The University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's basketball team traveled to St. Catharines on Saturday (Oct. 31) night, ending a two-game road trip with a hard-fought 79-73 win over the Brock Badgers.
The Blues came out shooting the leather off the ball in the first quarter, cleaning up the boards effectively and putting up outstanding percentages at 63.2 per cent from the field and 62.5 per cent from three. Though, offensively, Toronto struggled in the second quarter, their paint protection garnered four blocks that limited Brock's ability to score, and the Blues held on to a six-point lead going into the half. With eight assists in the third quarter the Blues distributed the ball beautifully, and despite a fourth quarter pushback from the Badgers, Toronto would hold the lead from start to finish to claim the win.
Second-year guard Mikey Ballout led an extremely effective starting five with a game-high 27 points, including six timely three-point field goals to keep momentum growing for Toronto. Fifth-year centre Nigel Hylton added a 14 point and 10 rebound double-double, along with five assists and no turnovers. Fourth-year forward Simeon Jeffers notched 15 points and six rebounds, first-year guard Andrew Dangelas notched 14 points, seven assists, and two steals, and third-year forward Lukas Prekovic rounded out the Blues starting five adding another nine points and 10 rebounds.
Brock was led by Zach Hawley with 24 points in 25 minutes. Birch Pockar notched double-digits with 12 points, four rebounds, and 2 assists, while Andrew McKenna added 13 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, shooting 54.5 per cent from the floor.
Up next, the Blues host the TMU Bold at home on Wednesday (Nov 4) for the first leg of the annual Metro Hoops Classic, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at
varsityblues.ca/tickets, with the game available to stream on
OUA.tv. U of T students receive free entry for the home contest with a valid T-Card.
