McMaster men's basketball sharpens dull preseason form for OUA win

Playing at the Burridge Gymnasium, the Marauders grabbed their second OUA win against the University of Toronto after a challenging preseason

The McMaster University men's basketball team started their preseason back in September with three games against teams outside of the Ontario University Athletics league. The Marauders played against the Mohawk College, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Concordia University.

The results from these games showed some inconsistencies in the team, as they finished with a record of one win and two losses. A notable defeat during the team's preseason was against the Concordia Stingers, as in years past the Marauders have consistently been able to beat the Stingers.

The team's up and down form did not stop after these games as the team continued their preseason at the University of Manitoba Bison's tournament where the Marauders suffered three losses and picked up only one win.

Before the OUA season opened, the Marauders suffered another unsuccessful game against Mercyhurst University but they did manage to pick up a win against the visiting University of Calgary.

The Marauders began their OUA campaign against Laurier University, where they played the Golden Hawks on Nov. 1. and picked up a win with a score of 75-72.

In their first OUA home game, the Marauders hosted the University of Toronto and they began a winning streak, beating the Varsity Blues with a score of 78-80.

A few of the Marauder players especially shined in their first game of the season at Burridge. Fifth-year Daniel Graham and fourth-year Moody Qasim tied as scoring leaders, with both players putting down career highs of 16 points. Defensively, fourth-year Nathan Charles cleaned up with three rebounds.

This is a promising start of for the Maurauders, following their unsteady preseason, and hopefully they are able to keep up their current form as the season continues.