Windsor 79, McMaster 78… For the second consecutive season, Windsor Lancers, again led by 6’4″ Alex Campbell, came into Hamilton and took a road playoff game from the Marauders as Campbell went off for 33 points on 12 of 23 shooting. 6’2″ Isaiah Osborne provided more heroics for what will very likely be an OUA Freshman-of-the-Year selection with numerous huge takes to the rim in the second half and punctuated the win with a breakaway two-handed slam off a wonderful length-of-the-court feed from pesky 5’10” guard Mike Rocca to clinch it. Windsor will now face the winner of the Ryerson/Lakehead in the OUA Wilson Cup Final 4 at a site to be determined after tonight’s games.
Lancers jumped out of the gate with an 18-4 run helped by careless Marauder passes and turnovers as Campbell had 19 first-half points. Mac did get the game tied by halftime with the help of 6’4″ Lazar Kojovic who had 3 3’s that energized the home team but the spunky Lancers answered every McMaster run, eventually leading by 7 with about a minute and a half remaining. With Windsor leading by 2 and about 4 minutes remaining, Campbell got to the rim and McMaster’s 6’3″ guard Aaron Redpath missed a three. On the next possession, with the shot clock winding down, Lancers 6’4″ Marco Kovac who had hit a pair of big run-stopping 3’s earlier, banked in a 3 to give the Lancers a 7 point lead and gave observers the sense that it would be Windsor’s day – for the second consecutive season.
Windsor relies on their first five however each plays a very defined role as Rocca handles and defends, creating deflections and loose balls that the scrappy native of Sarnia usually comes up with. The lefty guard had a huge “o” board put back again quelling a Marauder first-half run. Osborne continues to gain confidence getting to the rim with his athleticism while 6’5″ Tyler Persaud is a very underrated element of Windsor’s success as long as he is attacking the glass at both ends; he had an important put-back when Marauders took their largest lead of the game at 5 early in the fourth quarter. Kovac spreads the floor however the hero once again was Campbell, who had 19 points in the first 12 minutes of play before fading into halftime off some questionable shot selection and decision making. However, the fifth-year wing from Brampton took the game over along with Osborne in the fourth, giving Lancers the upset win.
The game marked the final appearances in the career’s of Mac’s 6’4″ Leon Alexander, 6’5″ Troy Joseph and Redpath. Alexander struggled offensively for the most part and somewhat-surprisingly did not check Campbell during most possessions despite being Mac’s defensive stopper in many previous situations over his career.
Mac did get decent offensive performances from 6’0″ David McCulloch and 6’0″ Trevon McNeil who each keyed Mac’s one sustained run that built a five point lead. But Lancers were equal to it advancing to another OUA Wilson Cup Final 4.
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