WOLFVILLE, N.S. – It took an overtime 83-81 win for the Cape Breton Capers to split the weekend in Wolfville and to beat the Acadia Axemen on Sunday afternoon.
Acadia took the lead early, scoring 22 in the first and holding the Capers to 18. The Axemen shot 9/25 from the field and 2/9 from three through the first 10. The Capers made 6 of their first 14 shots.
Another low-scoring quarter followed the first, landing the halftime score at 38-34 for the Axemen.
Ibrahim Gosselin-Diawara (Longueuil, Que.) had 3 three-pointers in the first half and went 4/7 from the field for 11 points.
Acadia played a clean first half, only committing five fouls during the first 20 minutes.
The Axemen added to their lead in the third, bringing the score to 61-53.
Marcus Upshaw (Burlington, Ont.) had an explosive quarter, putting up 15 points by the end of the third. He also had 5 assists and 2 rebounds in that time, showing up all over the court. Upshaw finished with a stat line of 17-2-5 for the Axemen and was their Player of the Game.
In the game's final minutes, the Capers jumped ahead and took a 1 point lead with 15 seconds left. Jacques Lukusa (Ottawa, Ont.) got his own rebound with 2.5 seconds left and was sent to the line. He hit the first, but his second missed, sending the game into overtime.
Osman Omar (Mississauga, Ont.) led all players for 22 points, adding 7 boards and 2 assists. Omar's all-around performance earned him a Player of the Game award.
"We were confident going into the weekend and felt like our guys had a good pre-season and are trending in the right direction. Friday night was a complete team win, which will have to be the case for us all season long. Disappointing to give up a lead in the 4th quarter at home today but those are things we need to learn from quickly as the AUS regular season continues," said Axemen head coach Kevin Duffie.
"We had a lot of positives that we need to take forward with us as we prepare to hit the road vs. UNB next weekend."
The Capers were able to secure a 1 point lead and maintain it throughout the extra frame, locking up the win on the road.
The Axemen travel to Fredericton next Friday and Saturday at UNB, while the Capers host Memorial for two games.