Cougars honour seniors with basketball victories
Feb. 8, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
It truly was a senior's night during Seniors Night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport.
On an evening when the University of Regina basketball teams feted their graduating players, fifth-year Jamal Williams had 23 points and 13 rebounds Saturday as the Cougars men's squad posted a 98-79 Canada West victory over the University of Winnipeg Wesmen.
Williams and Paul Schubach were honoured in a pre-game ceremony by the U of R men's squad, just minutes after the women's team paid tribute to Becky Schmidt, Carmen Stewart and Stacey Walker.
Williams' performance -- he also had three blocked shots, two assists and a steal -- was typical of a player whom Regina head coach James Hillis called "one of the greatest players" in the history of the program.
"Just look at the numbers -- he's in the top 10 in, like, everything," Hillis said, referring to Williams' place on numerous U of R career statistical lists. "With the skill set he has brought to the game in terms of his ability to pass the ball and handle the ball, he is one of the greatest. He's in pretty elite company."
"It's obviously flattering," noted Williams. "It's nice to be put in a category with players who I grew up watching and thinking about being like when I was playing at halftime (of Cougars games) in the RCBA or when my dad brought me to games. That's the biggest thing: There's that full-circle effect."
That extends to the ceremony itself, during which Hillis spoke glowingly about Williams and Schubach before presenting them with mementoes.
"Being here for five years, I've seen guys like Zach (Michell) and Joel (Hunter) and Drew (Kuzminski) and Adam Huffman go through it," Williams said. "There's the whole emotion before the game, standing out there with your parents and listening. Then there's the guys, who really want to get a win for you on Seniors Night."
The Cougars got the win Saturday thanks to stellar play inside and outside. Guard Jeff Lukomski was 8-for-11 from the floor (including 3-for-5 from behind the arc) and 8-for-11 from the free-throw line en route to a 27-point outing. Post Kris Heshka was a constant threat in the paint and finished with 22 points.
Nick Lother had 25 points for the Wesmen (0-19).
With the victory, the Cougars improved to 10-8 and clinched a playoff spot in the Prairie Division.
"Before the season even began, with the new alignment, the number of teams that make the playoffs dropped by a third," Hillis said. "It's considerably harder to make it and it was very realistic even two or three weeks ago that we wouldn't make it. Well, now we've made the playoffs here 15 years in a row. We wanted to keep that going."
If Regina sweeps the Saskatchewan Huskies in a regular season-ending home-and-home series next weekend, it will finish second in the division and play the third-place finisher in the Pacific Division.
"That's our goal," Williams said. "We want to get second, get a home playoff game, get a win in front of our home fans and go on to the Final Four."
It will be after the Cougars' post-season run -- not after Seniors Night -- that Williams will reflect on his career.
"I don't see (Seniors Night) as the end, just because of our record," he said. "If our record was like Winnipeg's, it would be more of an end."