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Mac beats Saskatchewan in final second
Halifax, NS - Justin Gunter hit a 12-foot jumper with 0.4 seconds left in the game to lift the fifth-seeded McMaster Marauders to a dramatic 81-79 victory over the ninth-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies in the second consolation semi-final at the 2006 Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball Final 10 at the Metro Centre in Halifax Saturday afternoon.
Rob Lovelace just missed a 75-foot heave that would have won the game for Saskatchewan off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
The win qualifies the Marauders to Sunday's consolation final for fifth place (1:00 p.m. Atlantic Time) where they will face the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds. OUA champion McMaster, which dropped a heartbreaking 81-77 OT decision to StFX in Friday's quarter-finals, beat Brock 93-75 in the consolation final in 2004.
Saskatchewan, making its first appearance at the nationals since 1988, returns home with a 1-2 record. The Huskies lost 79-64 to top-seeded Victoria in the quarter-final round. The Huskies finish the season with a 23-18 record, and a seventh place finish at Nationals.
Gunter, a 5-foot-10, fourth-year guard from Dundas, Ont. capped off a fantastic finish with his last-second heroics.
Trailing 47-45 at halftime, McMaster quickly went ahead after the break and held on to a slight lead for the first 15 minutes of the second stanza.
Saskatchewan kept getting closer and finally tied the contest with 4:46 remaining, at 73-73, when second-team all-Canadian Andrew Spagrud scored on a thunderous dunk. Spagrud gave the Huskies their first lead of the second half 70 seconds later, at 76-74, completing a three-point play on a lay up and a foul shot.
With the score 79-79 and the clock showing 32 seconds, Spagrud was sent to the free-throw line once again. The 6-foot-8 forward missed both shots but grabbed his own rebound before being fouled again. For the second time in under 10 seconds, he missed both attempts.
Mac got the ball back with 22 seconds left and Saskatchewan elected to let the Marauders take the potential game-winning shot. Gunter looked to pass, held on to the ball, and got only net.
The Huskies took a desperate shot from their own end at the buzzer but the ball hit the rim, keeping McMaster's season alive.
Gunter was named player of the game for McMaster following a seven-point, three-rebound and three-assist effort.
6-foot-7, fourth-year forward Adam Steiner, also from Dundas, had a team-high 18 points, while Hamilton natives John Obrovac and Martin Ajayi, with 15 and 14, respectively, also scored in double digits for the winning side.
Unfortunately for him, Spagrud's late problems at the free-throw line overshadowed his phenomenal performance the rest of the game. The native of Saskatoon finished with a tournament-high 27 points and completed the double-double with 14 rebounds, earning player-of-the-game honours for the Huskies.
Freshman guard Rejean Chabot, also of Saskatoon, added 11 points in the losing effort.
Saskatchewan out-shot McMaster 53.3 percent to 46.0 percent from the floor on the day but was hurt by a dismal 10-for-22 performance at the line (45.5%).
STAT LEADERS
Courtesy of CIS
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