VANCOUVER – The Ryerson men’s basketball team defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 85-78 in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) third-place game to earn its second consecutive bronze medal.
Led by guard Aaron Best’s 14 points, six rebounds and three steals, the Rams were able to control the pace from the opening quarter.
In his last game as a Ryerson Ram, Best won player of the game.
Rams pose at centre court with their supporters at the University of British Columbia after winning their second bronze medal in a row at the national championships on March 20.
(Courtesy Twitter/@ryersonrams)
Centre Adam Voll came to play while the usual starter Kadeem Green was unable to play due to a knee injury.
Voll finished with nine points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. He had been sidelined all weekend with a flu.
“We’ve been thinking about Adam for so long. When is he going to flourish, when is he going to blossom?” said Patrick Tatham, interim head coach of the Ryerson Rams. “Today was that day I suppose, and hopefully it leads into next year. We will wait and see.”
Four players reached double figures in points, with the leader being JV Mukama with 15.
“I thought the guys, they were resilient in that game. It was amazing to watch,” Tatham said. “JV made some shots, a couple guys grabbed some rebounds. We made championship plays.”
The sixth-seeded Dalhousie Tigers finished fourth. Their head coach Rick Plato had nothing but positive words for his team.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t say how proud I am of these guys,” Plato said. “This team, collectively and individually, their heart was amazing.”
After losing the semifinal game against the University of Calgary, some of the players spoke about how they bounced back to bring the bronze medal back home with them to Toronto.
“We got to the hotel and a lot of guys were a bit down,” said Rams guard Adika Peter-McNeilly.
“Every person is different. For me it took me a couple hours. I took a long shower and thought about the game. We still have a chance to win a medal. We don’t want to go all the way back without a medal.”
