Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Defensive assignments will be key for the MacEwan Griffins during their final weekend series of the season at UNBC this weekend.
The Timberwolves boast the leading scorer in Canada West – Tyrell Laing – who is averaging 22.0 points per game. Vova Pluzhnikov (15.1 PPG) forms a solid 1-2 punch that the Griffins will have to contend with in matches in Prince George, B.C. on Friday (7 p.m. MT) and Saturday (8 p.m. MT, both on Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
"They have a couple really strong players and a bunch of role players, so we have to do a good job on their stars, which I think we can," said head coach Mike Connolly. "They're not that much better than what we have, so it's something we can deal with.
"Then, we just need to play hard. It's a hard place to play. They play really well at home, so we're going to have to match their intensity and focus and be prepared."
MacEwan counters with Abdullah Shittu (13.3 PPG), Deonte Doslov-Doctor (12.9 PPG) and Jake Notice (10.9 PPG).
UNBC (4-14) is still alive for the final playoff spot in Canada West (trailing 5-13 Brandon). While the Griffins (2-16) can't catch a spot anymore themselves, they can play spoiler. More importantly, though, the squad would dearly love to end the season on a winning note.
While the Griffins have two victories in 2019-20, both were overturned losses that came as a result of Trinity Western playing an ineligible player. So, to celebrate a win on the court in real time and not in retrospect is a big focus for the Griffins, who haven't done that since beating Brandon on Jan. 25, 2019.
"Two wins," said Connolly of the goal this weekend. "We have to play well defensively and handle their ball screens and handle their two best players. Then we're going to have to handle their zone. They play a lot of zone defence, so we're going to have to execute and do a better job and keep our turnovers down and move the ball.
"I don't think it's out of reach. I think it's right there. It's going to be what frame of mind we have coming in and put last weekend away from us and go see if we can win two."
And that would be that – simply a triumph or two to send the young Griffins squad into the off-season on the right foot. Connolly isn't a believer in momentum carrying forward from the final weekend of 2019-20 into the first one of 2020-21.
"It doesn't. I think that's overrated," he said. "We want to be playing well and I think it would be great for the guys to have some self-satisfaction of winning a couple of games, but moving forward, the work that's going to help us get better will be all the work we'll do in the next four or five months getting ready for next season."
He noted the Griffins will take a two-week break after this weekend before the off-season program begins in earnest and runs through the summer.
