out of line considering MSU’s colours). Crook, by the way, is rocking the black suit and has on a throwback white tie with red stripes and what appear to be Converse dress shoes (if such a thing exists, I have no idea) that actually match the tie quite well. Not a bad effort overall.

7:02 — Winnipeg calls timeout down 52-31 with 4 to go in the third. The Wesmen had it down to 10 points but there’s been a few times tonight where you’re looking at the team on the floor and wondering who’s going to score the ball. Mike James has given them solid minutes off the bench but there’s been a solid collection of poor shots and bad execution otherwise.

Side Note: No surprise, but Ross Bekkering has advanced to tomorrow’s dunk final along with Owen White. We will attempt to have video of the next round of dunks later in the night as well as tomorrow’s final. Here’s hoping.

6:57 — Erf just picked up his fourth foul less than three minutes into the third quarter. 47-31 MSU with 6:32 left.

First-half numbers:

• MSU: Witwer, 10 pts, Patterson, nine
• Winnipeg: Nasajpour, nine points, Mike James, eight.
• Winnipeg 31% FG, MSU 41%
• Rebounds: 27-19 MSU
• Turnovers: 10-7 Winnipeg
• Foul trouble: Winnipeg, Nasajpour (3); James (3); MSU, None

Halftime: MSU 40 Wesmen 25

6:18 — Coming to the quarter break now with MSU opening a 19-10 lead after one. While we have this stoppage, let’s update you on who is going to be in the dunk competition at halftime.

• Brock: Owen White (6-7, Sr, Port Hope, ON)
• Brandon: Martin Lawrence (6-7, Jr, Toronto)
• Calgary: Ross Bekkering (6-8, Jr, Taber, Alta.)
• Acadia: Andrew Kraus (6-2, So, Markham, Ont.)

6:15 — Winnipeg is defending better in the halfcourt now and has cut this thing to 15-10 with 2 to go in the first. MSU struggling to get good looks and using a lot of shot clock, although not by their plan.

6:08 — Opalko gets beat badly off the dribble by Ford on the perimeter for a lay-up but Erf (I don’t want to type Nasajpour all night), drops a three on the other end. 14-6 MSU.

6:07 — DeWitty another three as the shot clock winds down from about 22 feet with a man in his face. 12-3.

6:06 — An early 9-3 MSU lead on back to back threes from Witwer and DeWitty. Beavers pushing the tempo and its not a pace Winnipeg appears too comfortable with.

6:04 — Witwer gets us started with the first field goal of the game. The Wesmen come in playing man-to-man, which they didn’t against RMC on Friday. The worry I brought up earlier today to a coach was that the Wesmen would have to quickly transition from a game that they basically could jog through, to a heightened level of play against a much more physical and talented Minot team. Essentially the Wesmen have to flip the switch and play a higher level of game after a sleepwalker a day before.

6:01 — Just getting the introductions done here prior to our first semifinal of the night. The Wesmen start Peter Lomuro, Dan Shynkaryk, Erfan Nasajpour, Nick Lother and Matt Opalko. Minot counters with Joe Gathings, Jessie Ford, Matt Witwer, Aaron Patterson and C.J. DeWitty.

So I guess offering to live blog through the entire tournament was a pretty far-reaching endeavour. But while we have a break in the action at the Duckworth Centre, let’s deal with a couple of things prior to the 6 p.m. semifinal tip-off.

• As mentioned before, Nathan Grant received an on-court technical for Brandon, got put on the bench, then was responsible for a bench tech less than three minutes later. BU head coach Mike Raimbault later put Grant back in the game, a decision I didn’t agree with. I like Raimbault, I think Grant is a solid competitor, but I don’t think you send the right message when a player commits that sin yet you insert him back into the game. There were foul trouble issues to deal with, yes, but in that case you still have to stick to your guns. For the record, Grant is not the kind of player who will dismiss his own actions and slough off what he did, but — just in my opinion — that’s a spot for a coach to make a statement to his player.
• Acadia rebounded well from its Friday loss to Calgary and you can really see the similarities between the two teams. The Axemen have a tonne of athletes to send at you and they shoot the ball very, very well even in a gym they’ve never played in before. Nice win by the Axemen and while I think their No. 2 ranking is a little lofty considering their first-half schedule, you can’t suggest they don’t deserve to be talked about in the top five.
• I also mentioned the hour-long discussion the Bobcats held after their loss, so let’s now deal with that:

My long break in between posts during the Brandon-Acadia consolation semifinal was far from my fault. I waited by the staircase that leads to the dressing rooms at the Duckworth Centre.

