The men’s basketball season is over following a semi-final loss

Despite a strong season for the men’s basketball team, it wasn’t quite enough for a finals run

McMaster’s men’s basketball team saw their season come to an end on March 23 following an 88-75 loss to the eventual champion Brock Badgers in the semi-final round of the Ontario University Athletics championship. Despite the somewhat underwhelming finish, it was a really strong season for the team from start to finish, with several notable achievements along the way.  

The team finished the season with a record of 11 wins and five losses, good for the second seed in the OUA West. They started the season red hot winning five of their first six games leading into the winter break, but just couldn’t maintain that high standard in the second half, accumulating six wins and four losses, in part due to stronger competition.  

One of the most “under-the-radar” accomplishments of the team this season was their Feb. 19 win against the Badgers, splitting the two-game series. This was the Badgers’ only loss, preventing them from a perfect 15-win record.  

Although they weren’t able to bring home the championship trophy, the team still managed to finish the year with some serious hardware. Ares Culley-Bremner was named to the league’s all-rookie team, Mike Demagus made the second team all-star and team superstar Jordan Henry impressively earned his way onto the first team all-star. 

As hungry as the team was for a provincial title, it’s hard to be upset over the promising results they earned this season. With no graduating players this season, the team has an opportunity to build on the success they’ve already had and just keep on pushing forward into next year.