After losing two games in a row to La-Cité and George Brown, the men’s basketball Wolves bounced back with a convincing 96-67 win against the Fleming Phoenix on Nov. 17.
The Wolves dominated Fleming throughout the game. The Phoenix scored first at 8:44, but the Wolves took a 7-5 lead early in the first quarter after a turnover and never looked back until the final buzzer.
Algonquin got out to a 20-7 lead with 3:08 left in the first, and after a Fleming timeout, the Wolves ended the first quarter with a 23-14 lead.
The game got closer around halftime. With the score 43-38, the Wolves needed to come out strong if they wanted to end their losing streak.
And they did it.
The third quarter was by far the Wolves’ best. They outscored the Phoenix 26-12, extending their lead to 69-50 going into the final frame. They finished strong, outscoring Fleming 27-17 in the fourth and taking the victory.
The Wolves were led by guard Simon Desta, who put up 16 points, and forward Devonte Brooks, who scored 15.
The win was a team effort — all 14 Wolves players recorded a point. The team made great shot selections, shooting an impressive 56.1 per cent from the field and 52.6 per cent from the three-point line.
The shooting percentage was the big difference between the two teams, with the Wolves shooting 15.3 points higher from the field and 2.6 points higher from three.
There was one concerning thing for the Wolves: they only made 12 out of the 22 free-throw attempts. However, Fleming hit 24 of 31 free throws.
The win marked a season-high in points for the Wolves. They surpassed their previous high score of 92 points, which they put up in their 92-90 win over Loyalist on Nov. 4.