Griffins Sweep 109th Street Series

Despite being late to the party in both games against NAIT, the Griffins prevailed in dramatic fashion in both games against the rival Ooks.

The Griffins thrived in the second half of both games and the resulting wins put the Griffins into the eighth spot in the standings.

The first game at NAIT saw the Griffins come out with a vengeance following a lack lustre first half where the visitors went to the locker room trailing 36-28. From there MacEwan would outscore the Ooks 26-8 in the third quarter, making their halftime deficit look like ancient history.

Gerdes found his scoring touch of late. Photo by Dat Bui

The Griffins held all NAIT players to less than 15 points in that game, while MacEwan's Alain Mony'ele ran the show offensively with 28 points. Keith Gerdes would also chip in 18 points, who has shined in the latter stages of the season averaging 17.8 points a game in his last four games.

In the home half of the series the Griffins once again relied heavily on leading scorer Alain Mony'ele, who would score 18 points. In the second half of the series the Griffins started slow with just 13 points to NAIT's 20 in the first quarter. MacEwan would recover to reduce that deficit to just three points before halftime, large in part because of newcomer Lyndon Bolanac who would finish that game with 12 points.

Although the role of hero belonged to player of the game: Adam Boyd. Boyd's only 3-pointer of the game came with just 2.8 seconds left in the game and would put the Griffins over to top to sweep the 109th Street Series.

The Griffins play their next pair of games against Grand Prairie Regional College on Friday at 8 p.m. and the rematch coming in the form of a matinee set to tip-off at 3 p.m.

Griffins Stumble on First Leg of Roadtrip

Fort McMurray wasn't kind to the Griffins over the weekend as they dropped a pair to Keyano College as they failed to stop a balanced attack from the fifth-placed Huskies, losing the first 87-71 and the second 95-93.

The Griffins offence looked overwhelmed by the potent backcourt tandem of Lance Wesolowski and Yonas Berhe. Berhe, a Toronto native, scored a game-high 23 points with 11 assists in the first game, earning ACAC athlete of the week honours. Wesolowski finished the weekend shooting 58.6% (17-29).

Keith Gerdes would score 22 points in both contests, a season-high, and was by far the most efficient scorer in the Griffins offence at Keyano. Gerdes shot a sparkling 70.3% (19-27) combined for both games and has found a home as the go-to player in the paint in recent weeks, it is only now that he's boasted his scoring prowess. He is 73.1% from the field this season.

After being held relatively quiet in his first game (10 points), Alain Mony'ele would explode with a 36 point effort in latter of the two games at Keyano College. He'd shoot 6-10 from beyond the arc and 13-20 overall in that game. He now leads the team with 18.7 points per game.

The Griffins now sit in 10th place with a 6-9 record, good for 6th best among ACAC north teams.

Adam Boyd, Griffins Silence Concordia Thunder

The Griffins improved to a .500 record (6-6) in a low-scoring affair on home court, needless to say the win was a grind right to the death. MacEwan would prevail 60-56.

Adam Boyd adds a veteran presence to a young team. Photo by Dat Bui 

Adam Boyd would once again a centrepiece in the Griffins offence shooting an efficient 5-8 and 4-6 from three-point range, his best performance from beyond the arc since going 4-5 on the November 17th. He would grab 10 rebounds and player of the game honours. Boyd has been heating up lately, averaging 13.7 points per game and a stellar 45% from three point land.

Holding the potent Thunder (8-4) attack fronted by the north division leading scorer, Milos Prijovic who shredded a smaller Griffins defence scoring 21 points predominantly in the paint. Although without Keith Gerdes's inside defence that number would substantially higher.  But MacEwan's defence held the rest of the Thunder to just 35 points. The Griffins would also close the first frame strong, a point of improvement coming in to this semester.

Seaid Deria was also a key energy player Friday night, finally finding productive spots around the hoop, a skill he's learned to develop situated at the power forward position. The Ottawa native would score 13 points with five boards.

Jereniuk using his speed to find the hole. Photo by Dat Bui

Thomas Jereniuk has also found his niche in the Griffins offence as primary point guard. But that doesn't make him less of a savvy scorer, finding his way to the tin when the opportunity presents itself. He would add five points, three dimes and a pair of steals.

The Griffins will embark on a four-game road trip starting with the second half of the Concordia home-and-home, before returning home on February 2nd to host NAIT.

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%).

Lakeland Ices MacEwan's Hot Flashes

A weak first quarter was all Lakeland College needed to split a weekend series with the Griffins. The Griffins struggled to reach double digits, and failed to do so until the second quarter; they've been outscored in the first by 170-146 by their opponents, all season. To have continued success they must get out to quicker starts in the coming weeks of the season.

Although the first didn't lack it's action, which included a dust up courtesy of catalyst, Janis Assers. He and Lakeland top scorer Kadeem Willis went nose-to-nose and briefly exchanged words before both were separated by teammates.

Unfortunately for the Griffins, the act of passion didn't translate into points and by the end of the first half they trailed 44-26. Despite a solid showing in the second half MacEwan, a lack luster first half left no foundation to build on.

Another glaring problem in MacEwan's offense was their rally-killing turnovers.  The Griffins would rack up 23 turnovers at the final buzzer, to Lakeland's 17.

