Axemen fail to advance, losing 93-89 to StFX in Semifinals

WOLFVILLE, N.S. The StFX X-men rallied in the third quarter to make up a 15 point second half deficit to topple the No. 1 seeded Acadia Axemen to move on to the Finals.

Out-scoring the Axemen 29-13 in the third quarter, the X-Men tied the game at 63 on a Jameel Williamson jump shot followed by Williamson three-pointer to give  StFX a 66-63 lead in the tail end of the third. Three foul shots by Owen Klassen and a jumper by Anthony Sears tied the game at 66 and 68, but a jump shot by Kevin Bercy gave StFX a two point lead that would grow to a high of seven with 5:49 remaining in the game.

StFX would stay ahead of Acadia for the remaining five minutes of the game to post a 93-89 final score.

X-Man William Donkoh scored a team high 31 points while AUS Most Valuable Player of the Year, Acadia's Owen Klassen netted a game high 36 points and added 12 rebounds for the losing cause.

After one half of play, Klassen and second year forward Kyle Arsenault had 16 points a piece, while Julius Antoine and William Donkoh netted 12 and 11 respectively.

StFX had 20 points off the bench and shot 54% from the floor, but the story of the night was 32 X-Men points off of Acadia turnovers and 50% from the distant arc.

While the Axemen lead with 26 points from second chance opportunities, the 20 turnovers that led to 32 points ended up being the downfall of an impressive start and a game high 17 point lead in the first half.

Kyle Arsenault posted 23 points and seven rebounds, while teammates Anthony Ashe and Anthony Sears added 12 and 11.

Jamee Williamson was 50% from the 3pt line and had 19 points. Kevin Bercy and Julius Antoine sank 11 and 10.

A special thank you goes out to graduating Axemen Owen Klassen, Anthony Ashe, Anthony Sears and Lauchlan Gale - all great ambassadors of Acadia University.