Axemen lead fizzles into loss in second half

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Saint Mary's Huskies Men's Basketball team got back to .500 with a solid win over the Acadia Axemen on Wednesday. The Huskies had a strong second half that pushed them to an 84-65 victory in front of their home crowd at Homburg Centre in Halifax. 

Acadia started strong, holding a narrow lead through much of the first half. But they fizzled out as the game went on, scrambling more in the second half and converting fewer and fewer field goal attempts. 

Marcus Upshaw (Burlington, ON) and Rowan Power (Dartmouth, NS) were the only to Axemen to reach double digits in points and Saint Mary's outscored Acadia 46 to 21 in the last two quarters, giving Acadia little chance to pull off a victory. They shot 31 percent from the field and a paltry 50 percent from the free-throw line. 

Both teams fought hard, but the difference in shooting is really where the game fell apart for Acadia. 

Saint Mary's would capitalize on their opponent's ineffective offence. 

Entering the 3rd quarter down six, the Huskies charged out of the break with a 13- point run, culminating in a three-point jump shot from first-year forward Sebastian Gray (Nassau, Bahamas). They held on to the lead from there. 

Partway through the 4th however, the Axemen appeared to be gaining some momentum. Quick layups on back to back runs brought them closer, but a sweet baby-hook from Dontae Mitchell (Vaughan, ON) following a three-pointer from Will Spaulding (Ottawa, ON) essentially iced it for Saint Mary's with six minutes remaining, putting them up 14. 

Player of the game Travis Adams nabbed a double-double for the Huskies who rose to 8-8 on the year and will face Cape Breton this Saturday at home. Acadia drops to 5-11. They host Cape Breton in Wolfville, also on Saturday.  

by Ethan Lycan-Lang 

Photo Nick Pearce