HALIFAX, N.S. - A covid-capacity crowd at the Homburg centre was not disappointed. They were treated to another close matchup this Saturday, coming off Saint Mary's win at Acadia the night before.
Axemen forward Thomas MacDonald sinks the first points of the game with a determined lay-up at 9:15. Huskies 3rd year Qyemah Gibson (Eleuthera BH / Commerce) throws up the Huskie's first two at 7:18 and the game gets going.
Both Acadia and Saint Mary's move through fast transition offense, with a tied score of 10-10 at 4:46 off a rolling lay-up by veteran guard Jack Tilley. Acadia's defense seems to be scrambling to match Saint Mary's fast ball, with their offense giving up 4 turnovers to the Huskies 2 in the 1st. Huskies 3rd-year Shae Brown (Vaughn on / Arts) and 1st-year Jayrell Diggs (East Preston NS / Commerce) set an aggressive pace deep in the 1st, combining 7 points, 2 steals and 2 rebounds to close it. The Huskies up 25-14, shooting 45% from the field. An exchange of fouls in the first frame lands Axemen players with a total 7, to the Huskies 5.
The second quarter starts hot with a good matchup between Acadia's Rowan Power and Huskies Shae Brown, with 7 and 6 points coming from each respectively. 6 points a-piece for Axemen guards Tilley and Alex Muise close the gap to 7, with their shots falling nicely from the perimeter.
Brown finishes the first half with an impressive 14 points, and the rookie Diggs picks up 6 points and 2 momentum-changing steals. Huskies finish the 2nd shooting 57% from the field, matched closely by Acadia at 56%. Acadia boasts an impressive 83% from 3-point range in the 2nd. A buzzer-beating 3-point banger for Acadia's Power ends the half feeling closer than it was. Huskies lead 44-37 going into the 3rd.
Axemen's big forward MacDonald drops one in from under the basket for their first score of the 3rd at 7:08, an answer for the Huskies layup by Diggs. MacDonald leads a 6-point Acadia run on his own in the 3rd to narrow the Huskies lead to 6 at 5:57. A fast break play by Diggs ending in a lay-up puts the Huskies lead back up to 10 at 5:08. Axemen forward Eli Kraushar dominates the 3rd for Acadia with 8 points, while 3rd year Huskie Jace Colley (East Preston NS / Commerce) and Diggs heat up on the Huskies side with a combined 17 pts. The Acadian offense of Muise, Kraushar and Tilley combine for 16 pts to end the 3rd at 67-59, with Acadia unable to complete a shot before the buzzer.
Acadia drops an under-and-back ball by Power at the start of the 4th. Muise and Colley are the playmakers of the quarter. The Huskies lead drops to a tense 1 point off a Muise lay-up at 5:21 in the 4th after a big dunk made by Colley at 8:38. Axemen's Power tries to slow things down and set the offense, combining with Muise and Kraushar for 17 pts in the 4th. A big steal by Gibson for Saint Mary's sets up Colley for the layup and Saint Mary's is back to a 5-point lead at 4:10. A baseline inbound to soft jumper by Huskies Gibson at 3:15 widens that lead back to 7.
A step-back jumper off a steal for Brown at 2:10 makes it 84-73, the first 10-point lead since halfway through the 3rd.
A perfectly placed ball off the board for Acadia's MacDonald at 1:11 looks to close the gap, setting up an 8-point run in the last minute of play for Acadia, but it's not enough to follow two unstoppable drives by Johneil Johnson deep in the 4th. The Huskies close the game 90-81.
Subway's player of the game was Jace Colley with 20 game points, and 4 rebounds.
Next up, the Huskies take on the UNB Reds in back-to-back home games starting Friday, November 5th. The Axemen will face the St. F.X. Axemen on the road on Wednesday, November 3rd.
Writing Credit: Lauren Phillips
Photo Credit: Nick Pearce