Laroche Factor in Win
Stingers Prevail Over Gee-Gees
The Stingers beat the Ottawa Gee-Gees 68-58 on Sunday in convincing fashion, as they controlled the game from the first quarter and never looked back.
The Concordia squad’s lead never dipped below five points, largely due to a strong performance from forward Evens Laroche who scored a game high 18 points while snatching up six rebounds and creating four steals.
“Today I felt like I was able to go and play 100 per cent,” said La Roche about his strong play. “I tried to defend and play my best game.”
The game at times looked like it might devolve into a foul fest due to the Gee-Gees’ physical style of play, but the Stingers maintained their composure throughout, creating difficult shooting situations for the Gee-Gees without fouling them. Laroche credited this to the fact that the Stingers continued to impose their style of play on the game.
After going into the second half down by 11, the Gee-Gees burst out of the gates, utilizing a full-court press and positioning players in the passing lanes, effectively disrupting the Stingers’ offensive sets to cut the lead. Stingers guard Kyle Desmarais and forward James Clark managed to score on consecutive possessions, however, nullifying the building Ottawa momentum.
In the closing minutes the Gee-Gees made another run, forcing three consecutive Stingers’ turnovers and shortening the ConU lead to just six before another Laroche tre snuffed out all hopes of a comeback.
The Gee-Gees resorted to fouling, but the Stingers’ accurate free-throw allowed them to cruise comfortably to victory.
Managing to hold the Gee-Gees to 31 per cent shooting for the game was a source of great pride for the Stingers; in particular Laroche, who drew one of the toughest defensive assignments in Warren Ward, an Ontario University Athletics all-star and the Gee-Gees’ leading scorer.
Laroche recognized the importance of his team’s defensive success saying, “In our league there are a lot of teams that can shoot such as McGill and Laval, so it was good preparation for learning how to close out on shooters and play their best guys one-on-one.”
The Stingers head to the University of British Columbia to take part in the Provincial Cup Tournament from Oct. 21-23.
