X-Men lose OT heartbreaker to Huskies
January 20, 2013
The X-Men basketball team lost a heartbreaker in Halifax Sunday afternoon, dropping a 96-94 game in overtime to the Saint Mary’s Huskies. The Huskies snapped an eight-game losing skid, earning their first win in AUS regular season play since November 4th.
Player of the Game Riley Halpin was clutch for the Huskies down the stretch, hitting a game-tying three-point bucket with two seconds left on the clock to lock the game at 78-78 and send it to overtime. The game was tied at 75-75 with just over a minute to play, then StFX guard Tyrell Vernon gave the X-Men a three-point edge connecting on a lay-up and one of two free throw attempts. That lead was erased by Halpin’s long ball and the five minute overtime period ensued.
The teams exchanged baskets throughout overtime, though the Huskies made good on five three-point buckets, three coming from Lee Jordan. After Halpin scored his sixth three-pointer of the evening with 29 seconds left to play to give the Huskies a 95-91 lead, veteran X-Man Jeremy Dunn replied with a three-point shot of his own to pull the X-Men to within one (95-94). Jeremy McAvoy made good on one of two free throws after a StFX foul, and on the final play of the game Jordan Clarke attempted a three-point shot for the win with seconds winding down, but was denied and the Huskies took the 96-94 victory.
Saint Mary’s was 20 for 42 from beyond the three-point arc at 47.6%. They also shot 46.6% from the floor and 47.1% from the free-throw line. The X-Men were 47.3% from field goal range, 30.0% in three-point shooting and 85.7% from the charity stripe.
Scoring was close throughout all four quarters as the lead did not swing by more than seven points to either side. The X-Men were up 24-21 after the first quarter and 45-44 at halftime. They held a 65-63 lead after three quarters of play before closing out the game at 78-78 after regulation.
Dunn was the high scorer for StFX with 20 points. He also had six rebounds and two steals. Clark scored 19 points and had seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Vernon tallied 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Rod Madera cane off the bench to score 17 points and also pulled in seven rebounds for the X-Men. Will Donkoh contributed 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Halpin and Lee each scored 24 points apiece for the Huskies, each also draining six baskets from three-point range. Halpin also had four rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Lee had four rebounds and four assists coming in off the SMU bench.
Jeremy McAvoy scored 20 points for Saint Mary’s and had six assists. Henry Ezenibe contributed nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and Miguel Pink also scored nine.
With the loss the X-Men fall to 5-6 on the season and sit in a tie for fourth place in the AUS standings with Dalhousie (5-6), each with 14 points. They are six points behind both UPEI (8-2) and Acadia (7-3) who are tied for second. Cape Breton leads the pack with 32 points and an undefeated 12-0 record.
Next up for the X-Men is a pair of games against the eighth place Memorial Sea-Hawks (0-12) on January 26th and 27th. Tip-off Saturday night at the StFX Oland Centre is 8:00 pm, followed by a 2:00 pm start on Sunday afternoon. Both games are worth four points in the standings.
Player of the Game Riley Halpin was clutch for the Huskies down the stretch, hitting a game-tying three-point bucket with two seconds left on the clock to lock the game at 78-78 and send it to overtime. The game was tied at 75-75 with just over a minute to play, then StFX guard Tyrell Vernon gave the X-Men a three-point edge connecting on a lay-up and one of two free throw attempts. That lead was erased by Halpin’s long ball and the five minute overtime period ensued.
The teams exchanged baskets throughout overtime, though the Huskies made good on five three-point buckets, three coming from Lee Jordan. After Halpin scored his sixth three-pointer of the evening with 29 seconds left to play to give the Huskies a 95-91 lead, veteran X-Man Jeremy Dunn replied with a three-point shot of his own to pull the X-Men to within one (95-94). Jeremy McAvoy made good on one of two free throws after a StFX foul, and on the final play of the game Jordan Clarke attempted a three-point shot for the win with seconds winding down, but was denied and the Huskies took the 96-94 victory.
Saint Mary’s was 20 for 42 from beyond the three-point arc at 47.6%. They also shot 46.6% from the floor and 47.1% from the free-throw line. The X-Men were 47.3% from field goal range, 30.0% in three-point shooting and 85.7% from the charity stripe.
Scoring was close throughout all four quarters as the lead did not swing by more than seven points to either side. The X-Men were up 24-21 after the first quarter and 45-44 at halftime. They held a 65-63 lead after three quarters of play before closing out the game at 78-78 after regulation.
Dunn was the high scorer for StFX with 20 points. He also had six rebounds and two steals. Clark scored 19 points and had seven rebounds, five assists and five steals, while Vernon tallied 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists. Rod Madera cane off the bench to score 17 points and also pulled in seven rebounds for the X-Men. Will Donkoh contributed 14 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Halpin and Lee each scored 24 points apiece for the Huskies, each also draining six baskets from three-point range. Halpin also had four rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Lee had four rebounds and four assists coming in off the SMU bench.
Jeremy McAvoy scored 20 points for Saint Mary’s and had six assists. Henry Ezenibe contributed nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocks, and Miguel Pink also scored nine.
With the loss the X-Men fall to 5-6 on the season and sit in a tie for fourth place in the AUS standings with Dalhousie (5-6), each with 14 points. They are six points behind both UPEI (8-2) and Acadia (7-3) who are tied for second. Cape Breton leads the pack with 32 points and an undefeated 12-0 record.
Next up for the X-Men is a pair of games against the eighth place Memorial Sea-Hawks (0-12) on January 26th and 27th. Tip-off Saturday night at the StFX Oland Centre is 8:00 pm, followed by a 2:00 pm start on Sunday afternoon. Both games are worth four points in the standings.