Walters sparks Gryphons off the bench, leads team to first home win
by Daniel Howse
The Gryphon men’s basketball team posted their first home win of the season on Saturday with an impressive 68-58 upset victory over the Waterloo Warriors.
With the entire team finally healthy, things have started to come together for the Gryphons. Second-year guard Dan McCarthy led the way on both ends of the court, pouring in 18 points, while adding nine rebounds, two assists and four steals. Third-year forward Adam Bering played one of his best games inside, pulling down 12 boards while adding ten points.
And while the typically sharpshooting veteran swingmen, Jay Mott and Jon Moscatelli, both struggled to put the ball in the basket, they made up for it with pesky defence that threw the red hot Warriors off their game.
Limited by injuries in the last few games, Mott’s return to the lineup clearly opened up the floor for his teammates, who he consequently found for open looks, posting five assists. The Gryphons collectively stifled the Waterloo offence, holding the dangerous wing trio of Ben Frisby, Cam McIntyre and Luke Kieswetter to just 9-for-32 from the field. Although the Gryphons won by ten, they held a 20-point lead going into the final two minutes, effectively putting the game out of reach.
While it is easy to get caught up looking at who had the most impressive statistical totals, one of the best measures of a player’s contributions on the court is efficiency. In just 15 minutes off of the bench, third-year forward Nick Walters put up six points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal. While that might not sound like much, when projected over a full 40 game, Walters’ numbers translate into 16 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
While projections are a flawed science at best, it gives an idea of the kind of productivity Walters brings to the team. The numbers, however, don’t begin to tell the whole story.
Anyone who saw the game will tell you that Walters runs the right lanes, steps up on defence and motivates the whole team. Walters has earned more playing time of late, and not coincidentally, the Gryphons have played more cohesive basketball, narrowly losing to the tough Western Mustangs last Wednesday and taking down the Warriors on the weekend.
“Jay (Mott) shot the ball pretty terribly, and he was pretty mad about that,” said Walters. “But he’s out there taking charges, rebounding and drawing fouls.
“The fact is, every team is concerned with Jay and they are going to bump him and get on his case all game – [that] frees up everything for everyone else,” he added, showing that even in postgame interviews, Walters proved to be a consummate teammate, taking the opportunity to focus on the play of others.
And the player who was left open most frequently on Saturday was McCarthy.
“Dan’s just a very good basketball player,” Walters said. “He does everything he needs to do. He shoots the ball (well) and he’s a great defender too.”
With most teams in the OUA eligible to qualify for the playoffs, Walters was optimistic about the Gryphons chances.
“It’s just about finishing out games,” he said. “We know we have the talent.”