Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Holding a team to just 24 points in a half usually results in a notch in the win column.
Although that's exactly what the Griffins did to the Regina Cougars in a yeoman's performance on the defensive side of the ball in the second half, they wound up on the wrong end of an 81-71 score in Canada West men's basketball action on Friday night.
A 57-36 half-time deficit will do that to you and leave a few regrets.
"If we don't give their best player 24 out of his 26 points in the first half," said Griffins' head coach Mike Connolly of Regina's Carter Millar, who also had 20 rebounds – the second-most by anyone in Canada West this year – for a monster double double.
"I thought we rebounded, we worked hard, we had them. But we had 23 turnovers again and we went 11-for-21 from the line. We outscored them 35-24 in the second half. We did well. There were just some young mistakes."
The Griffins outpaced the Cougars on the offensive boards front (22-19) and were better than them statistically from beyond the arc (40.0 per cent to 28.6), even if they barely attempted half as many threes as their opponent.
"I just think we missed some easy shots," said Connolly. "When we had a lack of focus defensively, they made us pay. They hit shots, especially in the first half. They had like 7-of-9 open shots.
"We tightened up the defence in the second half. In the third quarter, they scored 12 points and in the fourth quarter 12 points. We played fabulous D. Now we have to keep rolling."
Besides Millar's excellent performance in 37 minutes on the court, Regina got 15 points rom Nigel Warden off the bench and Brayden Kuski chipped in 10.
MacEwan was led offensively by Matthew Osunde, who scored 24 points, and Job Janda, who posted a double double (20 points and 12 rebounds) exactly one week after breaking a program record that had stood for more than 3,000 days when his 17 boards against Lethbridge on Feb. 3 broke Ryan May's single game mark of 15.
"It was good to see guys play well," said Connolly. "Job started to focus defensively and that's when he started to score. That's what he's been doing for us.
"It was nice to see Matty coming out of his shell and scoring a little bit," he added. "He had confidence, so he was attacking. I think that's a big step for him. It's just good to see other guys come along and we'll come back at it tomorrow."
The teams will meet again on Saturday in the rematch (4 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
"I thought the guys competed and worked," said Connolly.
"There's not much film watching, it's just being ready to play. I think we'll be able to get after them again and pick up our D."
