The Brock Badgers men's basketball team took advantage of a great senior night crowd and picked up a vital 70-56 win against the Laurentian Voyageurs on Friday, Feb. 9 in Bob Davis Gymnasium.

This win keeps the Badgers playoff hopes alive with two games remaining in the regular season.

Freshman guard Andrew McKenna had one of the best games of his Badger career, posting 17 points and seven rebounds in the win. Jordan Tchuente and Kevaughn Ellis both contributed strong games on their senior night. Tchuente totalled 18 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one assist while Ellis added 13 points, six steals, one rebound and one block.

It was a defensive battle early on with both teams forcing multiple turnovers to begin the first. Ellis had four steals for Brock in the frame and took the ball hard to the basket in transition when he could. Three-pointers from Tchuente and Jevon Brown finally kick started the Badger offence. Ellis then closed out the quarter with a three-pointer of his own followed by a put back layup: both in the final minute. The Badgers led 19-15 heading into the second.

Brock maintained a steady lead for the majority of the second with help from one of their first-year guards. McKenna converted an old-fashioned three-point play and then came back with a three-pointer from beyond the arc to give the Badgers some momentum. Brock was looking strong defensively throughout the frame, but two deep three-pointers from the Voyageurs inside the last minute suddenly knotted the game up. It was tied 32-32 at halftime.

The third quarter continued the trend from the first half: a low-scoring battle. Isaiah Bujdoso opened up the frame with a three-pointer, but after that, the Voyageurs scored multiple times and opened up their first lead of the game, which they went on to hold for the majority of the quarter. Late in the third, it was once again Ellis and McKenna providing the spark for Brock. Ellis hit another three-pointer and McKenna scored a couple times inside to bring the Badgers right back into it. Laurentian led 48-47 heading into the fourth.

The Badgers took control of the game early in the fourth quarter through physical play on both ends of the court. Brock really turned up the intensity on defence, pressing the Voyageurs full court and forcing multiple turnovers. The Badgers then created a lead through going hard to the basket and converting their free throw attempts. McKenna, Ellis, Tchuente and Brown all majorly contributed on offence in the final quarter to finish out the hard-fought win for Brock.

The Badgers honoured graduating seniors (left to right in the photo: Kevaughn Ellis, Isaiah Bujdoso, Jevon Brown, Jordan Tchuente) before the contest with a pre-game ceremony.

Next up, the Badgers (9-11) will travel to Hamilton on Saturday, Feb. 10 for an important 6 p.m. matchup against the McMaster Marauders (11-8). You can catch the game on OUA.tv.