The Wolves men's basketball team were back on home floor on Saturday November 15th to take on the Georgian Grizzlies. The Wolves were hoping to get back in the win column after dropping back to back road games the weekend prior. It would not be an easy task against a Grizzlies squad who made a trip to the OCAA Final 4 last season and entered the game with a 4-1 record.
Despite entering the game as heavy underdogs, the Wolves battled in this one. Georgian had the edge in the 1st quarter leading 21-13 going into the 2nd. The Wolves put together an impressive 2nd quarter, exploding for 30 points to take a 43-40 lead into halftime. Algonquin shot an impressive 63.2% from the floor and 5-8 from 3 in the quarter. Shyeem Brown had a big 1st half with 8 points including 2 big 3's in the 2nd quarter. James Texeira also had 8 points off the bench, all of which came in the 2nd quarter.
The 3rd quarter was back and forth with both teams trading punches. After many ties and lead changes in the frame, the Grizzlies held a 1 point lead going into the 4th. Albert Opena imposed his will in the quarter scoring 8 of his game high 23 points. The Wolves and Grizzlies continued to trade blows in the 4th quarter. Algonquin managed to tie at 71 on a Farouk Meguader corner 3 with 6:08 to go in the quarter. Unfortunately the team went cold offensively down the stretch as the Grizzlies finished the game on a 13-7 run to take an 84-78 win.
Albert Opena led the way for the Wolves with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Haven Holder was a force inside once again with 15 points and 5 boards. Shyeem Brown finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. James Texeira was the last player in double figures with 11 points off the bench. Rookie Aydin Gilani also had an impressive game with 6 points and 12 assists.
Next up for the Wolves is a road trip to the GTA. They will take on George Brown on Saturday November 22nd at 8:00 pm followed by a date with the Centennial Colts on Sunday at 3:00 pm. They will be back home on Friday November 28th at 8:00 pm when the Seneca Sting come to town to finish off the 1st semester schedule.
