When the going got tough, Anthony McIntosh stepped up his game.
The fifth-year senior was a force to be reckoned with in the fourth quarter Saturday night, though all he did might not necessarily show up on the score sheet.
McIntosh did score a pair of key back-to-back baskets with the game on the line, the second stretching the Lakehead Thunderwolves lead to eight over the Brock Badgers with just 71 seconds to play.
It came after the second of two Badgers shot-clock violations, a testament to the Wolves (5-4) stepping up their defensive game after giving back 16 points of a 17-point advantage they’d built through 10 minutes of action.
McIntosh owned the paint at both ends of the Thunderdome court, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots, leading the Wolves to an 86-79 win to salvage the weekend split.
“Both games we wanted to have an inside presence,” said coach Manny Furtado. “Whether it was going to be a post touches or whether we were going to try to get inside the paint with our guards penetrations. Yesterday it was my fault that we got away from that. We didn’t give our posts enough touches.
“We challenged McIntosh. Last night he had some post touches, but settled for jumpers or was a passer. Tonight I said, ‘Make them double-team you. Make them commit to that.’”
Whatever he said, it worked and has the players on a positive trajectory heading into next weekend’s collision course with expected new No. 1 Ottawa, who knocked off Carleton on Saturday in a mini-upset.
It also gives them a cushion in the hunt for a playoff berth, the Badgers (3-6) their main competition.
“It was definitely a big win for us,” McIntosh said. “It separates us from (Brock) by two games, so we’re real happy about it tonight.”
Unlike a night earlier, when the Thunderwolves blew a 14-point second-quarter lead, Lakehead was able to regroup and refocus when the Badgers made their run in Game 2.
“It was tough,” McIntosh said. “At times we have lapses in communication and that’s one of our big problems. Early on in the season our arch-nemesis was the third quarter. That’s when we slow down and stop communicating.”
It helps when someone has a hot hand.
First-year guard Mor Menashe, who served time in the Israeli army before coming to Canada, certainly showed a flair for the dramatic, draining a long bomb to end the first half at the buzzer, then repeating the trick to end the third, putting LU up 69-63 after 30 minutes.
Menashe said they weren’t about to let another game slip away.
“Our coach put a lot of emphasis on defence. He told us to keep running our transition, put the ball to the bigs inside, penetrate and go more aggressive. Our third quarter is not consistent enough during the season,” he said.
The run-and-gun worked against the Badgers.
“We can be really aggressive when we’re running. We have a lot of tools, good players. We can run also because we have a lot of options on the bench, so we don’t have to save ourselves and save our energy,” said Menashe, who collected 16 points and four boards.
Veteran guard Dwayne Harvey led the way for Lakehead with 17 points, one of six players in double digits.
The Wolves were also able to contain Brock’s Johneil Simpson, who exploded for 26 on Friday, but only scored 16 in the rematch.
Dani Elgadi, who fouled out midway through the fourth, led the Badgers with 18.
