Game by game is how Manny Furtado plans to approach the second half of the OUA men’s basketball season.
It might sound like a cliché, but the second-year Lakehead Thunderwolves coach doesn’t want his team to get ahead of itself, especially with the fourth-ranked McMaster Marauders landing in Thunder Bay on Friday for a pair of games this weekend at the Thunderdome.
Don’t automatically count out the Thunderwolves (4-5), coming off a 73-65 win over the Algoma Thunderbirds, a game that saw forward Bacarius Dinkins explode for 27 points and 17 boards.
“We’re worried about ourselves right now. We’re worried about making sure we’re doing the right things every time,” Furtado said. “We take it one game at a time. We’re not looking down the road, playing the possession that we’re in, doing the things we’re supposed to do. Like (Bill) Belichick says, ‘Do your job and do it well.”
Offensively, it’s a match-up featuring two teams at the opposite ends of the scoring spectrum. The Marauders are second in the nation, averaging 88.3 points a night. The Thunderwolves, on the other hand, are third from the bottom in Canada, scoring just 66 points per game.
Defensively the two teams are much tighter, McMaster (9-2) allowing 71.9 points a night, the Thunderwolves 74.3.
“Offensively, I think we’re going to try a few things they haven’t seen so far this season,” Furtado said. “Defensively, we have to get back. That’s first and foremost, our transition, help ourselves by taking some good shots. That gives us an opportunity to get back on defence, load up and get ready for them because they’re a heavy transition team. They want to run and get to the paint and get to the free-throw line.”
Dinkins, who averages 15.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, can help out on both ends against the OUA Central-leading Marauders, Furtado said.
“That was the most minutes he’s played all year and that was his highest output for both I believe, points and rebounds,” Furtado said.
“He’s very capable of doing that and really it’s on him to do it. Sometimes he’s got a great performance on Friday night, but then the consistency level isn’t there. It was nice to see and he was a rock for us for sure and again we’ll lean on him again this weekend.”
Lakehead is half a game in front of Guelph (4-6) for the final playoff spot in the OUA Central.
The weekend also marks the return of former Thunderwolves star J.J. Jones, now an assistant coach at McMaster.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the fans in the Thunderdome. I wear maroon now, but I’ll always be blue and gold,” he told the LU athletics department’s website.
It drew a Twitter response from former coach Scott Morrison, now coaching the NBA D-League’s Maine Red Claws.
“Maroon is a nice colour though. Popular for crayons and bridesmaid dresses. A poor man’s burgundy,” Morrison wrote, lightheartedly trash talking one of his former players, a key ingredient in the Thunderwolves four consecutive Final 8 teams from 2010 to 2013.
The LU women’s team plays McMaster Friday and Saturday night as well, tip-off at 6 p.m. The men’s games are scheduled for 8 p.m. starts.
