Joseph Jones has been a sixth man all his life.
But on Saturday he was the go-to-guy that got it done for the Lakehead Thunderwolves. Jones dropped 24 points on the hometown Ottawa Gee Gees in a heroic, grind-it-out-at-all-costs performance that propelled the veteran-laden squad into the CIS Final 8 championship game at Scotiabank Place on Sunday.
The 66-62 win assured Lakehead its first trip to the gold-medal game since 1977, their only other final appearance coming in 1973. They'll play the Carleton Ravens, the No. 1 team in the nation, a logical step after knocking off the No. 2 and 3 seeds, Cape Breton and Ottawa, to reach the final.
The Ravens chopped down No. 5 Acadia 84-69 in Saturday's other semifinal.
“One more for the boys,” said Jones, who posted a goose egg a day earlier. “One more for the boys.”
Trailing by seven early in the fourth, Jones all-but-singlehandedly led the Lakehead charge to the final, scoring nine points, including a pair of clutch three-pointers, in an 11-0 run that stretched the Thunderwolves lead to as much as seven with three minutes and change to play.
Jones also hit four key free throws in the final minute, including a pair with six seconds to go that put the Wolves lead out of reach.
“My team looked for me to take over and that’s exactly what I did. They gave me all the shots, I knocked them down. They pressed up, I took it to the hole strong every time. We’re going to be fearless. We’re not going to back down for anyone. It doesn’t matter who you are. Whoever we play tomorrow, Carleton or Acadia, it doesn’t matter. We’re coming at them.”
Guard Greg Carter, the CIS defensive player of the year, couldn’t say enough about Jones’ effort.
“JJ is the heart and soul of our team. We’ve been calling him that since he got here. He stepped up big for us tonight and we really needed him down the stretch. He just showed how important he is as a sixth man.”
Coach Scott Morrison said it’s what they’ve come to expect from Jones.
“He didn’t want to end his season today. It’s the same thing he did against Windsor. He had a tough start. We had to get him out of the game in the first half, made some mistakes. But once he got that three to fall, that was all we needed,” said Morrison, forced to sit all-star centre Yoosrie Salhia for most of the first half, after two quick fouls in the first minute of play.
Sunday’s national championship final is all Carter could ask for as a career finale.
“It means a lot. We started from the bottom and now we’re here. Before I came here we were 1-21. Now five years later we’re playing for a national title,” said Carter, playing in his hometown with friends and family cheering his every move.
Carter, hurt on a hard foul late in the fourth, said there’s no way he’s missing the championship match, though his shoulder is a little sore.
The Thunderwolves burst out the starting gate, taking a 15-6 lead in the first, but the Gee Gees roared back with six straight to end the quarter, Warren Ward, who finished with 21, tying it 16-16 just before the buzzer sounded.
Up two at the half, Ottawa jumped in front by as much as nine in the third, but the Wolves persisted and cut the lead to two before Ward completed a three-point play for a five-point advantage heading into the fourth.
But though they clawed to within two late in the final stanza, they left too many shots out there, the most painful of all when Gabriel Gonthier-Dubue missed a pair of free throws in the final minute, Ottawa down four at the time.
Asked how many more miracles he’s got left in his pocket, Morrison said one is plenty.
“I don’t know if it’s in there, but I’m gonna cut a hole in the pocket and reach down as deep as I can and hopefully we can find another one.”
Dwayne Harvey, with 12, was the only other Lakehead player to hit double figures.
Sunday’s final, which can be seen on The Score, is 3:30 p.m. Carelton will be seeking a CIS-record ninth title.
