MCAC Basketball Championship Match-ups Set

In a day of dominant basketball, day one of the MCAC Final 4's saved the best for last as the Providence Pilots finished the semifinals by advancing to the MCAC Championships in a high-tempo back-and-fourth battle against the University of Winnipeg College Wesmen. 

Joining Providence in the Men's Final is Red River College, who will be looking to win their unprecedented seventh straight MCAC title. On the women's side, it will be Canadian Mennonite University with a home crowd on their side, against the Rebels, who will be trying to capture their fourth title in a row.

Each team had their moments in what ended up being the marquee matchup of the day when the Pilots and College Wesmen took the court. The University of Winnipeg had the edge early on, leading 18-12 after the first quarter. However, as expected, this game continued to even out as time went on, and the Pilots were able to take the lead going into the second half by getting to the line and tightening up on defense.

Providence really came alive in the third quarter, as Player of the Game Rigueson Desorvil muscled his way to the rim, and savvy point guard Romeo KC ran an offense that really found its consistency in the second half.

Despite an 18-point and six-rebound performance from Sulaiman Jalloh, the Pilots proved to be too much for the third-seed as Providence took home the 75-60 victory. In the end, Desorvil finished with an exceptional line of 22 points, six rebounds, and eight steals, while KC also had a well-rounded 10 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and five steals of his own.

In the first game of the day, we saw the CMU Blazers take on the Providence Pilots to continue their rivalry in women's basketball. However, things ended up being a bit more one-sided as the home team came out firing on all cylinders.

The first half was all Blazers. After trading blows for the first couple of minutes, CMU came alive on both ends of the court, scoring in bunches, and shutting down the Pilots through a high-pressure defence which forced 24 turnovers in the first half alone.

Providence tried to swing things back in their favour in the second half, but as the Blazers continued to tighten up their defense, they continued to make their shots as well. In the end, the 42 turnovers CMU forced up were too much to recover from for the Pilots as their MCAC season comes to an end in a 66-42 loss.

Leading the charge for the Blazers was Player of the Game Scotia Stewner, who finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and five steals on the day, as well as a strong offensive effort from Tiara Licsi, who dropped 16 points of her own.

In the first men's matchup of the game, the 2014 MCAC Championship rematch between the Rebels and the Blazers started off very similar to last year, with a fast-paced, back-and-fourth battle with neither team really holding an advantage. That all changed half-way through the second half when the Rebels shot the lights out, including 19 first-half points from All-Conference selection Taylor Brown.

Once the floodgates were opened, there was no stopping the six-time defending champions as they continued to pour it on until the game was officially out of reach in an 88-67 victory. Brown finished with 29 points on the day in only 18 minutes of playing time, while Ivan Griffiths provided the grit for Red River with 16 points, five rebounds, and four steals.

In the 1 vs 4 women's matchup, the Red River Rebels showed why they've won three straight titles as they outplayed the College Wesmen to a 66-27 victory. The game moved slowly in the first quarter, as the teams fought defensively to a 4-3 game with five minutes left in the frame. After that, the game opened up, and it was the Rebels who took advantage.

Leading the way for the Red River College was MCAC MVP Susanna Namgung, who, with 21 points and seven rebounds, was also named the Player of the Game. The Rebels line-up is perhaps the most complete in the league, and they certainly showed that today with a dominant performance on both ends of the court.

The MCAC continues its Final Fours weekend tomorrow afternoon at Canadian Mennonite University, as the women's final tips off at 2pm, with the men following up at 4pm. Admission is five dollars for the day. 

Women's Basketball – 12:00 p.m.
Providence University College vs Canadian Mennonite University
Canadian Mennonite University wins 66-42

Men's Basketball - 2:00 p.m.
Canadian Mennonite University vs Red River College
Red River College wins 88-67

Women's Basketball – 4:00 p.m.
Providence University College vs Red River College
Red River College wins 66-27

Men's Basketball - 6:00 p.m.
Providence University College vs University of Winnipeg College
Providence University College wins 75-60.