Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The will and effort were there as the Griffins men's basketball team battled hard to the finish line in their final game of the season on Saturday night at the Saville Centre.
They didn't shoot as well as their Edmonton rival Alberta Golden Bears, though, and were out-rebounded in a 78-57 defeat.
Consistency ultimately eluded the Griffins who alternated strong stretches with spates of turnovers and defensive lapses and will finish the season at 2-18, short of the playoffs for a third-straight year.
The Golden Bears finish at 10-10 – fifth in the Prairie Division – which is the 10th seed in Canada West for the opening round of the playoffs, meaning they will travel to meet No. 7 Thompson Rivers in a Play-in game in Calgary next weekend with the winner facing the Dinos in the quarter-finals.
On Saturday, Diego Presingular led the Griffins with 22 points, while Job Janda chipped in 11.
Presingular finished an incredible rookie season with an 11.8 points/game average, which breaks the program record.
"He's a special young guy," said head coach Mike Connolly. "We knew we got a special kid from his character and he works hard.
"He was shooting the ball well. He stepped up and made some big shots for us. He's going to be something special by the time he's done. He's going to be really good for us."
Diego Presingular dishes to Dami Osuma who fires to Job Janda down low on a great fourth quarter passing play for the @MacEwanGriffins #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/bnPeXtlBB8
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Basketball Team (@Griffins_MBB) February 16, 2025
The Griffins were right with the Golden Bears in the first half on Saturday before things got away from them in the third quarter.
"We were playing great D – it was a 36-26 half," said Connolly. "We struggled offensively and really the difference was a few offensive rebounds the first half. We were playing great D.
"We were down 10 (entering the second half) and they hit a couple of threes, so now it's 16. It just stayed around 16-20. We played guys and guys battled right to the end, but we kept playing. We missed some shots, we had some untimely turnovers again, and then we just had some mental breakdowns where we gave them an easy bucket. But when we played five-on-five, we turned them over several times."
Joel Seke gets the hoop and harm in the first half at the Saville Centre.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/uuuaV3cNyV
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Basketball Team (@Griffins_MBB) February 16, 2025
So, the season ends short of the playoffs, but there is a feeling the culture is changing for the Griffins, whose highlight of 2024-25 was snapping a 75-game winning streak with a victory over Brandon on Nov. 30.
"It's just consistency," said Connolly. "We've got to work on that and get better. That comes with maturity. I'm happy with their compete. They proved they could play. Everybody had great moments. We just couldn't put it together. If we didn't have so many injuries and some unfortunate stuff happen all year, we'd be in a way different situation. But we have stuff to build on.
"Our veteran guys' leadership throughout the year helped us through all these injuries and they kept us together," he added. "We've got the culture set up for everything in the future."
