Axemen fall short in massive comeback vs Sea-Hawks

WOLFVILLE, NS – The Acadia Axemen fell to the Memorial Sea-Hawks 87–81 in Tuesday afternoon's contest. The Sea-Hawks were led by AUS Subway Player of the Game Emanuel Ring (St. John's, Nfld.). Ring scored a game-high 28 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in the game.  

The Memorial Sea-Hawks brought energy and effort early on both ends of the court. On defense, the Sea-Hawks were active in the passing lanes and were able to capitalize off several Acadia turnovers.

Ring made up for his slow start in yesterday's game by igniting Memorial's offense early in the first quarter. Ring scored 10 of his 28 points in the opening frame. 

Ryan Munro (Timberlea, N.S.) provided a spark off the bench in the first quarter for the Axemen. Munro hit back-to-back threes to breathe life into Acadia's offense. In his minutes, Acadia trimmed Memorial's once 12-point lead down to 6 points.  

The second quarter saw Ring continue to leave his impression on the game as he piled on another nine points. However, turnovers began to add up for Ring as he gave up the ball four times in the quarter. Turnovers would continue to be a theme for the Sea-Hawks as the match drew on.  

Jodick Moudiandambu (Hamilton, Ont.) was also impactful in the first half for Memorial. The first-year guard contributed 11 points in the half and put pressure on Acadia's defense with his driving ability. 

Memorial's strong play in the first half gave them a 52–34 advantage going into the third quarter. The lead would be expanded, growing to 34 points at the 8:55 mark in the fourth quarter.  

It was at this point that Acadia found lightning in a bottle with their bench unit. The unit was driven by the dual shooting threats of Gabe Davignon (Whites Lakes, NS) and Ryan Munro. The two guards combined for eight made threes, converting on a blistering 73% of their attempts. It was Davignon's 17 fourth-quarter points that earned him the title of player of the game for the Axemen. 

Acadia outscored Memorial 35 – 7 for the rest of the contest, shrinking the score difference to 4 points with 11 seconds left, but they were unable to complete the comeback. 

The 3–14 Axemen are home this Saturday against STFX in their last home game of the season and then they cap off the regular season on the road at STFX on Tues. Feb. 14 and at UNB on Sat. Feb. 18

 For Memorial, this win brings them to 7–9 on the season and they will return home to play the UNB Reds this Saturday at 8:00 PM. 

RECAP BY: Ryan Wallace, Acadia Athletics