Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Held back by defensive mistakes, the MacEwan Griffins' strong offensive performance went for naught in a 96-82 loss to the Regina Cougars on the final night of the Canada West regular season.
"We had some lapses," said Griffins head coach Mike Connolly. " Guys fell asleep, and we gave open threes. They were 11 for 31 from the three-point line. In the first half, we gave up 7 of 9 open threes. And that was the difference. That and offensive rebounds. We didn't rebound and they did. That's the difference in the game."
With the result, the Griffins finish the 2022-23 Canada West season with an 0-20 record, while Regina concludes at 10-10.
The Cougars were led by Carter Millar, who posted a double double for the second-straight night with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while four others hit double digits – Matt Barnard (15), Nick Barnard (13), Brayden Kuski (12) and Hayden Collier (12).
Damilola Osuma broke out with a 20-point night to pace the Griffins, adding five rebounds and two blocks, while Matthew Osunde wrapped up a stellar year as the team's leading scorer with 16 points, five boards and four assists.
Milan Jaksic, Job Janda and Taylor Cook added nine points each.
M��| Q3
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 12, 2023
Great pass by Dami Osuma as he finds Isaiah Merk open the corner for a three.@MacewanBasketb1 trails @ReginaCougars 80-61 after three quarters of @CanadaWest action.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/zQmR9vkZW3
"It was nice to see Dami step up and dominate inside with 20 points," said Griffins head coach Mike Connolly. "He did really well. Matty works hard and it shows. He's our leading scorer and leading player."
After 31 minutes on the court Saturday, Osunde finished the season with a 35.4 average, the second-most in a single season by a Griffin since the program joined Canada West in 2014.
The team captain, who also finished with 271 points – seventh-most in the program's Canada West era – took a huge step forward in his game in this, his second season. He also feels the team was better than their record indicates.
"Towards the end of the year, even the start of the second semester, we've really started to play as a team, trust each other, trust our offence, trust everything we're doing," said Osunde. "It's a shame because we worked really hard. I do think we're better than our record shows, but at the end of the day, it's all about your record.
"I'm incredibly proud of every guy on the roster. We worked hard and we're just going to keep working hard and come back for next year."
M��| FINAL
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 12, 2023
Matthew Osunde hits a nice shake and bake jumper after a steal in the closing minutes of this one.@MacewanBasketb1 will fall 96-82 to @ReginaCougars. Stay tuned for a recap.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/O3gS7I4okY
Connolly said it's just about gaining experience for a team entirely made up of first and second-year players, but next year is when they need to take a leap forward in the results column.
"As the year went on, we started to play better, and we started to play together," he said. "I thought this past weekend was the most on offence that we've played together. Defensively, we had some lapses. We've got to stay focused for 40 minutes, but that's youth and learning. That comes after doing it for years and years so it's a habit.
"We're getting there. We showed when we play D we can guard anybody in the country. We can score, we can do some things. It's not like we need to add size, it's not like we need to add athleticism. We've got parts, now it's just keep developing.
"We'll need to have a good off-season because next year's the year. The third year is when you start to shine and move or we have to make changes."
