Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – The rust has been knocked off and they're as healthy as they've been all season.

The MacEwan Griffins men's basketball team is ready to go as they get set to face the cross-town rival Alberta Golden Bears in a pair of games at the Saville Centre this weekend – Friday, 8 p.m. and Saturday, 7 p.m., both Canada West TV.

"Right now, what we have to do is make sure we compete for the full 40 minutes," said head coach Mike Connolly. "We can't have 35, we can't have 39, we have to have the full 40. 

"If we compete, as the game gets going anything can happen. Our real focus is we've got to be able to defend and compete for the full 40 minutes. If we do that, the chips will fall in some good places."

The Griffins have been back training since Dec. 28 after a much-needed winter break to focus on academics, family and rest. 

"I think they embraced it," said Connolly of the challenge posed getting back to top form after 26 days off. "We had a great first week back last week – 28^th, 29^th, 30^th, 31^st – we were able to practice and we got the rust out, got guys going, got some conditioning done. They got back into the swing of things. By the Saturday practice, we were back at it, guys were competing, and it was good."

Perhaps the biggest positive development for the Griffins heading into the second semester is they've got almost all of their top players healthy.

"We thought we (had everyone healthy), but we've lost Milan Jaksic. But Marco (Correas) is back, Justace (Byam) is back. We have seven of our top eight guys back, which we haven't had (yet this season). 

"We've only had four or five of those guys playing (each game), so we've had to make due with rookies, who are learning. So, we're excited."