Fifth-place finish

They’ve been a last-second team all season long, and did it again on Sunday morning.

The Lakehead Thunderwolves, who trailed by as much as eight points with four minutes to go, got a game-changing inbounds steal from Joseph Jones with 10 seconds to go, then won it at the line, emerging with a hard-fought 84-80 victory over the AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers in the consolation final at the CIS men’s national basketball championship in Halifax.

LU guard Greg Carter, who hit the ensuing first shots from the charity stripe to regain a one-point Thunderwolves lead – and possession of the ball because of the intentional nature of the foul – said even though fifth place wasn’t what they came to Halifax for, there was a measure of pride in their finish.

“We just wanted to play hard and finish off a great season that we had,” said the Ottawa native. “It was great. We wanted to finish it off for all the veterans that we had and all the supporters that we had. That’s what gave us the motivation to finish off the game strong.”

The comeback spoiled a brilliant performance by Dalhousie’s all-star guard Simon Farine, whose 31 points almost singlehandly sank Lakehead’s fortunes.

But the Wolves had departing players of their own who wanted to go out winners, none more so than guard Jamie Searle.

The Belleville, Ont. native buried a three on his final shot from the floor with 1:20 to go to put the Wolves on top by three, then indirectly ensured the win when he missed the second of two foul shots with seven seconds to go, only to see teammate Yoosrie Salhia tip the rebound into the waiting hands of Venzal Russell.

Russell, who keyed the comebacks with back-to-back hoops to cut the Dalhousie lead to two, then tied it at the line, calmly sank a pair of free throws the put the game out of reach with 1.2 seconds left on the Metro Centre clock.

Searle said there were a million things going through his head, knowing his basketball playing career was at an end.

“It’s great to get that win, but it hurts for it to all be over, just like that. It’s been a long road and I wish I had five, six more years to wear this Thunderwolves uniform,” Searle said.

LU coach Scott Morrison said the comeback triumph showed a lot about Lakehead’s character. In a game that meant little, they still gave it their all for 40 minutes, he said.

“These are the kind of games where I think (character) really comes into play,” Morrison said. “In theory there wasn’t a lot to play for, other than pride and a little bit extra recognition.

“Being so early in the morning it would be easy to die down there at the end of the game. It just shows kind of the heart that our team had all year. Not all of our wins were that dramatic, but many of them have been, but it’s kind of fitting that we finished the season with that kind of a win.”

Equally important was winning two of three games at nationals, two more than they accomplished last year and a stepping stone for the future, said Searle, who finished with 19 and promised he’ll be on the bench next season in a shirt and tie, passing on his knowledge and experience to the next generation in Thunder Bay.

“We weren’t going to quit. Whether it’s the fifth-place game or the 50th place game, those guys in that locker room were going to come and make sure we didn’t go out losers. We went 2-1. Not many teams can come to a place like this and say they went 2-1 in the national tournament. So it feels great to say that,” Searle said.

“We’re taking steps. Me and coach, when we brought Yoosrie and Greg in, we said by their fifth year they’re going to be national champs. I’m pretty sure we took the steps this weekend that next year they’re going to be hoisting that trophy.”

It was a slow start for Lakehead, who trailed 12-2 before the smattering of fans at the Metro Centre had even settled into their seats.

Ryan Thomson, who along with Ben Johnson, fouled out early in the fourth with 13 points, was a monster in the second, helping erase much of the deficit with a pair of three-pointers that left the Wolves trailing 41-38 at the half.

Early in the third, on their third chance to take the lead, Searle nailed a three to give LU at 43-41 advantage. They raised their lead to as much as five before the quarter ended, and led 59-56 after 30 minutes.

Thomson hit another three to start the fourth, then traded baskets with Dal’s William Yengue. Farine and Juleous Grant sank baskets to pull to within a bucket, then Farine was fouled making a shot, went to the line and prompty gave the Tigers back a 65-54 lead.

Three lead changes later the Tigers went on an 8-0 run, only to be stopped by Russell’s hot hand.

Claw marks: The game marked the end of Andrew Hackner's LU career as well. The fifth-year forward had five points in 19 minutes ... Salhia led the Wolves with eight rebounds and five blocked shots. Dal's Joseph Schow led all players with 11 boards ... Carter, Russell and Searle each had three steals ... Russell had 15 points.