Box Score
It may only be August but
Nedim Hodzic (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary) was in mid-season form in Waterloo's first pre-season tilt of the season.
Hodzic put up 26 points as Waterloo defeated the Regis Rangers, a NCAA Division II school out of Denver Colorado,
68-66 on Sunday night at the PAC. It was the first game under the new LED lights and the Warriors looked impressive, especially in the second half, in their first win of the pre-season.
Waterloo trailed by 12 early in the third quarter before St. Benedicts product, Justin Malnerich put on a shooting clinic knocking down four straight 3-pointers and a buzzer beating floater to get the Warriors to within one (49-48) heading into the fourth. Malnerich finished with 14 points (all coming in the third quarter) and was a big factor in the comeback.
The Warriors found their first lead early in the fourth before the Rangers responded to take a four point lead in the final three minutes. That is when second year point guard
Simon Petrov (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary) stepped up his offensive game while
Justin Hardy (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary)'s defence was also a factor.
After the Rangers missed two open looks in the final 20 seconds Waterloo came down the other end with the game tied 66-66, holding the ball for the final shot. Hodzic would be fouled on his shot attempt and knocked down both free throw's to give Waterloo the lead 68-66. Regis had one final shot with four seconds left but a huge Hodzic block, sending the ball into the fifth row, sealed the 68-66 victory for Waterloo.
Hodzic went an impressive 10-for-14 from the field while adding 14 rebounds. Petrov equaled the total put up by Malnerich with 14 points of his own.
Waterloo will now take the next month and a half to sit on this impressive win with training camp starting up in September. Their next pre-season action will be out in British Columbia at the UBC Inviational from October 6-8. The Warriors then return home for the
49th annual Naismith Classic from October 12-14.
