Robichaud 3-pointer caps another remarkable fourth-quarter T-Wolves comeback

Alex Robichaud joked the way he’d been shooting all night long, if he was the McMaster Marauders coaching staff, he’d have left himself wide open too.

It was a big mistake.

The fourth-year guard buried a game-winning three-pointer with 5.5 seconds left, with nary an opponent within 10 feet, as the Lakehead Thunderwolves shocked the No. 4 Marauders on Saturday night with a 74-72 win in front of a raucous Thunderdome crowd. 

It was the second straight night they’d rallied back from a double-digit deficit against McMaster, which entered the weekend tied with Brock atop the OUA Central.

“I’ve got to give credit to my team and my coach,” said Robichaud, a graduate of Thunder Bay’s Superior Collegiate Vocational Institute who finished the night with 16 points, five boards and three assists.

“They have a lot of confidence in me, so I knew when I got the ball I had to shoot it. It feels awesome.”

He certainly didn’t do it alone.

It was almost a given the Marauders were going to double up on Wolves forward Bacarius Dinkins, who torched them for 27 points and 15 rebounds in Friday’s six-point upset.

Still, the Florida native managed to connect for a game-high 19, tying teammate Henry Tan, an instrumental part of the stunning comeback.

Lakehead (6-5) went on a 12-0 run to finish the tightly-contested divisional match-up, Tan scoring back-to-back buckets to close the gap to six, 72-66.

Dinkins hit a pair of free throws and after McMaster’s Lazar Kojovic missed a three-pointer that could have put it out of reach, spun and powered his way to the net for the hoop and foul, making it a one-point game.

Once again the defence stood tall, Aaron Redpath denied on the Marauder’s next trip down the court, setting the stage for Robichaud’s heroics.

“It seems like it’s a constant thing. We’re always down in the fourth quarter and we always get back into it. We just never quit. We always play hard, no matter what the score is. It’s one thing coach always emphasizes – always play hard,” Robichaud said. “And we’re always playing ourselves.”

The Marauders (9-4), who got 18 points from Rohan Boney, led by eight points after the first and six at halftime, stretched the lead to nine after the third and led by as many as 14 in the fourth, going on a 5-0 run to start the final period.

Nick Burke and Darnell Curtin hit key three-pointers early to keep the score in check.

McMaster got the ball back with 5.5 to go, and after a timeout, inbounded the ball, only to have it tipped away with 3.8 seconds to go.

Dinkins tried to wrestle the ball from Connor Gilmore and was called for a foul with under a second to play, but the Wolves weren’t in the penalty.

David Mcculloch’s would-be game-winning trey clanged off the rim as time expired.

“I trust these guys,” said Furtado, recalling other comebacks this season. “Down the stretch these guys have made the right decisions.They’ve made some big plays and they did it again tonight. They could have quit. They could have just given up, but they didn’t. And a lot of guys stepped up.”

The Wolves, winners of three straight to start the second half, visit York (3-9) and Queen’s (7-5) on the road next weekend.