Ryerson Rams get first CIS Final 8 win and can 'smile a bit,' but tougher matchup looms

The CIS Final 8 is a marathon, and Ryerson's floor leader Jahmal Jones was breathing heavily like he had just apexed on Heartbreak Hill.

The newly installed off-day at the Canadian university men's basketball championship could work to the favour of the Rams, who looked the part of a contender while downing Windsor 82-68 in a 2 vs. 7 quarter-final on Thursday that was more akin to a 4 vs. 5 matchup. Playing in the main arena at Mattamy Athletic Centre for the first time this season, the Rams built a 21-point three-quarter lead and advanced to their first national semifinal as they seek a signature moment at home in downtown Toronto. Concomitantly, they also learned about the toll a quality matchup at the nationals can take on a team.

"At first we played with a little jitters," Jones said after posting 20 points, five assists and five steals over 37 minutes, with Adika Peter-McNeilly adding 19 on 7-of-12 shooting. "Everyone's nervous in the first Final 8 game. it was a draining game. To be honest, this is probably the most tired I've felt in a long time.

"As the season winds down, we've had lighter work on the practice court, so we haven't had the physical reps that we had during the regular season," the fifth-year guard added. "It's more draining to play in here than on the Coca-Cola Court [where Ryerson plays during the regular season]. The energy, the atmosphere just kind of sucks the life out of you sometimes."

A tournament win was the only box left to check off for Ryerson, but coach Roy Rana's team has been legitimately on the national stage for some time. They reached the Final 8 ahead of schedule in 2012 when current fifth-year Jones, Bjorn Michaelsen and Jordon Gauthier were second-years and Aaron Best was a rookie, then were squeezed out of the Final 8 picture by Ottawa each of the last two seasons. The Gee-Gees, of course, are their potential Saturday opponent. (Ottawa and Bishop's are playing the late quarter-final at this writing.)

"We haven't played Ottawa on our home floor this year, so hopefully we can beat them," Jones said. "It's been a while since we beat them. That's something we want to focus on because the last thing we want to see is another team hoist the championship trophy on our home floor."

The takeaway is that Ryerson, which also got 10 points each from Best and Michaelson and drilled Windsor 49-39 in rebounding, is still searching for another gear. They defended well, holding Windsor to an 40.8 per cent effective field-goal percentage, and ran the floor time again.

"It was really just about how we perform on a possession-to-possession basis," Rana said. "Now that it's over I'll probably smile a bit. At least we got a day off on Friday.

"We're certainly a transition team," Rana added. "Speed is one of our advantages. We wanted to get out and run every chance we get. We just got to take care of the ball a little more. We also didn't shoot the three very well (5-for-19, 26.3 per cent)."

With the pro-Ryerson crowd alight, the Rams led by as much as 18 in the first half. Windsor, led by 20 points from fifth-year guard Khalid Abdel-Gabar and 17 from guard Alex Campbell, made a third-quarter run. Abdel-Gabar missed a one-handed runner that would have cut the margin to six. Ryerson scored on the ensuing trip down the floor and finished the quarter on an 14-4 run.

"We just got to such an unconfident start," said Lancers coach Chris Oliver, whose team was placed into the 2 seed after upsetting Ottawa at the OUA Final Four last weekend and finshing second in the province behind Carleton. "It just snowballs from there. We just didn't get consistent scoring. We needed someone to be consistent and we needed inside presence, which we've had all year.

"We could have been better, and that's the disappointing part," Oliver added. "Clearly, with the home court and everything that factors into it, I'm sure Las Vegas didn't have us as the favourite, but we could have played better and that's the disappointing part."

All in all, it was just first step for the Rams.

"We always feel like we improve and our coach always goes a good job in helping us fine-tune," Best said.

The Rams being guaranteed of a medal game also likely adds to the buzz around the tournament. There were patches of empty seats inside the MAC, which holds about 3,000 for basketball.

"It was great to see people come out and support us," Jones said. "A six o'clock game is tough to make. We usually play at eight. Hopefully more people come out and support us Saturday."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.