Men’s basketball Wolves lose back-to-back games, falling to 1-4 on the season
The men’s basketball Wolves got blown out in the second half by the George Brown Huskies in a loss at home on Saturday after losing in overtime at La Cité the previous night.
The two losses dropped the Wolves’ season record to 1-4.
The first game of the back-to-back started with an even first quarter with the Wolves and La Cité Coyotes trading buckets. The Wolves eventually took a one-point lead heading into the second quarter.
With the Wolves being down midway through the second quarter by seven, head coach Trevor Costello took a timeout and made adjustments to put more pressure on the Coyotes’ backcourt. The adjustments weren’t enough as the Wolves found themselves down 36-30 at the half.
The Wolves had a hot start in the third quarter as they went on a 6-0 run to tie it up in less than three minutes by forcing turnovers and getting points near the net. As the quarter went along, both teams made shot after shot leading to the Wolves ending the quarter down one.
Early in the fourth quarter, Wolves forward Devonte Brooks tackled a Coyotes player, causing Brooks to be disqualified from the game.
From that point on, the Coyotes started gaining momentum. Shooting efficiently from the three-point line and getting stops on the defensive end, the Wolves would find themselves in a deficit as large as 10 points.
With less than three minutes until the final buzzer, the Wolves were down 60-51, hoping for a miracle. Slowly but surely, the Wolves got ever so slightly closer to a comeback, making the Coyotes go scoreless for the rest of the game and making baskets on the other end.
With 14.8 seconds on the clock, the Coyotes were inbounding the ball while up by three. As a pass was thrown in the corner, guard CJ Gallaza ran from behind to tip it and was fouled, Gallaza went to the free throw line and made both shots.
After a Coyotes timeout, they turned over the ball on an inbound play. As the Wolves were on the run, Simon Desta who was fouled with 6.4 seconds to go. Desta made the first one to tie but missed the second to take the lead. The Coyotes threw an airball a midrange and both teams were heading to overtime.
In overtime, the Wolves couldn’t get anything going their way as they let the Coyotes score 15 points, while the Wolves only scored five points with their only field goal coming in the last seven seconds of the game.
On the next evening, the Wolves played the top-seeded Huskies at the Jack Doyle Athletic and Recreation Centre.
The Wolves were down 38-35 going into the half after a three-point buzzer-beater by guard Carter Normand with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
The Wolves’ lack of size was a factor against the towering Huskies. The home team was unable to get any stops, while the Huskies couldn’t stop making shots. The Wolves were down 63-50 at the of the third quarter.
The rest was history. The Wolves found themselves down as much as 24 in the fourth quarter and lost the game 87-70.
“Devastated from yesterday’s loss (against La Cité). Guy hits free throw and that’s our game,” said Costello, talking about the overtime loss against the Coyotes.
When it came to his team’s efforts against the Huskies, Costello said: “We battled great for the first half and then just lost our focus a little bit.”
Guard Riley Partington, who played one minute versus the Coyotes, showed great defensive intensity versus the Huskies leading to 17 minutes played and had a similar reaction to both games.
“Last night we had it in the bag,” said Wolves guard Riley Partington, reflecting on the game against La Cité.
Partington said the game gave the Wolves “a bit of firepower” going into the game against the Huskies.
“George Brown is one of the top-ranked teams in the country right now,” said Partington. “It was a battle and we were ready for it. Felt like George Brown came out slow in the beginning but soon after they were able to pull away.”
The Wolves’ next game is scheduled for Nov. 17 at home versus the Fleming Knights.
