Lakehead Thunderwolves leave a legacy a historically lopsided loss cannot stain

Great Groups of Dudes finish second.

Chances are, some channel-surfing knowledgeable sports fan probably happened across the CIS Final 8 championship game on Sunday and snorted after seeing a score that looked the blood-pressure reading of someone who ought to see a doctor. The Lakehead Thunderwolves ended up on the wrong end of two championship-game records — fewest points scored by a team, greatest margin of victory/defeat. Yet those who have taken the time to know this embraceable brand of ball knows the GGODs — that meme was spawned by how a former Lakehead star named Kiraan Posey once described his teammates to Globe & Mail scribe Al Maki — are winners.

Lakehead's six fifth-year seniors — CIS defensive player of the year Greg Carter, guards Ben Johnson and Joseph Jones, big men Brendan King, Yoosrie Salhia and Matthew Schmidt — helped a team that hit rock bottom in the mid-aughties finally have a breakthrough in its fourth consecutive Final 8 trip. They just didn't have the right matchups against Carleton. They didn't break their bond on a day when the bitter end lasted the whole 40 minutes.

"We started together, we finished together and we knew we had nothing left," said Jones, the heart-and-soul sixth man who had 20+-point nights on the last two Saturdays of the season when the 'Wolves won elimination games vs. two OUA teams with more talent, Windsor and Ottawa. "We gave Lakehead and Thunder Bay the best of our talent. We gave them a lot of memories over the years."

Carter gritted his teeth through 19 minutes after popping his left shoulder out of joint during Lakehead's four-point semifinal win over the Gee-Gees. Obviously limited, he missed all four of his shots and didn't score, but just getting out there was a wonder. The same went for forward Yoosrie Salhia, who was working on borrowed time due to a back injury.

"I still had a great career," said Carter. "We still finished strong at nationals."

Lakehead coach Scott Morrison elaborated on just how constricted Carter was on Sunday.

"He couldn't use [his arm], to be honest," Morrison said. "He's all right hand and I don't think he could dribble with it and that's pretty tough when Carleton's defence is centred around forcing him left. It was a gritty effort, but it shows how we got here."

Keep in mind, after a third consecutive quarter-final exit at the 2012 nationals, Morrison decided not to bring back his best player, Venzal Russell, due to internal issues. The new primary option, forward Ryan Thomson, tore his ACL in the OUA playoffs. Yet Lakehead reached the OUA Final Four in Toronto and beat Windsor to punch its Final 8 ticket. They trailed at half in both of their first two games at nationals against second-seeded Cape Breton and third-seeded Ottawa.

Carleton was just Carleton.

"We should have been out three weeks ago," Morrison said. These guys got here on pure grit, toughness and heart. If Carleton shoots well and rebounds well, you can’t beat them. A lot of things didn’t go our way today and to beat Carleton, you’ve got to be perfect.”

"We took a gamble because I'd rather try to win with guys I want to cheer for," he said.

University hoops in Canada can take in all kinds when it comes to players' backgrounds. Lakehead, being in remote Thunder Bay, embodies that quirk. The Thunderwolves have young guard Joe Hart from merry old England and their heart and soul from Maryland in Jones, who's from Landover, Md., near Washington. The outgoing senior's parting comments were validating.

"I'm so glad I made the decision to come to Lakehead," he said. "If I had another five years to do it over again, I would."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.