By Timothy Kraft, Lambda Staff
On Nov. 13, the men’s Voyageurs basketball team was defeated 68-69 at their home opener, ultimately losing the close game to the Queens Gaels.
The men came out strong in the first quarter, winning the tip off and demanding an early lead by execution of half-court offence and defensive hustle, forcing the Gaels to take tough shots, and entering the second quarter with a 19-13 lead.
The pace of the game picked up in the second quarter, as both teams were starting to get out on the fast break. The Voyageurs faced fatigue from their first quarter, and after the time-out, a late three-point shot put the Gaels ahead at the half 39-36.
As the third quarter began, the Voyageurs struggled to contain the Gael’s offence as they went on an 8-point run, eventually extending their lead to 56-44 with 4:50 left in the quarter.
Head Coach Shawn Swords then called another time-out, and the team moved towards defensive intensity in their plays.
At the end of the third quarter, the Voyageurs trailed the Gaels, with a score of 56-51 for the visitors.
Defensive intensity continued in the fourth, lead by Alexander Henry-Iriarte (forward) who blocked shots and rebounded well.
As time dwindled down, the Voyageurs went to a full-court press, working wonders and forcing the Gaels to commit turnover after turnover.
Leading the team effort on offence was David Aromolaran (guard), who took it to the rack numerous times to tie the game, this time forcing the Gaels to call a time-out.
With twelve seconds left of game play, the score was 68-68.
The Voyageurs contested the Gaels inbound well, but fouled a layup attempt with only 0.7 seconds left of the game.
The Gaels then missed the first free throw, electrifying the crowd, but hit the second, putting them ahead by one point.
With only 0.7 seconds left of the game, Voyageurs inbounded the ball and time expired immediately.
“The first 15 minutes we played the game we wanted to, but fell apart the last 5 minutes of the second quarter. We tried to get back to what we did to be successful,” said Swords on the Voyageurs fourth quarter push.
“We came out strong but took our foot off the pedal in the middle of the game… We have to execute on offense and defense,” added David Aromolaran, who had 22 points on the night.
Despite the Voyageurs fourth quarter efforts, they were unable to come back for a victory, losing to Queens Gaels with a final score of 68-69.
-Photos by Timothy Kraft