Experience factor tips in Mystics’ favour during first-round win over Dynamiques

It wasn’t just about winning ugly. It was about knowing the difference.

The Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics of Halifax are making their fifth straight appearance at the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association men’s basketball championship tournament, while the CEGEP de Ste-Foy, Que., Dynamiques are raw rookies at the national level.

So with all things being equal, and beauty being in the eye of the beholder, the No. 5-ranked Mystics’ 54-48, first-round win over the No. 4-seeded Dynamiques at Calgary’s SAIT Polytechnic probably boiled down to the experience factor.

“We don’t have enough experience at this level to make an impact on a game like that,” shrugged Dynamiques head coach Eric Segal. “It’s all about experience. We have enough of it in our league (the Federation Quebecoise du Sport Etudiant), but not at this level. Our offense was stagnant, and we couldn’t control our emotions right.”

The Mystics, who entered CCAA nationals as Atlantic Conference Athletic Association champions, advance to a championship semifinal on Friday, March 19 at 6 p.m. MT against the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) Northern Timberwolves of Prince George, B.C.

“It wasn’t pretty offensively. I know we can play a heck of a lot better. But sometimes the experience and the surroundings are kind of overwhelming when you get to nationals,” said longtime MSVU head coach Rick Plato, referring to the two squads’ difference in experience. “I know we’ve had years where we’ve been here for the first time with a group of young guys; you try to avoid it, but it’s almost like you’re just glad to be here.

“But we took nothing for granted against that (Dynamiques) team. They’re a solid team, a long, athletic team, and a well-coached team.”

Captain Adam Jewkes (5^th-year forward, Truro, N.S.), a 2009-10 finalist for the CCAA’s player of the year, potted 14 points for the Mystics.

Teammate Stephen Morris (5^th-year guard, Sackville, N.B.) added to the winning cause with 12 points. Philippe Tamba (3^rd-year forward, Quebec City) drained 14 points for the Dynamiques, while teammate Boris Hadzimuratovic (2^nd-year post, Quebec City) added 10. But flashy fourth-year Ste-Foy guard Robinson Odoch Opong, a Kenyan who was named MVP of the FQSE championship, was bottled up by the Mystics and managed just nine points.

“That was probably one of the ugliest games we played all year, me included,” said Jewkes. “But a win’s a win, I guess. They don’t get judged on style points.”

The score was tied 26-26 at the half, and neither team led by more than three points down the stretch until MSVU started sinking free throws in the final two minutes. Todd Williams’ breakaway layup at the buzzer represented the only points in that entire time span that didn’t come off the foul stripe. MSVU went 18-for-24 from the line overall, an average of 75 per cent.

“The longer you can keep the ball in your hands, and out of their hands, means fewer possessions for them,” said Plato of his team’s tendency to use up the entire 24-second clock. “Down the stretch, it was our defence and our free-throw shooting that was the difference. To keep a team like Ste-Foy under 50, I think that says a lot about our commitment to defence. That’s been our bread and butter all year.”

Friday’s semifinal between MSVU and UNBC will be a rematch of last year’s first-round meeting at nationals, won in a two-point squeaker by the Mystics. The Dynamiques now face the Fanshawe College Falcons of London, Ont., on Friday in a 1 p.m. bronze-medal qualifier.

For live game webcasts, real-time stats, photo galleries, and recaps, visit the official CCAA national tournament website at http://www.sait2010.ca/