The Wolves men’s basketball ended their three-game home stretch in a heartbreaking loss against St. Lawrence Surge on Jan. 20, scoring 79-76 in a game with 19 total lead changes.
The Wolves started the game hot with 22 points, 10 of which came from guard Simon Desta.
They kept it going in the second quarter, making two out of six of their three-point attempts and dominating around the basket.
After the Surge shot 53 per cent from the field in the third quarter, they took their highest lead of the game of eight points. After being down six points going into the fourth and final quarter, the momentum switched and the Wolves took their largest lead of eight points.
The Wolves were right there with St. Lawrence the entire game, with the game being tied a total of eight times.
It was a big fourth quarter for Wolves’ forward Devonte Brooks, who had scored 12 points, all coming from under the rim.
Brooks recovered three big offensive rebounds and two big block shots to give momentum to the Wolves.
The Wolves had the momentum for most of the fourth quarter, making 11 out of 20 of their shot attempts.
After a little skirmish in the fourth quarter, which stopped play for a good 10 minutes, the momentum switched again, and St. Lawrence completely took over the game, with the Surge’s making six out of eight of free throws attempts in the fourth quarter.
The Wolves made a grim 39.7 per cent of their shot attempts, which ended up hurting them by the end of the game.
“We basically shot the game away,” said Desta.
The Wolves couldn’t capitalize on turnovers like the Surge could: they had 16 points coming off a turnover, six of them coming in the fourth quarter.
“I think there were a lot of positive things that came out of today,” said Carter Normand, a Wolves guard. “We started playing very well as a team, but basketball is a game of runs, and they just had the last one.”
The Wolves’ lone bright spot came from Desta, recording 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Wolves forward Devonte Brooks, who had a significant presence under the basket offensively , recording 17 points, 14 rebounds. Brooks also made his presence felt defensively, recording three blocked shots.
Momentum was the most significant factor in this game, and the Wolves couldn’t seem to hold on to it in this final quarter.
Wolves are now coming off two heartbreaking losses of three points or less.
The Wolves will look to end their three – game losing streak on the road on Jan. 26, 2024, against the George Brown Huskies and on Jan. 27, 2024, against the Centennial Colts.