KINGSTON, Ont. (Feb. 22, 2023) - Queen's Men's Basketball opened the OUA Playoffs with a 98-85 win over the Western Mustangs Wednesday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).
The Round 1 matchup was close throughout the entire game, with the No. 5 seed Gaels pulling away late in the fourth quarter, turning a four-point lead into double digits and holding on for the 13-point win.
Cole Syllas led Queen's offensively in the win, recording a double-double with a team-high 23 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. The Gaels also had big games offensively from
Michael Kelvin II and
Brandon Aultman, who scored 17 points each, with Aultman's points coming off the bench.
Luka Syllas, returning to the lineup for the Round 1 playoff game, added 14 points in the win.
"There's incredible belief in this group," said Head Coach Steph Barrie after the game. "Our guys that have been through this have great belief. I don't think there will ever be a situation where we don't think we're going to win, and that was the case tonight and we were able to pull it out in the end."
Barrie used 10 players in the win, with Queen's bench putting in a solid night, combining for 31 points in the win, compared to 11 bench points for the No. 12 seed Mustangs.
Both teams shot well on the night, with the Gaels edging the Mustangs 52 per cent from the floor and 43 per cent from three-point range to 50 per cent from the floor and 36 per cent from three-point range.
With the intensity ramped up for the playoffs, it was a rough game on both ends of the court for Queen's. Kelvin said the team doesn't back down from those opportunities.
"Our team philosophy is grit," Kelvin said after the game. "It was a physical game but we like that stuff. We like to rebound, we like to box out hard. That's our type of basketball."
"We have a great group of guys. We're all super close on the court, off the court. We all understand each other very well, so we don't really get frustrated with each other, we just find a way to fix it."
With the win, the Gaels advanced to the OUA quarterfinals, where they will take on the No. 4 seed Brock Badgers, Saturday at 8 p.m. in St. Catharines, Ont.
The two teams met once in the regular season with Queen's coming out ahead, 83-74 in early January. Barrie said the team is expecting another tough matchup this weekend.
"That's going to be a great challenge. We're both [U SPORTS] ranked teams. We're going to have a great test on Saturday but we're looking forward to it, we're feeling really good about where we're at and we want to take the next step."
"It's going to be a challenge for sure, Brock's a great team," Kelvin echoed. "We're also going to play them in their gym. The environment is not going to be as welcoming and comfortable as our gym. But we just have to work, make sure that we play good defence, have good energy, and do the best that we can."
