Stu Aberdeen Tournament – Sat. Sept. 29 - Game 5: StFX 87 vs Bishop's 76
The StFX X-Men closed out the Stu Aberdeen Tournament with their first win against the Bishop's University Gaiters 87-76.
Play was tight throughout the first three quarters. Despite Joany Castor-Thadal's (Montréal, Que.) 15-point opening quarter, StFX lead the first quarter 22-20.
Each team added 22 points in the second quarter, bringing the score to 44-22 for the X-Men. Castor-Thadal kept up his scoring pace and went into halftime with a game-leading 25 points.
Both teams were benefiting from a multitude of three-point baskets, each of them making 7, but the Gaiters would require 9 more attempts to get their 21 points.
The score remained close throughout the third quarter, with the scoring differential never exceeding 5. The X-Men started rotating players off their bench and continued to shoot consistently and successfully.
After 30 minutes of play, the score was 67-64 for StFX. The X-Men saw plenty of their points coming off the hands of Justin Andrew (Hamilton, Ont.), who tallied 25 in the game and was named the Subway Player of the Game.
The X-Men finally broke out during the fourth quarter and started to separate themselves from the Gaiters. Over the last 10 minutes, the Gaiters slowly watched the scoring gap increase until the final buzzer. The final score of the game was 87-76 for St FX.
The Gaiters did not appear to be the same team they were in the first half, as they only made 3 more threes after halftime; shooting a 3-point field goal percent of 23.8.
Tristen Ross and Daniel Passley posted 15 and 14 points respectively.
Gaiters' Joany Castor-Thadal and Kevin Davis delivered 26 and 20 points.
The X-Men kick off the StFX Invitational Tournament on October 5 against Cape Breton.
The Gaiters next play October 11 when they host uOttawa.
Stu Aberdeen Tournament – Sat. Sept. 29 – Game 6: Carleton 127, Acadia Axemen 66
The Carleton Ravens swept the Stu Aberdeen basketball tournament by defeating the host Acadia Axemen - 127-66.
Carleton kicked the game off with a 14-0 run against the Axemen, and outscored them all quarter to pull ahead 30-9. Raven Eddie Ekiyor (Ottawa, Ont.) had 17 points in the first and finished with a game-high 23.
Acadia struggled to make any of their 10 attempted threes in the second frame. The Ravens took advantage of the struggling Axemen and stretched the score to 67-21 before halftime.
Acadia was able to score 20 in the third and held Carleton to only 25 points, but even the Raven's worst quarter was good enough to defeat the Axemen. After the third quarter, Carleton led 92-41.
Carleton kept their foot on the pedal until the final buzzer, adding 35 points in the fourth quarter to secure the win and a perfect record over their three game weekend. The final score was 127-66 for the Ravens.
Whenever Carleton Raven TJ Lall (Cambridge, Ont.) stepped onto the court during the tournament, he was made a positive impact for his team, whether it be shooting threes, drawing fouls, or picking up rebounds at both ends of the court. Lall's overall dominance on the court earned him the Subway Player of the Game award and he was named the MVP of the tournament.
Acadia's next exhibition game is October 11 against the visiting Brock Badgers, followed by a match up against the visiting and 2018 U SPORTS champion Calgary Din.
The Ravens will take on the Guelph Gryphons at home on October 12.
Submitted by Theodore Giesen, Acadia Athletics Communications