The Warriors men's basketball team got a well balanced offensive effort on Saturday night in a 96-80 win over the visiting Laurentian Voyageurs. Five different Warriors were in double digits as the black and gold won their second straight home game to close out the calendar year.
"I was really proud of the guys and how we competed this weekend," said head coach
Justin Gunter following the win. "The guys were really focussed and we made shots which helped our ability to defend in the half court. Kadre from Laurentian is a very talented player and it was a total team effort to slow him down."
The reigning U SPORTS MVP was still able to put up 29 points in the loss but Waterloo held him to a lowly 7-for-24 from the field, including 0-for-9 from beyond the arc, showing just how well the Warriors defended the third year guard.
Waterloo again had a strong opening quarter, outscoring the Voyageurs 52-33.
Colin Connors (St. Johns/Gonzaga High (Brock)) led the with 16 first half points and finished with 21 on the night. Connors was extremely efficient in his offensive attack going 7-for-9 with five three pointer's and two made free throws.
Waterloo's top scorer was
Nedim Hodzic (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary) who had 23 points and a game high 16 rebounds. The other three Warriors in double figures were
Simon Petrov (Waterloo/Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary) with 16,
Jeff Baradziej (Grimsby/Wasatch Academy (Utah)) with 12 and
David Ramon Prados (Madrid/Virgen de Atocha (North Platte College)) with 10. Baradziej was also huge defensively with three blocks on the night while
Jayden Grewal (Oakville/Kings Christian Collegiate) and Connors also stepped up big on the defensive side, totaling five steals.
Waterloo will now ride their two game win streak and 3-7 record into the break hoping to build on it when they open the New Year on the road in Sault Ste. Marie with a pair of games against the Algoma Thunderbirds.
