Men's basketball | Ravens go 3-0 in tournament
The Eric Garland National tournament was a weekend for growth, learning and a chance for Brent Baker to warm up his vocal chords for the upcoming Atlantic University Sport season.
The head coach of the University New Brunswick Varsity Reds men's basketball squad was pleased, although a little hoarse, to see his club end the preseason event with a 76-71 win over the Laval Rouge et Or on Sunday at the Richard J. Currie Center.
The victory comes at an opportune time after a heartbreaking 82-78 loss on Friday to the Saint Mary's Huskies and a 91-53 Saturday night trouncing at the hands of the top team in the country, the Carleton Ravens.
"Any time you get a 'W' you take it at this level," said Baker. "We played a very competitive game. When it counted, we made shots and defended very well.
"I like where we're going. We're getting some good minutes out of a lot of people."
Among those people was tournament all-star Daniel Quirion. The third-year guard from Moncton scored 38 points over the three-game schedule, but was also a standout player for his individual efforts and leadership qualities when quarterbacking the offence.
Baker said Quirion is performing well in his new role after taking over for Andrew Wright at point guard.
"Danny is a constant student of the game and he's a great kid," Baker said.
Along with Quirion's notable play was first-year Michael Fosu. The six-foot-five, 245-pound power forward from Montreal rose above the other four rookies making their CIS debut this weekend, posting 29 points and 10 rebounds and over 20 minutes of playing time in every match.
Robert Linton, a six-foof-three guard from Coffs Harbour, Australia, also demonstrated why he wears a V-Reds jersey with his skills from beyond the arc. Linton shot 46.2 per cent from downtown over the weekend and drained two three-pointers to spark a 28-point third quarter in the win over Laval.
"It was really good to see him get it going because that's going to be a big asset for us down the stretch,"
Baker said.
The Reds bench boss said it was a good opportunity to get a look at his young squad and how they act as a team under pressure. During Friday night's loss to SMU, he said players were more concerned with their minutes than the task at hand.
"We we're the antithesis of team instead of being a team on Friday night."
Baker resolved the issue after the defeat and saw a much stronger team effort in the following games against Carleton and Laval.
"Even though you want to hang your head on a 40-point loss to Carleton, we did some good things, competing for every possession and that sorta thing," he said.
"The biggest thing with us is you have to establish an identity and that's what we wanted to get down."
The Ravens rolled to three decisive victories. Fredericton native Elliot Thompson, who tossed in 26 points in Carleton's win over UNB, added 16 more in Sunday's 108-66 victory over Saint Mary's.
Next up for the Reds is a date with the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers at the Moncton Coliseum on Oct. 22. Then they travel to Ottawa for the Jack Donahue Tournament, beginning Oct. 28, before their last preseason match against Lee Academy at home on Nov. 6.
UNB kicks off the 2011-12 season on Nov. 12 when they host the Memorial Sea-Hawks.