KINGSTON, Ont. (November 3, 2017) – The Gaels (2-0) came away with a 99-87 victory over the visiting McMaster Marauders (1-1) to move to 2-0 on the season.
 
GAME FLOW:
Scoring early and often, Harry Range (Ottawa, Ont.) and Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, Ont.) boosted the Gaels offence in the opening minutes of play with a handful of baskets each. Shoveller had the hot hand, scoring off a layup off a pump fake and a deep three to give Queen's a 3-point lead. With Miles Seward of McMaster handling the ball, the Marauders were able to keep it a close game going 23-21 into the second frame.

Relentless on offence and defence, Shoveller started the second with a huge block to keep the Gaels ahead. Mat Elock (Waterdown, Ont.) followed the Shoveller block with a pull-up jumper. McMaster was able to sneak away with a 3-point lead midway through the second quarter, but Shoveller stopped the bleeding early with a pull-up 3 to tie it up once again. With both teams exchanging the ball, no one could pull away with a decisive lead. That was until Tanner Graham (Kingston, Ont.) ended the half with a big dunk assisted by Quinton Gray (Richmond Hill, Ont.) to edge the Gaels 43-41 before the half.

Getting on the board again, Shoveller scored the first points for the Gaels in the third from a low-post move. Tanner Graham got in on the action, hitting a floater off a spin move in the paint. The Marauders were kept  in the game thank to Seward's back-to-back three's. Jaz Bains (Brampton, Ont.) was doing most of his damage from the free-throw line, shooting 7-8 from the stripe by the end of the third to lift Queen's 73-64.

The intensity was kicked up a notch in the final frame as both teams came out playing full court presses on defence. Shoveller couldn't be stopped and added two more off a baseline low-post move. Up by nine midway through the fourth, Bains drove in for an impressive layup to make it a double-digit lead, followed shortly by a deep three by Tanner Graham to push the margin.

BY THE NUMBERS
31 - Shoveller lead the team with 31 points
8 - Blocks from Shoveller
+13 - The Gaels were +13 in assisted baskets on the night
2 - 2 players put up double-doubles; Tanner Graham and Shoveller

FINAL SAY
"We preach very fundamental basketball. When we try and make it more complicated than it needs to be, we get in trouble. We spend a lot of time working on fundamental every day and I think it shows." - Head Coach Stephan Barrie on the Gaels offensive surge.

UP NEXT
The Gaels host on the nationally ranked No.2 Brock Badgers tomorrow night. Game time is set for 8 pm.