Axemen unable to tame Tigers in Halifax

The Dalhousie Tigers defeated the Acadia Axemen 81-65 on Saturday at Dalplex in a rematch of Wednesday's game, which saw the Axemen win. 

Glen Cox (Scotsburn, NS) opened the scoring in the game for Acadia with a layup with 8:11 left of the quarter. Cox led the Axemen in scoring with 20 points.  

Under a minute later, Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, NB) got the Tigers on the board after a rebound from Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, QC), who pushed the ball down the court. This led to a Christie 3-pointer on the wing in transition. Christie led all Tigers in scoring with 22 points. 

It was a tight quarter as Samou Brayan Kone (Thias, Île-de-France) blocked a shot, leading to an Acadia and-one from Demeric Mercer (Halifax, NS), who converted the free throw to make it 12-7 Acadia.  

Sam Maillet (Moncton, NB) had several transition buckets in the half, including one in the first quarter, which cut the lead to 12-9 with 1:58 left. Mercer made a 3-pointer with five seconds left of the quarter to put Acadia up 15-14. 

Christie made an and-one midrange jumper 1:24 into the second quarter. Ngala extended the Tigers lead with a 3-pointer to put the Tigers up 25-17 with 6:15 left of the half. 

Miguel Perez Boskovic (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) responded with a 3-pointer of his own with 5:49 left of the half, ending the game with 10 points. 

The half would finish with the Tigers leading 42-35 and Christie leading all teams in scoring with 12 points. 

Dal maintained control in the third quarter, but Acadia were still on their tail. Acadia cut the lead to 52-45 with 3:29 left, thanks to a 3-pointer from Kyle Munro (Halifax, NS). 

Gabe Damey (Ypsilanti, Michigan) made a tough basket with 1:42 left of the quarter with an and-one coming off a mid-range jump shot while fading to put the Tigers up 59-46.  

Ngala made a 3-pointer with 6:35 left in the game to put the Tigers up 12 points. Christie would also help close the game with a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 80-63 with 2:41 left.  

Both teams now hold 2-2 records for the season. 

The Axemen host the Cape Breton Capers next weekend and the Tigers next play the SMU Huskies on Wednesday at Dalplex at 8pm in a battle of Halifax schools.