On Jan. 18, the Brock men’s basketball team played their first home game of 2023 against the McMaster Marauders.
The Marauders were coming off their first loss since Nov. 30 and the Badgers were looking to extend their win streak to three games.
The Badgers got off to a quick start, scoring on their first possession of the game and taking the early lead. They continued to lead until the Marauders tied it 8-8 just over three minutes into the game. McMaster took the lead on the very next possession on a nice dribble move leading to an open lane to the hoop from Mike Demagus.
The next three minutes of basketball were scoreless as neither team could find a way to get the ball to drop. McMaster finally got one to fall and Brock followed up with a bucket of their own. The remainder of the quarter was back and forth with Brock on top 20-16 after 10 minutes of play.
Quarter number two was tightly played and thus a low scoring one. Despite Brock dominating the floor in the second quarter, they only managed 15 points, which McMaster matched with 15 of their own. Despite the poor offensive performance, Brock did have a season-high three blocks and eight steals in the first half of play.
Jordan Tcheunte and Isiah Bujdoso continued their strong performance of late, as Tcheunte had four points, seven rebounds and all three of Brock’s blocks in the first half while Bujdoso led the team with eight points, two rebounds and two assists. Brock led 35-31 through two-quarters of the play.
Brock got off to another strong start in the third quarter, scoring the first bucket and nabbing the largest lead of the game so far, 37-31. The Badgers soon after extended the lead to nine points as McMaster failed to score a basket for three straight possessions.
The third quarter ended with the Badgers up 58-49 and the difference maker in the quarter was their ability to convert off of second chance efforts. The Badgers also shot 50 per cent from the three-point line in the third quarter, one from Isiah Bujdoso and one from Jevon Brown.
Brock added to their lead to start the fourth quarter as Tcheunte was fouled and made both free throws extending the lead to 11 points, 60-49. However, McMaster went on to stop the Badgers the next three possessions and Demagus added three more points to his highly productive night at the free throw line.
Demagus’ offensive play sparked a McMaster comeback as they got back to within three points with just under five minutes left. But a timely three-point shot from Daniel Caldwell extended the Brock lead back to six. The Badgers played miraculous defence down the stretch and added two more clutch buckets, one from Caldwell and the other from Jesse Barnes.
Brock would ultimately defeat McMaster 76-69 despite the never-say-die effort from McMaster at the end of the game. Jordan Tcheunte and Jevon Brown both finished the game with double-doubles, Tcheunte netting 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, while Brown sank 17 points and had 10 rebounds. McMaster Marauder player Mike Demagus also had an incredible game scoring 26 points while adding four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Brock finished off the weekend with a dominant 71-51 win against York University. Although Brock did not have the best game shooting percentage-wise, they managed to spread around the minutes as ten players saw the floor and six of them had 20 or more minutes played.
They are back in action on Jan. 27 against Nipissing University. All games can be streamed on OUAtv and tickets to Brock’s next home game on Feb. 3 can be bought here. To learn more about the Brock men’s basketball team, visit gobadgers.ca.