Axemen finish 4th at Wesmen Classic

Recaps of Coca Cola Wesmen Classic hosted by the University of Winnipeg.

Bronze Medal Finals - Winnipeg 90  Acadia 64 

The Winnipeg Wesmen broke a second-quarter tie with 20 straight points to run away from the Acadia Axemen with a 90-64 win to claim 3rd place at the 49th Wesmen Classic. 

During the second-quarter surge the Wesmen were led by Denzel Lynch-Blair, Jelane Pryce and Jamar Farley. Lynch-Blair had a game-high 25 points, 12 rebounds and three assists, before he fouled out with his second technical, and received the player of the game honour for his efforts. 

Acadia was unable to close a 16-point halftime gap early in the third quarter and the Wesmen took advantage of the Axemen press to add to their lead. Third-year forward Erik Nissen led the Axemen with 13 points and six rebounds. 
Pryce, playing in his final Wesmen Classic, had 18 points and eight boards, while the fourth-year Farley had eight points. Australian Ryan Oirbans also put up a double-double of 10-11 before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.

Player of the Game: Winnipeg #0 Denzel Lynch-Blair 25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists

Semi-Finals - Acadia 47  Lakehead 89

With three players in double-digit points in the first half, the Lakehead Thunderwolves were too much for the Acadia Axemen in the second semifinal of the 49th Wesmen Classic. 

The Thunderwolves punched their ticket to the championship final with a 89-47 victory. Lakehead never trailed leading by 14 after the first quarter, 22 at the half and 30 after three. Freshmen Brandon Persad and Kache Kopec, along with fourth-year Bacarius Dinkins led the 'Wolves. Persad earned the player of the game nod for his 19-point effort, while Kopec had 15 and Dinkins had 16. 

The Axemen received 10 points from freshman guard Mitchell Tempro and fourth-year forward Kyle Arsenault. The Thunderwolves will go for their fifth Wesmen Classic trophy, and third since 2009, against the Manitoba Bisons on Wednesday, 8 p.m. Acadia will take on the host Winnipeg Wesmen in the third place game at 4:00 p.m. 

Player of the Game:Lakehead #7 Brandon Persad 19 points, 6-of-9 for three in 16 minutes of play


Quarterfinals - Acadia 84  MacEwan 82

Fourth year forward Kyle Arseneault drained the game winning three-pointer as time expired to give the Acadia Axemen a thrilling 84-82 victory over the MacEwan Griffins in the quarter-finals of the 2015 Coca Cola Wesmen Classic.

Arseneault who was named Player of the Game for his performance had a game high 27 points, including six-three pointers.
Erik Nissen added 17 points and eight rebounds. Shaquille Smith had 15 points for the Axemen.

MacEwan had five players in double-digits led by Keith Gerdes's 18 points to go along with nine rebounds. Denzel James added 14 while Chris Mooney added 13.

Acadia relied on the three-pointer in the contest draining 10 in the contest. MacEwan went into the halftime break with a 42-34 lead but were unable to hold the lead as the Axemen exploded for 50 points in the second half.

Player of the Game: Acadia #15 Kyle Arseneault 27 points