Despite comeback attempt, Algonquin Wolves lose third straight

The Seneca Sting held on for their third win in a row during a close battle of men’s college basketball against the Algonquin Wolves on Nov. 25 at Seneca.

The Sting’s Aron Cortes put home a three-point jump shot with just over a minute left in the game to make it a seven-point advantage for Seneca.

Moments later though, the Wolves’ Sydney Abdedi Okongo responded with a three-point shot of his own.

Suddenly, it was a close game with less than 40 seconds remaining.

After a timeout by Algonquin College, one of the Wolves’ sharpshooters would chomp even more into Seneca’s lead, as CJ Gallaza made his 12th point of the day with a clutch three-point shot to cut the Sting lead to one with 16 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately, that’s where the comeback attempt would end, as the score of 69-68 would hold after a missed three-point shot by Eddie Laurent in the game’s dying seconds.

Algonquin College fell to 2-7 on the year after losing their last three games.

Wolves head coach Trevor Costello did not hold back when asked about his team’s defence this season.

“We’re not hungry enough. Some of our guys just aren’t hungry enough yet. We’re trying to motivate guys. You can’t really teach that. It’s tough to teach. Some guys just have it in their DNA, and some of our guys don’t have it,” Costello said.

While the Wolves did ultimately fall, Costello is still hopeful about what the future of the program holds as the team hits the halfway point of the season.

“We could easily go six and two or seven and one in the winter semester, I’m definitely optimistic going into the second half,” Costello said.

“Every team has their issues, but winning covers up a lot of those issues. When you lose, those issues are exaggerated a little bit,” Costello added.

The difference-maker of the game had to do with points scored on second opportunities, as Seneca dominated Algonquin in this space, depositing 14 points on second-chance opportunities, while the Wolves only put home four points.

“We’ve got to put more effort into boxing guys out and keeping them off the boards,” Costello said.

Gallaza, who hit a crucial three-point shot in the final minute of the contest, believes the team needs to improve defensively.

“I think our team needs to focus on the defensive end of the floor, we have the tools to be a great offensive team, now it will come down to who wants it on the floor,” Gallaza said.

Algonquin’s next game tips off on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. against Le Cité Coyotes at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre.