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Strong play helps Voyageurs split weekend games

The Laurentian Voyageurs men's basketball team strung together their best back-to-back performances of the season at home last weekend.
The Laurentian Voyageurs men's basketball team strung together their best back-to-back performances of the season at home last weekend.

And while the team walked away with only a split, the knowledge that they can go toe-to-toe with some of the OUA heavyweights prepares them well for the eight remaining regular season games, not to mention the playoffs.

Facing the Central Division leading McMaster Marauders on Jan. 16, the blue and gold came up just shy of pulling off a noteworthy upset, dropping a tight 83-80 decision at the Ben Avery Gym.

A quick start allowed the Voyageurs to jump on the Marauders early, up 29-14 after ten minutes of play, only to see the visitors close the gap to 46-40 by the time the half-time buzzer sounded.

Continuing to chip away at the LU advantage, McMaster made it a three-point game heading to the final quarter, closing things off with a nice run and aggressive shooting game. The Marauders almost doubled up on three-pointers over LU, lobbing 27 to the Voyageurs' 15.

Thankfully for coach Shawn Swords and company, the Voyageurs were more efficient in shooting overall, posting a shooting percentage of 43.7 per cent versus McMaster's 39.2 per cent.

The Voyageurs leaned heavily on Tychon Carter-Newman (27 pts), Ryan Bennett (24) and Sam Hirst (17), while a more balanced Mac attack featured four players in double digits.

Rebounds were almost dead even (45 to 41 for McMaster).

Despite the close loss the previous evening, the Voyageurs were able to collect themselves on Saturday, once again starting strong and recording an 89-81 triumph over the Brock Badgers.

While Hirst (27 pts) and Carter-Newman (24) were again front and centre offensively for LU, secondary scoring came courtesy of David Aromolaran and Bennett, with 11 points apiece.

Both teams now sit with records of 4-7.

While the Voyageurs are safely through to the post-season thanks to the poor play of the struggling Nipissing Lakers (0-10), post-season placement will be key if Laurentian is to try and avoid the likes of Carleton and Ottawa in a possible second-round playoff matchup.

The Voyageurs have a nice window of opportunity to string together some victories, facing Nipissing in a home-and-home set that sees LU travelling to North Bay on Jan. 23, with the Lakers returning the favour on Jan. 31.

The locals will then face another stiff test at home Feb. 6 and 7, with the Windsor Lancers (7-3) and Western Mustangs (8-3) providing the opposition. The Voyageurs close out the 2014-2015 campaign with four straight battles on the road, facing Laurier, Waterloo, Carleton and Ottawa.

Rim Shots: For his efforts in the two game homestand, Tychon Carter-Newman was recognized as the Pioneer Energy OUA Male Athlete of the Week. The Laurentian workhorse ranks third in the league in minutes played, averaging 33.5 per game, posting career bests in scoring (15.6 PPG) and rebounds (7.5 per game).

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