Talent, New and Known Shine vs. Vikings

It was an offensive onslaught Thursday night put on by the Griffins. In front of 1,300 raucous fans packed in MacEwan's gym.

It was by far the most fans the Griffins have played in front of on their home floor and didn't fail to disappoint with a resounding 96-64 victory.

Mony'ele's scoring ability was vital for the Griffins. Photo by Dat Bui

With a revamped starting five to begin the second semester, MacEwan made the proper adjustments to pull out the victory in impressive fashion.

Establishing a quick start in the first quarter had been a point of improvement for the Griffins since the beginning of the season, although that hinderance was none to be found that night as the Griffins held Augustana to just 11 points in the opening frame.

That quick start was largely courtesy of leading scorer Alain Mony'ele, who would shoot 10-17 on his way to a 26-point performance in a shining debut for the Griffins. The Vikings had no answer to his defence-slashing drives.

He would also add three from beyond the arch. Mony'ele poses a prominent scoring threat for the Griffins offensive arsenal. His impact was felt almost instantly after coming off the bench.

Adam Boyd provides veteran presence on a young Griffins team. Photo by Dat Bui

His efforts would also be joined by the play of third year guard, Adam Boyd who would provide his own type of energy by adding 14 while going 3-8 from three point territory along with three steals. One of his makes from downtown would beat the buzzer to close out the half, which brought the MacEwan faithful to a frenzy. He would do it all donning bandages over a previously injured shoulder.

Although the most unheralded of heroes from Thursday night was Lyndon Bolanac who was MacEwan's most efficient scorer, going 6-8 for 14 points and was a force to be reckoned with in the paint with eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.

This concerted offence would translate into a 24 point Griffins lead going into halftime, from there MacEwan would roll to the easy win.

On the defensive end the Griffins stymied the Vikings, shoddy ball-handling would result in 12 MacEwan steals. The Griffins were also dominant in the paint racking up 30 points in the paint and blocking five Augustana shots, the Vikings also struggled from three-point range hitting only 3-16 (18.8%).