EDMONTON, Alta. – The Ontario Tech University men's basketball team was put to the test over the Thanksgiving weekend with three games in three days in Alberta.
They may have left with three losses, but as they prepare for their inaugural season the early games have allowed the squad to learn a lot over a short period of time.
Friday night against the Alberta Golden Bears at the annual Golden Bear Invitational the Ridgebacks opened with a 93-59 loss.
Graddy Kanku (Ottawa, Ont.) dropped a game-high 22 points to lead Ontario Tech.
Ammar Hassan (London, Ont.) was close to a double-double with nine points and eight boards in the loss.
For Alberta, they were led by Brody Clarke's 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The next day, also at the University of Alberta, Ontario Tech fell 97-81 to the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Kanku and Hassan had 20 point games, while Hassan also led the team with 12 rebounds.
Scott Mazutinec finished with a game-high 24 points for the Pronghorns in the victory, while Chad Oviatt (12 points & 11 boards) and Colton Gibb (14 points & 12 boards) both had double-doubles for Lethbridge.
Ontario Tech wrapped up the weekend at MacEwan with a 100-76 loss to the Griffins.
With a similar story line, Kanku had a game-high 24 points for Ontario Tech, while Hassan and
Rahsean Neil-Simpson (Mississauga, Ont.) finished with 16 and 13 points respectively.
The Griffins offence was well distributed as Abdullah Shittu, Denote Doslove-Doctor and Jake Notice each had 14 points in their victory.
Ontario Tech will now build towards their OUA debut, which is slated for Friday, Oct. 25 in Sudbury against the Laurentian Voyageurs.
Overall Record: 0-5
Conference Record: 0-0
Next Game: Friday, Oct. 26 @ Laurentian Voyageurs (8 p.m. – Sudbury, Ont.)
