Golden Bears Basketball earn USports bronze medal

In the Final Eight USports Championship the Golden Bears achieved a bronze medal, marking their ninth national medal.

The 2022 Final Eight USports national tournament featured eight teams and a total of 11 games. The Golden Bears entered the tournament as the third seed. The tournament was hosted by the Golden Bears at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

In their first game of the tournament, the Golden Bears defeated the sixth-seeded McGill Redbirds with an 85-68 victory. Tyus Jefferson led the Golden Bears to the victory with a season-high 31 points and was named the Nike Top Performer of the game.

The Golden Bears advanced to play the seventh-seeded Carleton Ravens, the two-time defending champions. 

In their second game of the tournament against the Ravens, the Golden Bears were defeated by the defending champions. As the game came to a close, the Golden Bears guard Geoffrey James took a shot with no time left in regulation. The shot missed, leading to a 63-64 Ravens victory. Tyus Jefferson again led the the Golden Bears with 16 points. Geoffrey James was named as the Nike Top Performer that game for the Golden Bears.

The Bears went on to play Queen’s Gaels for the USports bronze medal. The Bears earned the third-place bronze medal with a 95-84 victory over the Gaels. The Golden Bears were led by Brandon Meiklejohn with 19 points. Meiklejohn was named the Nike Top Performer of the game for the Golden Bears.