Marauders open preseason with strong showing

Fear not, McMaster hoop heads. Basketball is back at Mac, with the men’s team seeing their first action on Tuesday night.

The Maroon and Grey took on the A Game Hoops team, a squad featuring players from the NBL, NCAA, CIS and overseas. The Marauders defeated the team from Guelph, Ont. with a score of 89-62.

The first quarter was a feeling out process, as the Marauders could not penetrate the A Game defense. Mac was forced into many tough jump shots early but they returned the favour by playing tough defense on the other end. A full-court press prevented the A Game Hoops offense from setting up, resulting in many shots thrown up to avoid a shot clock violation. The first quarter would end 19-13 for the Marauders.

In the second quarter, the lead swelled to 27-14. Mac was in the driving seat, with their fast break offense doing major damage to A Game. But the Marauders would take their foot off the gas and some excellent three point shooting from their opponents made the score 33-32 at the end of the first half.

This would be as close as the A Game team would get however, as the Marauders poured on the pressure in the second half. Aaron Redpath showed his ability to take over a game, threading the needle on fast breaks to set up teammates numerous times. The second-year guard also put together a series of mid-range jump shots to help Mac separate in the third quarter.

First-year guard Rohan Boney drew a lot of attention from the crowd for his performance with a first-half dunk and an incredible reverse later in the game. Boney was also active on defense, using his length and quickness to bother his opponents every trip down the floor.

Outside of the first quarter, there was a palpable feeling of comfort from the men’s team. The offense was fluid for most of the game and the team looked very confident for it’s first game of the season.

Next week, the Marauders will take on the Mohawk Mountaineers in Burridge Gym at 8 p.m. The Mountaineers are the defending Canadian college champions and Mac fans can expect a closer result for the second exhibition game of the preseason.