Henry Tan is clearly ready for prime time.
The Lakehead Thunderwolves guard put on a phenomenal show on Saturday night, scoring 28 points to lead his team to a crucial 88-77 win over the visiting University of Toronto Varsity Blues.
With just two games remaining in regular-season play, the Wolves (10-7) jumped a full game in front of fourth-place Guelph in the race for the final playoff berth in the OUA Central, with road games next weekend against Windsor and Western.
Most importantly, the win kept the Thunderwolves playoff fate in their own hands, knowing the Gryphons own the tie-breaker by virtue of outscoring LU in splitting a pair of early-season contests.
“We knew it was a very big game,” said Tan, who slashed and dashed his way through the lane most of the night, seemingly at will.
“I think we did a good job of executing the game plan offensively and defensively. We wanted to play good defense and get out on transition, because we didn’t do much of that yesterday. I think with our offensive plan we did a good job of attacking the rim first with our inside game. And once our inside game got going, the outside game was happening.”
The inside game was all Bacarius Dinkins in the opening quarter.
Dinkins scored 12 of Lakehead’s first 14 points and his presence opened up the perimeter for Tan, who hit three three-pointers and senior Alex Robichaud, who dropped four in what potentially could have been his final game at the Thunderdome, pending playoff seeding.
“I thought our guys came out and played hard right from the get-go,” said second-year coach Manny Furtado.
“We had the early lead, got into some foul trouble and made some substitutions, but give credit to Toronto, they battle the whole time. Down the stretch we made some key plays. Look at Henry, he was getting to the basket at will and made some nice passes. Bacarius was finishing around the basket and Robichaud was hanging some shots.”
Toronto made up for its slow start in the second, cutting a 27-13 deficit after one to just three points at the half.
And they kept the Thunderwolves honest in the third.
Each time Lakehead threatened to pull away, the Varsity Blues had an answer. Down six, Chase Ruttenberg drained a three-pointer to keep it a one-possession game.
It was rookie Brandon Persad who finally put separation between the two teams, hitting three straight three-point attempts as the third quarter ran out, the Wolves entering the final frame up 67-53. Lakehead jumped in front by as many as 18 in the fourth, courtesy of Robichaud’s final bomb of the night.
The fourth-year guard, honoured prior to the start of the game, was relieved to walk away in triumph.
“We battle hard every night, so any night we get the win it’s big for us. It’s certainly means a lot to me that we could get the win here on our last night. The Thunder Bay crowd is one-of-a-kind, so anytime we can give then the win, it’s good,” said Robichaud, whose mother Andree, the former president and CEO at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, was on hand.
Lakehead remains seventh in the RPI standings among the 12 teams presently holding down playoff spots, and would host the Varsity Blues in Round 1 of the OUA playoffs if the season ended now.
