Axemen move up in AUS standings with win over MUN

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Axemen basketball team picked up an important 4-point win in the standings, handing the visiting Memorial Sea-Hawks a 97-82 loss.

The win moves the Axemen from sixth place in the AUS standings to fourth spot, only two points behind the third place Saint Mary's Huskies.

Out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minute of the game, the Sea-Hawks struggled in the later moments of the first quarter, allowing the Axemen to pull out to a 22-6 lead off of a 15-0 run.

Kyle Arseneault's (Fredericton, N.B.) jump shot at 5:07 followed by a three-point shot by Arseneault and Ben Miller's (Winnipeg, Man.) two foul shots and a three pointer, catapulted Acadia into a lead that would not be lost for the remainder of the game.

With a 26-11 lead after one quarter, Acadia posted a 53-30 halftime lead and continued to dominate in the paint with 26 points compared to Memorial's 14 along with 20 points from turnovers compared to only four on the Sea-Hawk side.

Closing out the third quarter with a 75-59 lead, Acadia eventually captured the 97-82 win. Graduating senior Kyle Arseneault netted 22 points in 30 minutes of play. Arseneault was four for nine from the distant arc. Teammate Erik Nissen (Quispamsis, N.B.) was 8-12 from the floor and had a game high 12 rebounds and 17 points.

Off the bench, first year forward Jerome Mugambi (Oakville, Ont.) posted 13 points while fellow rookie Trevon Grant (Nassau, Bahamas) picked up 11 points and three steals.

On the losing end, Sea-Hawk Vasilije Curcic (Kragujevac, Serbia) scored an impressive 22 points and nine rebounds. Off the bench, Daniel Gordon (Scarborough, Ont.) was on fire with 20 points in 24 minutes. Nathan Barker (Massey Drive, Nfld.) added 15 points.

Both teams will end the regular season tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. with a rematch in Wolfville.