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MBB: Wolves hang on against Waterloo

Manny Furtado’s squad only managed to win one quarter Friday night. But oh, was it a doozy.

Manny Furtado’s squad only managed to win one quarter Friday night.

But oh, was it a doozy.

Trailing by five at the half, the Lakehead Thunderwolves caught fire in the third quarter, out-scoring the visiting Waterloo Warriors 35-15 and hung on for a 77-70 win that pushed them over the .500 mark at 7-6.

It’s not exactly a recipe for success, said coach Furtado. But he’ll take it with time winding down in a tight second half of the OUA men’s basketball season.

“We lost three of the four quarters, and you can’t do that in this league because it will be over pretty quick versus the very good teams,” Furtado said. “Not that I’m downplaying Waterloo, but top-notch teams are going to bury you three quarters out of the four and the third quarter wouldn’t have mattered.

Furtado said he kept the message simple at the half, the Wolves down 32-27.

“There was not much said at the half that we didn’t say all week or before the game. The fact is that we just executed it, came out aggressive, made some shots, got some easy looks and some of the shots hit.”

Alex Robichaud helped key the comeback, scoring eight of his 16 points in the decisive third, that saw the Wolves score the first 11 points before Ben Davis drained a three-pointer to slow LU down for a second or two.

The Warriors (3-12) tried to keep it close. But the Thunderwolves had the answer, even after the Warriors scored seven straight points to pull within one, 43-42.

Robichaud hit back-to-back baskets, including a three-pointer. Henry Tan and Dwayne Harvey also had a pair apiece as the Wolves began to pull away, Mor Menashe capping the quarter with a buzzer-beating three.

The Wolves led by as many as 17 early in the fourth, but as hot as their shooting was in the third, it was just as cold in the final frame.

After hitting 14 of 21 shots in the third, including three of five three-point attempts, Lakehead only managed to hit five shots in the fourth, none from long distance, as the Warriors began to mount a heated comeback.

Jon Ravenhurst, who collected a game-high 22, scored eight points in the fourth for the Warriors, who cut their deficit to single digits with 4:10 to go and closed to within five, 72-67, when Myles Charvis scored with 2:40 remaining.

Robichaud put the game out of reach in the final minutes, hitting a pair of free throws to push LU’s lead to eight.

Harvey, Tan, Anthony McIntosh and Bacarius Dinkins, who added 11 rebounds for a double-double, all finished in double figures for the Thunderwolves. Harvey was a rebound short of joining Dinkins in the double-double club.



Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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