The Brock Badgers made their mark at the Meridian Centre on Saturday, Nov. 25, with the men’s and women’s basketball teams facing off against the McMaster Marauders in a fierce doubleheader.

The sixth edition of Paint the Meridian Red marked the first time Brock hosted the slam-dunk extravaganza in downtown St. Catharines since January 2020.

The Brock women’s team defeated the McMaster Marauders 82-73 and the men’s team battled but ultimately fell to the Marauders 77-60 in front of a boisterous crowd.

“It’s always a special experience playing under the bright lights of the Meridian Centre,” said women’s basketball head coach Mike Rao. “Our student-athletes made it a memorable one with a terrific fourth quarter.”

The Brock women trailed 42-38 at halftime before a fourth-quarter surge, which started with a key bucket from third-year guard Oluwatito Akinnusi, a Psychology student from Kleinburg.

Michael Matas of the Brock men’s basketball team battles for the ball versus McMaster at the Meridian Centre on Saturday, Nov. 25.

Oluwatito poured in 37 points, including six rebounds to lead the comeback.

“It was an unforgettable game, but the fourth quarter was all a blur. My teammates were finding me every time they would drive the lane,” she said. “I have the confidence of my coach and teammates. I believed I always had the skill, yet I was missing the confidence until this season.”

Madalyn Weinert, a third-year guard from St. Catharines, registered her first double-double of the season with 25 points and 16 rebounds.

The Brock women improved to 4-3 and are third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Central Division behind Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and McMaster.

On Friday, Nov. 24, the Badgers snapped a three-game losing streak by knocking off the No. 3-nationally ranked Queen’s Gaels at Bob Davis Gymnasium.

In the men’s game, the Badgers led early before the Marauders took control and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the match.

Brock fell to 4-3 and trails McMaster and TMU in the OUA Central Division.

Jevon Brown, a fifth-year guard from Toronto, led Brock in scoring with 18 points while Jordan Tchuente recorded a double-double with 14 rebounds and 13 points.

Between the Steel Blade Classic hockey game in September and Paint the Meridian Red, more than $3,450 from tickets was donated to the Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU) Food First Program, a resource for students aimed to address the growing issues of food and health insecurity among Canadian post-secondary students.