Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Making a valiant effort to claw back after second-quarter defensive lapses left them in a double-digit half-time deficit to the Brandon Bobcats, the MacEwan Griffins' fourth quarter rally fell short in an 84-80 loss on Friday afternoon.
Frustration was evident from a proud group that put forth a solid effort with a short-handed bench as MacEwan suffered its seven-straight loss of the season. They're now 0-7, while Brandon improved to 3-6.
"The second quarter, we let go," said fourth-year forward Milan Jaksic. "I think if we stuck with the defence we do in practice, I think this would have been an easy one for us, but those lapses messed us up.
"I think a lot of people gave it their all. We've got to keep pushing. Tomorrow's a new day. Forget about this tonight, learn from what we did today and come out and play well. That's pretty much it."
Jaksic finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds for his sixth career double double, which breaks a program record he shared with Ryan May (2014-16) and Matthew Osunde (2021-24).
"The loss is more on my mind right now," he said. "Personal stats are nice, but I want to switch this program. I could get many more double doubles, but it doesn't switch my feelings towards the losses."
Job Janda also recorded a double double for MacEwan (22 points and 12 boards) for the fourth of his career. Jordon Fullerton scored 14 points in his home debut with the Griffins.
Job Janda gets going in the third quarter and is up to a team-high 16 points through three quarters, but the @MacEwanGriffins trail the @BUBobcats 67-56.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/9xfoAJlDpS
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Basketball Team (@Griffins_MBB) November 29, 2024
Brandon was led by Dewayne Thompson, who recorded 19 points and eight boards, while Canada West third-leading scorer Sultan Haider Bhatti finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, playing most of the second half in danger of fouling out, but he never did. Travis Hamberger (14 points), Jack McDonald (11) and Youri Cange (10) also hit double digits.
The Griffins had 10 more points in the paint than the Bobcats, seven more off turnovers and seven more off second chances, but Brandon made hay on fast break scores as the Griffins gave up some easy baskets at the wrong times.
"We didn't get stops when we needed to," said head coach Mike Connolly. "We missed some (easy shots). Then it was just lack of discipline. We didn't box out when we needed to, were slow on rotations and just lazy passes sometimes. When we executed, we scored well. We went inside, we scored well. We pushed the ball, we scored well. But I think we've got to play D.
"I think that's the biggest adjustment is we need to defend and take care of little discipline things. Not attitude or being undisciplined yelling at referees, but disciplined to make the right play, disciplined to make the right defensive read. That's the discipline we need to get better at right now."
Jordon Fullerton with a huge steal and layup to keep the @MacEwanGriffins close in the opening quarter against @BUBobcats. It's 22-18 visitors after 10 minutes.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/E81KtXYTSH
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Basketball Team (@Griffins_MBB) November 29, 2024
The Griffins played with just nine players due to injuries and finished the fourth quarter with only seven available after Fullerton left with an injury and Jaksic fouled out. Still, they nearly came back and probably would have if the game were a minute longer.
"I'm always proud of the guys," said Connolly. "Guys work hard. It's just managing (minutes). We have a short bench this week, but guys play and that's life. Guys love it because they get to play more.
"We've just got to manage it tomorrow, do a better job of subbing and get some guys rotating. We'll come out tomorrow and see what happens."
The teams will meet again on Saturday (5 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
