MacEwan Athletics and TRU Athletics
EDMONTON – With a late surge to open up a double-digit lead in the dying minutes, the MacEwan Griffins earned an 86-73 win on Saturday night that salvaged a split out of a weekend Canada West men's basketball series at Thompson Rivers University.
Deonte Doslov-Doctor continued his amazing rise from redshirt status a year ago as he led the Griffins with 19 points, including going 4-for-9 from behind the arc. The third-year Edmonton product added four steals, two assists and two rebounds in 21 minutes of action.
Third-year point guard Adonis Monfort-Palomino also shone, nearly recording a double-double with 15 points and nine assists, while adding five rebounds and two steals.
"I think it was our general effort and energy to do small things," Griffins head coach Eric Magdanz said on the improvement from a 21-point loss in Friday's season opener. "We really emphasized wanting to win the rebounding battle. We had so many extra efforts to put us in a position to do that. We held them to three offensive rebounds after giving up 17 the night before."
MacEwan had 11 offensive rebounds. They also did better in the shooting department, particularly from the three-point line, going 15 for 37.
"It was one of our keys, too," said Magdanz. "We had to catch the ball ready to shoot every single time. We recognize that people are going to challenge us to see if we could make shots. The first way to challenge them is be ready to shoot."
Fifth-year veteran Ryan Coleman, who led the Griffins all preseason, chipped in 14 points, while second-year wing Jake Notice had 12 points and six rebounds, and third-year forward Atlas St. Paul-Butler scored 11 points to go with four boards. Third-year wing Ali Raza had eight rebounds and two blocks, while second-year wing Dustin Gatzki also grabbed eight boards in a complete team-effort victory.
"They made some shots, but also I didn't think we fulfilled our defensive responsibilities and assignments," said TRU head coach Scott Clark. "That is good enough to get you beat. MacEwan was better than us today and the score showed that."
The Griffins (1-1) now return to Edmonton for their home opener against Lethbridge Nov. 3-4 (8 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, Atkinson Gym).
