Huskies edge Varsity Reds in pre-season match
September 30, 2011
In their first game in the Richard J. CURRIE CENTER the UNB Varsity Reds would lose a tight battle, 82-78.
Although UNB went down early in the first quarter they would go point for point with SMU, taking their first lead 11-9 over the Huskies. The Varsity Reds would hang onto the lead through the quarter, leading 23-21 after one quarter.
In the second quarter the Varsity Reds opened the scoring, with three points before SMU bounced back with a pair of baskets to take a 27-26 lead. UNB responded with five more, taking a 31-27 lead. UNB would continue to press, pushing their lead to 11 points at 40-29.
Continuing their success in controlling the game they took a 45-38 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter SMU would open up the second half with a 7-0 run to tie UNB. They would trade baskets until SMU opened up 6-0 run to take a 55-49 lead. The Varsity Reds would bonce back after another SMU basket to go on a 7-0 run to take the lead back before the end of the quarter, taking a 58-57 lead into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter UNB and SMU would trade baskets before the Varsity Reds’ offense came to life again with a 9-0 run to open their lead to eight points.
The Huskies would put together a run of their own, pulling to within one point. UNB would continued to hold the upper hand until a pair of back-to-back SMU baskets saw the Huskies take a narrow one point lead, 74-73.
Coming down to the wire, the Varsity Reds would fall just short of the victory, 82-78.
Varsity Reds head coach Brent Baker would have liked to have started off the season with a ‘W’, but because it is early he likes the close finish.
“I think we’re still trying to get to know each others names right now,” he said. “There are a lot of different combinations and a lot of young guys that haven’t been at this level. We had five guys on the floor tonight that hadn’t played a CIS basketball game before so it’s just one of those things.”
Since coming to UNB, Baker has improved the Varsity Reds basketball program, taking them to the playoffs last season after four years of missing the “second season.” Losing by four points early in the year with a young team has him hoping for another successful playoff run this season.
“We’ve had basically two weeks of practice,” he said. “I’m not totally disappointed; I’m not bent out of shape or anything like that. I’m disappointed we lost, but I’m not going to say it’s the worst thing that could have happened to us.”
“We’ve got another 35-40 games to go and so we’d like to kick it off with a win, but I’m pretty happy with the fact we’ve got seven or eight new bodies and we competed at that level. We’ve got some stuff to grow on and we’ve got some things to learn.”
Earlier in the day Carleton beat Laval 104-48. Tomorrow Saint Mary’s will take on Laval at 6 p.m., while UNB will have the tough task of trying to beat Carleton. The tipoff for the Varsity Reds game is 8 p.m.
Although UNB went down early in the first quarter they would go point for point with SMU, taking their first lead 11-9 over the Huskies. The Varsity Reds would hang onto the lead through the quarter, leading 23-21 after one quarter.
In the second quarter the Varsity Reds opened the scoring, with three points before SMU bounced back with a pair of baskets to take a 27-26 lead. UNB responded with five more, taking a 31-27 lead. UNB would continue to press, pushing their lead to 11 points at 40-29.
Continuing their success in controlling the game they took a 45-38 lead into halftime.
In the third quarter SMU would open up the second half with a 7-0 run to tie UNB. They would trade baskets until SMU opened up 6-0 run to take a 55-49 lead. The Varsity Reds would bonce back after another SMU basket to go on a 7-0 run to take the lead back before the end of the quarter, taking a 58-57 lead into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter UNB and SMU would trade baskets before the Varsity Reds’ offense came to life again with a 9-0 run to open their lead to eight points.
The Huskies would put together a run of their own, pulling to within one point. UNB would continued to hold the upper hand until a pair of back-to-back SMU baskets saw the Huskies take a narrow one point lead, 74-73.
Coming down to the wire, the Varsity Reds would fall just short of the victory, 82-78.
Varsity Reds head coach Brent Baker would have liked to have started off the season with a ‘W’, but because it is early he likes the close finish.
“I think we’re still trying to get to know each others names right now,” he said. “There are a lot of different combinations and a lot of young guys that haven’t been at this level. We had five guys on the floor tonight that hadn’t played a CIS basketball game before so it’s just one of those things.”
Since coming to UNB, Baker has improved the Varsity Reds basketball program, taking them to the playoffs last season after four years of missing the “second season.” Losing by four points early in the year with a young team has him hoping for another successful playoff run this season.
“We’ve had basically two weeks of practice,” he said. “I’m not totally disappointed; I’m not bent out of shape or anything like that. I’m disappointed we lost, but I’m not going to say it’s the worst thing that could have happened to us.”
“We’ve got another 35-40 games to go and so we’d like to kick it off with a win, but I’m pretty happy with the fact we’ve got seven or eight new bodies and we competed at that level. We’ve got some stuff to grow on and we’ve got some things to learn.”
Earlier in the day Carleton beat Laval 104-48. Tomorrow Saint Mary’s will take on Laval at 6 p.m., while UNB will have the tough task of trying to beat Carleton. The tipoff for the Varsity Reds game is 8 p.m.