{"id":89477,"date":"2023-11-25T23:01:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-26T04:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=89477"},"modified":"2023-11-27T16:29:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T21:29:26","slug":"memorable-return-as-brock-badgers-paint-the-meridian-red","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2023\/11\/memorable-return-as-brock-badgers-paint-the-meridian-red\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorable return as Brock Badgers Paint the Meridian Red"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brock Badgers made their mark at the Meridian Centre on Saturday, Nov. 25, with the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams facing off against the McMaster Marauders in a fierce doubleheader.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Brock women\u2019s team defeated the McMaster Marauders 82-73 and the men\u2019s team battled but ultimately fell to the Marauders 77-60 in front of a boisterous crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always a special experience playing under the bright lights of the Meridian Centre,\u201d said women\u2019s basketball head coach Mike Rao. \u201cOur student-athletes made it a memorable one with a terrific fourth quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Men

Michael Matas of the Brock men\u2019s basketball team battles for the ball versus McMaster at the Meridian Centre on Saturday, Nov. 25.<\/p><\/div>\n

Oluwatito poured in 37 points, including six rebounds to lead the comeback.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an unforgettable game, but the fourth quarter was all a blur. My teammates were finding me every time they would drive the lane,\u201d she said. \u201cI have the confidence of my coach and teammates. I believed I always had the skill, yet I was missing the confidence until this season.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Nov. 24, the Badgers snapped a three-game losing streak by knocking off the No. 3-nationally ranked Queen\u2019s Gaels at Bob Davis Gymnasium.<\/p>\n

In the men\u2019s game, the Badgers led early before the Marauders took control and never relinquished the lead for the rest of the match.<\/p>\n

Brock fell to 4-3 and trails McMaster and TMU in the OUA Central Division.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Between the\u00a0Steel Blade Classic hockey game<\/a>\u00a0in September and Paint the Meridian Red, more than $3,450 from tickets was donated to the Brock University Students’ Union (BUSU)\u00a0Food First Program<\/a>, a resource for students aimed to address the growing issues of food and health insecurity among Canadian post-secondary students.<\/p>\n\n\t