Mens' & Women's basketball win bronze

Cougar Women
The Mount Royal Cougar women can hold their heads high after leaving everything out on the court in last weekend’s ACAC Championships.

The Cougars knew they were facing a formidable opponent Friday in the Grant MacEwan University Griffins. The Griffins finished the regular season with a 17-3 record, tied for tops in the North division with the Grand Prairie Regional College Wolves.

The Cougars battled the entire way, but came up one basket short of sending the game into overtime as they dropped a narrow 55-52 decision, ending their hopes for an ACAC Championship title.

With the back-and-forth affair tied for almost all of the games 40 minutes, the Cougars needed a defensive stop in the game’s final minute to secure their bid to the ACAC final.

Tied at 52-52, the Griffins’ hit a big three-pointer with 55 seconds left on the clock.
A pair of turnovers late the game gave the Cougars one last chance at tying the game as Nikki Golding heaved a three-point attempt from beyond the arc, only to find rim, sealing the narrow loss for the Cougars who dropped 55-52 in semi-final action.

In the bronze medal game, the Cougars met their cross-town rivals, the SAIT Trojans, and came out victorious with a 69-65 victory and an ACAC Bronze medal.

Up by one at half-time, 25-24, the game continued to be a seesaw battle, similar to Friday night’s game, with each team battling tooth and nail to secure the victory.

Eventually down by three at 38-35, the Cougars went on a tear to extend their lead to eight, 48-40, before allowing the Trojans back in, with SAIT taking their own lead at 58-57. The Cougars’ railed for seven straight points, to go up 65-58, before the giving up seven straight of their own to tie it at 65-65.

Cougars post Jamie Morck made a game winning layup inside with just over 35 seconds, while the Trojans shooting woes continued as they missed their opportunities late, thanks in part to the tenacious Cougars’ defense, before Morck hit a pair of free-throws to secure the 69-65 victory.

Morck, playing in her final game of her collegiate career, was an absolute beast, scoring 27 points, including the Cougars’ final six points, in addition to seven boards in the bronze victory.

Ultimately it was the Cougars’ poise and composure that helped them down the stretch, making key buckets and getting great defense when they needed it most.

For the women’s basketball team it’s their first ACAC medal since 2007-08 when they also beat the SAIT Trojans in the bronze medal match.

Congratulations to the women’s basketball team and best of luck to Jamie Morck in her post-collegiate athletic career!
Cougar Men
Though the weekend didn’t go exactly as planned, the Cougars men’s basketball team ended the season on a high note, claiming the ACAC bronze medal on Saturday, although undoubtedly disappointed after dropping Friday night’s semi-final.

Going in against the top ranked team and host of the ACAC Final Four, the Cougars knew it would be a tall test to knock down the NAIT Ooks (18-2), but having only dropped one game in the past three months, the Cougars looked up to the challenge.

The first-quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with plenty of second chance opportunities for both teams. The Ooks took the lead in the first break, up 22-18.

In the second-quarter, the Ooks Bol King, a 6-foot-8 first team all-conference guard started to make his impact on the game, collecting steals, blocks and offensive rebounds on his way to a 12 point first half.

Cam Dodd led the way into the break for the Cougars, dropping 10 points, as the blue and white trailed 45-34 headed into the third.

Despite trailing by eleven, the Cougars opened the third frame reenergized, as Jordan Hone began to find his touch, scoring five of his 15 points, as well as adding two assists as the Cougars narrowed the gap to eight points going into the fourth quarter.

Looking to make their mark in the game’s final ten minutes, the Cougars’ looked to continue their stellar play from the third-quarter, but the Ooks weren’t the first ranked team headed into the tournament for no reason.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Shane Cox and Bol King would extend the Ooks lead to dougle-digits, while the Cougars tried to keep pace in the games’ highest scoring quarter. |

The Cougs’ would catch a break in the fourth, as King would commit three early fouls, leading to a lengthy stretch on the pine, but teammate Reece Gavin picked up the slack as
the Ooks outscored the Cougars 32-27 in the final quarter and 95-82 overall.

Cam Dodd was the Cougars’ player of the game, collecting 24 points while Jared Cornish added in 12 points and five rebounds.

Bol King was the player of the game for the Ooks, collecting 27 points and seven rebounds, while five of his teammates scored in double-digits, showing the outstanding team depth of the Ooks squad.

With the loss, the Cougars moved onto to Saturday’s bronze medal match versus the Lakeland Rustlers who dropped 87-80 to the Lethbridge Kodiaks in Friday’s other semi-final matchup.

The Cougars and Rustlers had met once this season, on January 15th, with the Cougars cruising to a 71-56 win at home.

With four fifth-year athletes playing in their final game as Cougars’, coach Marc Dobell’s team wanted to go out with a win and win they did.

Using a 22 point, seven rebound effort from fifth-year Jordan Hone, the Cougars’ rebounded from Friday’s loss capping their season with the ACAC bronze medal.

Trailing by four after the first-quarter (17-21) the Cougars’ came out focused in the second and turned the tables, taking a two point lead into half-time after outscoring the Rustlers 24-18 in the second frame.

With the lead headed into the third-quarter the Cougars’ hoped to put the nail in the coffin and widen the gap, but it was the Rustlers’ who would play their best ball in the third, outscoring the Cougs’ 21-17 and taking a two point lead of their own into the final “Q”.

With the game on the line, Mount Royal came out guns blazing, connecting on 44 per cent of their shots from the field in the half, on their way to a 33-21 quarter and 91-81 victory.

Awet Abraha had his best game of the season, as the rookie guard collected 15 points,
while fifth-years Cam Dodd (five points), Nick Wiebe (seven points), Jerome Makasiar (two assists) all played admiarably in their final game as Cougars’.

With the win, thee Cougar men captured their first ACAC medal since the 2008-09 season when they won the ACAC and CCAA gold.

Congratulations to the men’s basketball team and thank you to all our fifth-year athletes for their hard work and dedication in making MRU Cougars Athletics one of the best.