Voyageurs lose questionable game to lions

Date and Time :    15 February, 2013 — 20:00 pm

Game Recap:

SUDBURY, ON – In the final game of the regular season for the Voyageurs, the Laurentian team faced the York Lions in a rematch of the midweek fixture. With little at stake, the teams played entertaining basketball, with the York Lions emerging the victor by a score of 104-101.

The first quarter saw both teams play some sloppy basketball to begin the game, however, this changed as the quarter progressed. The Voyageurs began to enjoy the game, with multiple long range alley oop passes being converted, much to the amusement of the crowd. However, the Lions would answer back with a string of successful 3-point efforts restoring their lead. After the first quarter, the Voyageurs trailed the Lions by s score of 29-21. The second quarter was largely controlled by the Lions, but it was Alex Ratte that was grabbing headlines, with 23-points in the first half alone. This was backed up by some fine shooting by veteran Georges Serresse, who was playing his last regular season game as a Voyageur. Despite this play, the Voyageurs found themselves trailing by a score of 54-49.

The second half started slow, with sloppy offensive play by both sides. This would not last long, with Ratte and Serresse leading the charge for the Voyageurs. At the end of the third, the Voyageurs trailed by a score of 71-76. This set the stage for one of the seasons most entertaining quarters of basketball. In a foul-ridden, feisty affair the Voyageurs pushed hard, and with 4:40 left in the game Jamie Weldon levelled the score. Alex Ratte continued his lights out shooting, racking up 42 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists for one of the performances of the season. With 15 seconds left, an excellent block by Manny Pasquale followed by a York foul sent him to the line. Pasqaule made no mistake, tying the game yet again, this time with the score reading 101-101. Then, in the dying seconds of the game, a questionable call by the referee sent the Lions to the line for 3-attempts. They made no mistake, sinking 3 of 3 to capture the 104-101 victory.

To summarize, the game held no bearing on the league standings. However, both teams played out a highly entertaining affair that was dominated by offense. With the scores tied, the referees denied the fans of an extra five-minute of action, thus putting a damper on what was a highly entertaining spectacle inside the Ben Avery Gymnasium.

This game marked the last season game for several key players for the Voyageurs. Pasquale, Serresse, Williams, and Weldon will now finish out their Laurentian careers with a visit to the playoffs, where they hope to lead Laurentian into the latter stages. The Voyageurs now host the Gaels in the first round of action on Wednesday, February 20^th at the Ben Avery Gynmasium at 8:00pm.

For more information on your Voyageurs, visit www.luvoyageurs.com for the latest news and information.

Laurentian University's Department of Athletics is home to 15 varsity sports teams. The Voyageurs and Lady Vees decorated history of pride and tradition includes 61 provincial championships as well as 9 national championships in 50 years of competition.