(Halifax, NS) – In game two of the Shoveller Memorial Invitational Basketball Tournament, the Acadia Axemen took on the StFX X-Men. It took overtime to solve this one, but StFX were able to take the win 90-87.
Acadia came out to a blistering start as they quickly jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first quarter with Rhys Larry (Brockville, ON) picking up six of those points. Meanwhile, the X-Men were ice cold to start the game as they went 0-5 from deep to start.
The X-Men were able to settle down and started taking the ball inside. Their aggressiveness was rewarded with trips to the line, and they brought themselves back into the game, and eventually the lead when Tristen Ross (Truro, NS) got his 3-pointer to fall.
StFX picked up the interior defence with Axaro Roker (Nassau, Bahamas) acting as a shot-blocking force down low. Jaydan Smith nailed shots on back-to-back possessions late in the quarter, including a tough buzzer beater from deep to end the first and keep the X-Men on top 25-19.
Acadia started getting long shots of their own to fall in the second as Nick De Palma (Bedford, NS) knocked down two from beyond the arc and Acadia was able to regain their lead. When the outside shots stopped falling, they moved the ball inside to Forest Mahoney (Beachburg, ON) who threw down two big dunks late in the half.
Acadia went into the half with the slight edge at 39-37, with Rhys Larry leading the way for them with 10 points. Ross led the X-Men into the half with 10 of his own, including knocking down a shot at the buzzer.
Baskets were traded early in the fourth with the score staying close, till Erik Nissin (Quispamsis, NB) picked up quick points from trips to the line to give the Axemen an edge.
StFX ended the quarter hitting two shots from Daniel Passley (Mississauga, ON) in the final 30 seconds to keep them close at 61-57 heading into the fourth.
The score remained close with Acadia holding a slight advantage till Kevin Bercy (Kanata, ON) finished a tough shot through contact to give StFX the one-point lead.
The teams traded baskets, and the lead, with StFX holding onto a three-point lead with just 40 seconds left. Acadia came out of the timeout and Ben Miller knocked down the long shot to tie it up at 77-77.
Acadia had the final possession after a timeout with just 1.2 seconds left on the clock, but the shot from way beyond the three-point line was no good, and the game headed to overtime.
The overtime period seemed like it would come down to which big-man was better, as Erik Nissen and Kevin Bercy traded baskets down low. With just over a minute left, Azaro Roker finished through hard contact to put StFX up three. Acadia couldn't find the answer from long range, and StFX took this one by a final score of 90-87.
Rhys Larry earned the player of the game for Acadia with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Kevin Bercy earned the title for StFX with his 19 point, 11 rebound double-double.
Acadia will face off against Concordia tomorrow at 1:00, while StFX will take on Saint Mary's at 6:00 tomorrow.
Submitted by Dalhousie Athletics Communications