Wolves earn wild card berth at nationals, fourth seed

Losing Friday's OUA semifinal to Ryerson proved not to be the end of the 2011-12 season for the Lakehead Thunderwolves.

The Wolves on Sunday were rewarded for their 20-2 regular season and given the lone wild-card spot at the CIS National Men's Basketball Championship in Halifax.

The loss dropped them a couple of notches when it came to seeding the eight qualifiers, to fourth, meaning they'll take on the Canada West finalists from the University of Fraser Valley on Friday at 11 a.m. Thunder Bay time.

Undefeated Carleton, not surprisingly, got the No. 1 seed and takes on No. 8 Acadia, the Atlantic University Sport champion.

Alberta, who knocked off Saskatchewan on Friday and UFV on Saturday to win the Canada West crown, plays upstart Ryerson, while St. Francis Xavier, ranked as high as second in the nation at Christmastime, will play the Concordia Stingers, the No. 3 seed at the tournament.

TB Source editor Leith Dunick will be in Halifax with complete coverage of the tournament as the Thunderwolves work toward a national championship. Follow him on Twitter: @LeithDunick