It was an exceptional battle between two evenly-matched teams but in the end the Laurentian Voyageurs defeated the Concordia Stingers 77-65 in the championship game of the 48th annual Nike Men’s Basketball Tournament on Saturday.
The teams were tied 27-27 at intermission, but Laurentian pulled ahead in the last half thanks to a strong third quarter that saw the Vees outscore the Stingers 24-15.
The Voyageurs’ Alex Ratte was instrumental in delivering the victory. He chipped in with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Mukiya Post with 18 points and Jean-André Moussignac with 15 points were the Stingers’ biggest offensive threats. Zach Brisebois collected nine rebounds and seven points to help out.
In the consolation game, the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks defeated the Memorial Sea-Hawks 86-64.
The tournament all-star team is as follows: Vasilije Curcic, Memorial; Will Coulthard, Wilfrid Laurier; Tychon Carter Newman, Laurentian and Concordia’s Jean-André Moussignac.
The tournament MVP was Laurentian’s Alex Ratte.
The preseason action continues for the Stingers next weekend when they travel to Vancouver to compete at the University of British Columbia tournament. They are back in action at Concordia gym on Friday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. with an exhibition match versus the Ottawa Gee-Gees.
