Baker's boys have a tall order

AUS basketball | V-Reds face top offence tonight, top defence tomorrow

The University of New Brunswick men's basketball squad was dealt a heavy blow with the long term loss of veteran Colin Swift, likely gone for the season with an unspecified injury, and Daniel Quiron, who is recovering from a foot injury. Despite the return of reigning Atlantic University Sport rookie of the year Will McFee, the offence has been stagnant and the defence overwhelmed during a losing streak that stretched to six games with a pair of losses to the St. Francis Xavier X-Men to open the second half of the AUS men's basketball schedule last weekend in Antigonish, N.S.

It doesn't get any easier: the Varsity Reds get set to host the conference's top offence, the University of Prince Edward Island, tonight at 8 p.m. and then the top defence, Acadia, on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Richard J. Currie Center: two four-point games that could erase a forgettable first half.

Both are on the back end of a hoop twinbill at the Currie centre: Jeff Speedy's Varsity Reds women's squad, fresh off a 74-66 win over the St. Francis Xavier X-Women which salvaged a split of the road trip, host the cellardwelling UPEI Panthers tonight at 6 p.m. and the Acadia Axewomen tomorrow night in a 6 p.m. tipoff.

The win last Sunday allowed the V-Reds to sneak past the 1-7 Panthers in the standings. A win in tonight's fourpointer would allow them to build their first winning streak of the season.

Meanwhile the 2-6 men's squad, coming off a rough two-loss weekend at StFX, have collected eight points so far in the 2011-12 Atlantic University Sport campaign. They all came from a pair of four-point victories over Memorial to open the season. The one weekend of solid play has kept the Reds in the hunt, sitting two points out of the final playoff spot and four points behind second place UPEI (6-2) and third place Acadia (3-3).

As head coach Brent Baker is handed a new set of regulars, the spotlight is thrust upon sophomores Robert Linton, Jordan Irvine and McFee and rookies Aaron O'Brien and Matthew Daley, with fifth-year veteran Alex DesRoches anchoring the squad. A learning curve has been set for the youthful group from the get-go. However, the Reds coach said his players are starting to come around.

'I think those guys are getting it,' Baker said. 'I think those guys are starting to understand. As (assistant coach) Don MacNeil likes to say, from high school to the AUS it's not one step, it's two steps. I think they're making that step.' The next step is execution, and the Reds will be put to the test Friday night against a high-tempo UPEI offence. Fifth-years Jonathan Cooper and Manock Lual have been stellar for the Panthers this season, averaging 19.8 and 16.9 points a game, respectively. Third-year guard Donathan Moss is not to be outdone, picking up 18.8 points per game as well.

he Panthers employ a shoot-first mentality and pose a threat to the Reds' poor transition game. Baker said controlling possession and dictating the pace is imperative against a team like UPEI.

'If they dictate, we're not going to win a shootout with that team,' he said.

'They take the most shots out of any team going. You know, the old adage of 'let's play this type of style.' The biggest thing is that you have to dictate tempo. No matter who many bombs they hit or shots they take, you got to play your own game.' Baker joked that possession was nine-tenths of the law. Yet, it still translates to basketball, and the game plan is to make sure the ball doesn't fall in the hands of the Panthers' shooters.

'We have to make sure we take care of the ball and do the little things because we're not the team that can spot a lead and press to get back in a game,' he said. 'We have to maintain striking distance when you have this type of team.' Saturday will see a more defensive Acadia squad enter the Richard J. Currie Center, with their centerpiece being 6-foot-10 forward Owen Klassen. The big man has been huge, literally and figuratively, for the Axemen this season, averaging 10.9 rebounds and 14.3 points per game.

Despite the magnitude of the weekend, Baker stays cool, saying the squad is focused on the present and on getting better.

'We have to play the game in front of us and see what we get,' said Baker. 'Our whole goal last weekend was to go down there and play well, and we did not play well on Friday. I thought we accounted for it in the second game and coming off that I think our guys are a little more primed.' Their strong play during Citadins Classic in Montreal over the break has also helped boost morale in the locker room, in spite of what appears on paper.

'I think we're kind of upbeat, to be quite truthful,' said Baker.

'I'm excited at the prospect of these guys getting better with every game.'