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| Wedemire vs Guelph |
Western Gazette Report by Arden Zwelling
They double-teamed him, they fouled him and they played him so aggressively he went crashing to the floor on more than one occasion.
But Saturday afternoon there would be no stopping Andrew Wedemire — wonky ankle or not.
“That’s expected from Guelph. It’s always a clutch and grab, grind it out type of game,” Wedemire said after his Mustangs sent the Gryphons packing with a commanding 74-60 win, improving Western’s playoff chances while pushing Guelph’s to the brink at the same time.
Despite playing with a nagging ankle injury, the fifth-year forward led the Mustangs with 27 hard-earned points and 12 rebounds in 33 physical minutes of play. He went to the free throw line 12 times as the Gryphons continually fouled the 6’6 All-Canadian under the basket.
Wedemire is being counted on to play a big role now that Garret Olexiuk and Adam Jespersen — the Mustangs two next best big men — are out of the lineup with injuries.
Averaging 22 points and eight rebounds over his past five games, Wedemire is certainly rising to the occasion.
“It’s something that’s asked of me and it’s something that I’ll try and do for this team,” Wedemire said of the added pressure. “The team is looking for leadership and that’s what we (the team’s veteran players) are trying to provide late in the season because we know how tough it gets at the end of the year.”
Joining Wedemire in providing that leadership was fifth-year guard Brett Lawrence, who had 12 points on five of six shooting off the bench, and fourth-year point guard Ryan Bar beau, whose 11 points were underscored by the litany of intangibles he provided that don’t show up on stat sheets.
“Ryan did an outstanding job today of controlling the tempo, and running the game and managing it,” Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell said. “That’s exactly what we need from him. Although he didn’t overwhelm you with stats today, he did a fantastic job from the point.”
For the Mustangs, it was their third win in their last four games and lifts them to a .500 record and a tie with McMaster for fourth in the crowded Ontario University Athletics West division standings.
That makes Wednesday’s game against the Marauders in Hamilton all the more important as the Mustangs try to control their own destiny in the playoffs.
A loss to the Marauders Wednesday would put the Mustangs in an uncertain situation as two of their final three games come against the first place Lakehead Thunderwolves.
“We just need outright wins. We want to avoid being tied with anyone,” Wedemire said. “We’ll be happy as long as we don’t have to sit there on the last day and see if we make it in by point spread or not. You don’t want to do that.”
Playing defence like they did Saturday afternoon will certainly help the Mustangs earn the three wins they will likely need to reach that goal.
Western held Guelph to 35 per cent shooting from the field, and just 18 points in the first half, contesting every Gryphons shot opportunity and pushing the tempo early.
“I think we definitely set the tone,” Campbell said of his team’s defence. “That was out biggest point to start the game. We had to come out and set the pace and let Guelph know in the first five minutes of the game that nothing was going to be easy.”
The Gryphons tried in vain to mount a comeback in the latter 20 minutes as fourth-year guard Michael Petrella poured in 30 of his team-leading 32 points in the second half alone.
But Wedemire had a big second half of his own, scoring 20 points and getting to the free throw line 11 times.
Quinn Henderson was also key, hitting two clutch three pointers in the second half and grabbing a pair of crucial offensive rebounds late in the fourth quarter to extend Mustang possessions and stifle any semblance of a Gryphons comeback.
With the help of Henderson, the Mustangs would end up out-rebounding the Gryphons 34-27 in the game, only the second time in their last seven games that the Mustangs have out-rebounded an opponent. The last time it happened was in early January against these same Gryphons.
“One of our biggest points every game is to win the battle of the board,” Campbell said. “If you can do that, you have a great chance to win.”
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