UTM Men’s Division 1 basketball team came out on top, beating the UTSC Maroons 67-60 on Monday, November 28 in the UTM main court. The win extends their regular season winning streak to five games, and gives them an overall record of 7-1.
The Eagles started off the game slow, with sloppy plays and turnovers on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. UTSC came out strong and led after the first quarter. The second quarter was a lot better for the Eagles, as they picked up their play with a great defensive effort, ultimately shutting down the opposing team. UTM thanks their bench players for stepping up and creating the spark, outscoring their opponents 22-8.
The offensive found their scoring flow in the third quarter. The Eagles ran through their strategic plays effectively and held their ground on defense, again scoring more points than UTSC.
UTSC proved to be their toughest competitors thus far, even though they lost to Woodsworth a few weeks ago by 13 points. The final minutes of the game was an all-out Eagles offensive attack. Their push in the final minutes is what ultimately helped them win by the close seven-point difference.
Greg Roberts has been the Eagles MVP so far this season, scoring points left, right and centre. In the three most competitive games of the season, he’s played some of his best basketball; against Woodsworth, he scored 28, against SMC-A, he scored 33, and in his most recent game against UTSC, he scored 25.
“Personally, I think I’ve been playing decently well so far. I worked hard this off-season to keep improving on my game, and it’s starting to pay off. Hopefully, I continue to improve as the year goes on and I build some momentum going forward into the OCAA next year,” says Roberts.
The mindset of all the players this season is “championship or bust.” They have the talent to win it all and the motivation to stay poised and compete with the recent news of being accepted into the OCAA next year. “I feel that we have a good team with the potential to win another championship again this year,” Roberts says. “Right now, we still have a lot of work to do to get to that level, but I like the progression that I’ve seen throughout the first half of the season.
“If we continue to work hard and progress, we’ll definitely be competing for a championship come March,” he adds.
The men return to action on Sunday, January 8 when they play Sheridan for a Varsity exhibition game. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
