QUARTER-FINAL #3 CIS championship: MVP Barrett leads champs past hometown favourites

Photo credit Nick Pearce

HALIFAX (CIS) – Canada West MVP Jamelle Barrett scored 27 points and added 11 assists as the third-seeded University of Saskatchewan Huskies opened the defence of their national title with a 91-79 win over the No. 6 Dalhousie Tigers in the third quarter-final of the CIS men’s basketball championship, Friday evening, at the Halifax Metro Centre.
 
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mbkb
 
The Canada West finalist Huskies, who captured the first W.P. McGee Trophy in program history a year ago in Ottawa thanks to a 91-81 gold medal victory over of UBC, advance to Saturday’s late semifinal at 8 p.m. AST where they will face either No. 2 Carleton or No. 7 Concordia.
 
Atlantic conference champion Dalhousie, which was playing in front of a large partisan crowd, moves on to the consolation side and will take the court at 2:15 p.m. against the losers of the Carleton-Concordia first-round matchup.
 
With Saskatchewan trailing 37-36 at halftime, Barrett took the game over in the last 20 minutes scoring 18 points after the break and feeding his teammates with a number of brilliant passes. The California native, who finished with 11 assists to complete his double-double, was named player of the match for his effort.
 
“It was a solid team performance,” said the third-year guard, in his first season with the Huskies after starting his college career in the US. “We didn’t panic at all after the first half. We knew Dalhousie had a good team and they’d be playing in front of their fans. We were well prepared.”
 
“Jamelle showed why, in my opinion, he’s the best player in the country,” said interim head coach Barry Rawlyk. “He controlled the game in the second half, especially after Rejean Chabot fouled out.”
 
Michael Lieffers, a 6-foot-8 forward from Saskatoon, was equally dominant for the winners, winning numerous battles under the glass on his way to a 19-point, 17-rebound performance.
 
Chabot, a fifth-year guard from Saskatoon, also scored 19 points before fouling out after 31 minutes on the court.
 
Dalhousie was paced by 6-foot-9 forward Joseph Schow of Medicine Hat, Alta., who had 24 points and 13 boards, as well as fellow fifth-year senior Simon Farine of Toronto, who played all 40 minutes and ended with 22 points.
 
“We broke down defensively in the second half,” said Farine. “Giving up 91 points is way too much. It’s very unlike us.”
 
Dalhousie was up 17-15 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a late jumper by Peter Leighton of Halifax, another fifth-year veteran.
 
The Tigers quickly increased their lead to seven points early in the second frame but Saskatchewan came back to tie it at 29 all on a three-pointer by Chabot, and then went ahead by five, at 36-31, on back-to-back baskets by Lieffers, who benefited from a pair of great feeds by Barrett.
 
The hometown favourites closed the half on a 6-0 run however, including a long three by Farine, to go into the locker room with a slim 37-36 advantage.
 
The first 20 minutes featured eight ties and five lead changes.
 
The Huskies opened the second half on a 4-0 run to go up 40-37 and never trailed again.
 
They had their biggest lead of the third quarter at 62-54 before ending the period with a 62-57 advantage.
 
And then the Jamelle Barrett show began.
 
The spectacular 5-foot-10 guard, who this season became the first player in Canada West history to lead the conference in points, assists and steals on his way to first-team all-Canadian status, turned a turnover into an easy layup to make it 70-61 Saskatchewan.
 
After the Tigers came back to within four, at 70-66, Barrett scored on another layup to make it 72-66, added a bucket and a foul shot to up the lead to 75-66, and then fed the ball under the basket to Lieffers, who made it 77-67 with a thunderous dunk.
 
With Saskatchewan holding on to a seven-point cushion with just over two minutes to go, Barrett sealed the victory with a jumper and a sensational behind-the-back pass to Nolan Brudhel, who was fouled on the play and completed the three-point play with a free throw. 
 
STAT LEADERS
 
Saskatchewan
Points: Jamelle Barrett (27), Michael Lieffers (19), Rejean Chabot (19)
Rebounds: Michael Lieffers (17), Chris Unsworth (6)
Assists: Jamelle Barrett (11), Rejean Chabot (4)
 
Player of the game: Jamelle Barrett
 
Dalhousie
Points: Joseph Schow (24), Simon Farine (22), Juleous Grant (10)
Rebounds: Joseph Schow (13), Robert Nortman (9)
Assists: Simon Farine (8)
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ATLANTIC TIME)
 
Friday, March 11
 
Quarter-final #1: UBC 96, Acadia 77
Quarter-final #2: Trinity Western 82, Lakehead 74
Quarter-final #3: Saskatchewan 91, Dalhousie 79
20:15 Quarter-final #4: No. 7 Concordia vs. No. 2 Carleton (Live on TSN2)
 
Saturday, March 12
 
12:00 Consolation #1: Acadia vs.Lakehead
14:15 Consolation #2: Dalhousie vs. Loser QF #4
17:00 Semifinal #1: UBC vs. Trinity Western (TSN2 – tape delayed to 20:00 AST)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Saskatchewan vs. Winner QF #4 (TSN2 – tape delayed to 22:00 AST)
 
Sunday, March 13
 
10:30 Consolation final (5th place)
13:15 Bronze medal game (SSN Canada webcast)
17:00 Championship final (TSN2 – tape delayed to 19:00 AST)
 
-CIS-