Sault College tops Algoma

The Sault College men's varsity basketball team ran their Ontario Colleges Athletic Association record to 6-1 on Friday night with a 78-62 victory over their crosstown rivals from Algoma University.

The Cougars, who currently sit in top spot in the OCAA west division, picked up a solid performance from Jean Louis Ouattara, who led all scorers on the night with 27 points on 11-for-16 shooting including three three-pointers.

The strong day also upped his points-per-game average to just over 23 PPG, which is tops in the division.

Sault College, who led 40-26 at half-time, also picked up a strong performance from Jeff Rennison, who came off the bench to score 16 points on the night. James Tunsingwire also chipped in with nine points in the victory.

Veteran Jason Trinier led the way for Algoma with 17 points, while Adam Carpenter added 15 points in the loss.

Algoma's Achilles heel on this night was their free throw shooting, which was virtually non-existent against the Cougars. Algoma finished the night just 11-for-27 from the free throw line to go along with their 23-for-51 effort from the field.

After getting down by 14 points after the opening half, Algoma battled in the second half to stay close with Sault College the rest of the night.

A 10-for-28 performance from the field in the opening half allowed the Cougars to take a lead that the Thunderbirds could not battle back from, despite shooting 13-for-23 in the second, including 3-of-5 from three-point land.

Algoma was outscored by just two points in the second half.

Both teams are now off from OCAA action until after the Christmas break as they will return to action in late January.

Algoma will kick off their second half of the season with a road game at Fanshawe on Jan. 21 before returning home the following weekend to take on the St. Clair Saints on Jan. 28. Next action for the Sault College men will be on Jan. 29, when the Saints conclude their northern road swing with a game at the college.