And I waited.

And I waited.

And I waited.

Then I thought about leaving to do some work, but worried that as soon as I left, the Brandon Bobcats would emerge from their basement lair.

So I waited.

Seventy-six minutes after a loss to the Axemen, the Bobcats did indeed come out of their team room and there wasn’t a happy face among them. Understandable because they’ve been decidedly average through two games of the Wesmen Classic so far with just one game left to serve as a confidence boost heading into the new year. Whatever boost they do get, however, from playing the RMC Paladins in the seventh-place final of the eight-team tournament should be minimal. This outing in Winnipeg has been a disaster for the Bobcats but the hour-plus team meeting on Saturday should at least be an encouraging sign that they understand their play has been unacceptable if they are to indeed be a national contender.

This is a team not far removed from a 9-1 first half of conference play, a team that had come into the Classic with a more-than-acceptable 13-3 overall record. But two losses has overshadowed all of that and the Bobcats are soul-searching.

Understand that two losses in a row is seen by this team as unmitigated failure and the Bobcats reacted as such. Raimbault did not comment specifically on what was said in the dressing room, deciding to play politically correct and just state that they were discussing what needs to happen for them to get back to the level at which they want to be. Two losses to some teams is barely noteworthy but to this squad that has such high hopes of returning to the national championship game those defeats are magnified that much more.

I’m going to make up a few words here, so bear with me: Acadia out-executed, out-athleticked, out-hustled, out-performed and outsmarted the Bobcats on Saturday and their chance to show they belong again in the national discussion was put on hold for the time being. Brandon will get Calgary in conference play later in January, will get a chance to head to Vancouver and Victoria as well, so the chances are still there for them to make that noise they hoped to make this weekend but fell so short of doing.

For better or for worse, it may just be that they look back on one hour in a dressing room that altered their next three months on the court.

3:13 — The Bisons just scored on a 3-on-1 break. So if you’re scoring at home that’s one more fastbreak lay-up than Brandon has had all weekend. I’m exaggerating. But not by much. 58-37 Bisons.

3:11 — You’ll notice the large chasm between posts and it has nothing to do with internet problems or other work to do. The Brandon Bobcats just came out of the dressing room, more than one hour after an 85-72 loss to Acadia. More on this in a moment. … Also, at the time being, the Manitoba Bisons lead the RMC Paladins 53-37 in the third quarter after leading by just five points (38-33) at the half.

1:43 — Dany Charlery just got away with not getting credit with a fifth foul. Put it on Tarik Tokar and that allows Charlery to stay in, a break for BU, but the Cats stil trail 80-69 with 3:24 to go.

1:39 — Timeout Brandon with 5:40 left in the fourth and AU up 73-65 with a mini run here. This has not been a good tournament for anyone in particular on the Bobcats while the Axemen have responded to the challenge their coaches put on them last night after a disappointing effort against Calgary. The book on the Bobcats, and it’s no secret anymore by any means, is get them in the halfcourt. They’ve struggled more in those situations this weekend than any time before in this season.

1:37 — Bobcats having a hard time getting over the hump as Acadia is really working the offensive glass. It’s a 68-65 lead for the Axemen with 6:24 to play… make that 71-65 as Shawn Berry just knocked down a three.

1:32 — We’re back after a bit of technical difficulty here at the Duckworth Centre. Fourth quarter and after being down by as much as 11 in the third, the Bobcats battled back to tie but now trail 63-61 with 8 to play.

12:30 — Taking a break from the updates here to tend to actual work, but will be back with a halftime update.

12:28 — A three by Adam Hartman and a pair of Oliver free throws draws Brandon even before a late lay-up gets Acadia back up at the quarter break 25-23.

12:22 — Freshman Kevin Oliver just had a fast break one hand dunk. To paraphrase David Feherty: It looked like an octopus falling out of a tree. 21-18 Acadia less than a minute left.

12:16 — Another questionable start for the Brandon Bobcats here in the opening game of the Wesmen Classic. Reserve guard Nathan Grant has taken two technicals in the span of about three minutes of the third quarter, the second one officially a bench tech. He yipped an Acadia player shortly after having been benched for taking his first technical. Not how you wanna begin, to say the least. The Axemen lead 19-12 with 2:56 to go in the first quarter.