Photo by Aleah Elliott

Though a bright spot of this game had to be the consistent play of Saeid Deria, who played with a vengeance, despite what the scoreboard said. He contributed a pair of steals and four key boards, Coach Magdanz supported the idea of using him more at the 4. That would require a little more muscle on his 6'4 frame, although his high ceiling will be a point of interest for the young forward throughout the season.

Player of the game, Denzel Williamson-James would shoot 9-17 (.529) for both games against Lakeland College. He's playing like the Griffs go-to scorer averaging a team-leading 12.9 points per game.

Another standout was guard Tyler Wise, who broke out with 26 points in the away half of the weekend. Interestingly enough, Wise has grown into quite the shooter. He has a sparkling .478 shooting percentage when he jacks up more than ten shots a game; in his 26-point performance he's put up a whopping 19 shots. It's intriguing how his shooting prowess becomes instrumental in the Griffins offense.

Through Fresh Eyes : Lynden Nummi

Often times when a beat writer sees a loss, it's normal to mirror the mannerisms of the players and the entire staff. But in a loss to Lethbridge  MacEwan's performance highlighted a name that might as well be a low light; he stands a proud 5'7. This instantly struck a chord with me, I remember my freshman year of highschool and watching the six footers duck under doors and touch the ceiling for no reason with regularity. Never got why that was such a common happenstance, anyway! I was getting organized, I had a new photographer and I was showing her the ropes during the pregame introductions. Heard our PA announcer emphasize the first syllable of a number that has been stuck with my entire youth; 'Fiiiive!' I was always basketball savvy, since 1999. Then again I regularly mistook Vince Carter for Michael Jordan; hey I was young. I had speed, hands and a shot but the muscle tone of Tayshaun Prince and Nate Robinson's height. Ultimately, I have never tried out for a basketball team in my life.

A familiar sight on Saturday's Matinee game at MacEwan (Photo by Aleah Elliott)

No lie, before tip-off he was all up in my psyche but from a fan's standpoint he was the enemy. Although as Lethbridge started run, after run he became impossible not to marvel at. The Griffs defense was the raw salmon to Lynden's sushi knife, needless to say, he was slicing and dicing all afternoon. The adage 'The Bigger They Are . .' rang true for the duration of his time on the floor. Scoring was but a single facet of Nummi's game. Along with the rest of a scrappy Lethbridge team. Friends, this kid is a bulldog. He will tear you apart and do so by any means necessary.

 His 14 points; which was already tied for second on the team, and was 7-14 from the field. But his 5 steals put me over the top, he exacerbated a MacEwan offense that was already plagued with sloppy ball distribution.

But like many a player in the early season, his performance was his first big showing in this 2012/13 season. In his previous 3 games he failed to sink more than three field goals. In short, this little big man will be trouble for teams in the South, you have been warned 1st Place, RDC.

Luckily for us Griffs fans, this kid won't grace the floors of our gyms again this season, barring a playoff match up.

From Latvia With Love: Janis Assers

Janis Assers means Latvian for modest. No, that's not right it means a monstrous Center on the floor and down to earth kid off the court. Surprise! Both of those are dead wrong, that was me trying to be funny. You're welcome world. Jokes aside, the basketball season opened Friday night and it was a great showing by your Grant MacEwan Griffins. I commend you if you were a lucky few witness of this, if you're not I don't condemn you. Instead I encourage you to check out the season schedule

Photo by Aleah Elliott

Big man Janis Assers stands out, a big man, wears a funny hat, and on the court, spells trouble for the opposition. A 24-year old out of a small coastal town in the former Soviet State, plays a game that I would never describe as timid or shy. Aside from his dominant demonstration of the conventional and textbook definition of a centre, he excels outside of the key, using is speed and quickness to baffle defences. That my friends is Assers's bread and butter. When Janis 'takes his talents to other areas of the court' he can be unstoppable, just ask St. Mary's. Looking at Asser's previous game at RDC, it wouldn't be difficult to write him off as the 'average' centre. 

vs. RDC (Oct. 26)

6 PTS (2-4 FG), 2-2 FT, 4 TO

vs. St. Mary's (Nov. 2)

27 PTS (11-18) 5-5 FT, 0 TO

Quite unlike the stereotypical center  Assers hits his free throws, insert Shaq joke here. Numbers only say so much, his attitude is what in my mind, makes him an All-Star. That attitude? He doesn't want to be an All-Star at the expense of his mates. Janis is not at all ignorant to the fact that individual stats matter, and that his were stellar. He equates his night-by-night offensive output as "catching a wave" and tonight just riding that wave right to Player of the Game status. He's not ignorant, he knows a career high 27 points changed the complexion of the game. But he hardly attributes his performance to personal offensive prowess; instead is ultimate goal is for his performance, to benefit the performance of his teammates. He credits new look head coach; Eric Magdanz for his ability to make every cog in the Griffins offensive machine. According to Jannis, he was just the 'hot hand' in Friday's game, coach Magdanz has an innate ability to sense who's dropping dimes and who's jacking threes. He continues to re-iterate, "everyone has a chance to be the star" and this phenomenon is simply an "element . . . of coach's plan." The result of this plan was a career night for the 3-year veteran from Ventspils, Latvia.

For this Griffins beat writer, this means that postgame interviews at MacEwan will feature a plethora of talent. Have a great season everyone.