X-Men fall short to Sea-Hawks in return to AUS action

Photo credit Memorial Sports Information
Photo credit Memorial Sports Information

St. John's, NF - In what was a close game for the duration of the night, the Memorial Sea-Hawks were able to come out on top by a final score of 90-84 over the STFX X-Men Friday evening.

Both teams struggled to make shots out of the gate, leading to an uneventful first quarter which saw the X-Men take an 18-15 lead after the first frame.

Shots finally started to fall for the Sea-Hawks as they began the second quarter, resulting in a successful 27-point quarter. The X-Men were still being stifled by the Sea-Hawks defence and heading into halftime, the Sea-Hawks led 42-35.

The Sea-Hawks continued their scoring ways in the third quarter, thanks to contributions from their top players, especially a strong second-half performance from Cole Long. The Sea-Hawk centre found his stroke from three-point range and was able to find success in the paint as well. Thanks to the efforts of Long among others, the Sea-Hawks took a 12-point lead heading into the final frame.

Despite the deficit entering the fourth quarter, the StFX X-Men would show plenty of resilience in their comeback effort. The X-Men were almost drawn back into the game, thanks to scoring bursts by Avan Nava and David Muenkat, closing within one point as the game neared a conclusion.

However, the Sea-Hawks led by Subway Player of the Game Long's 24 points and 10 rebounds, plus 17 points and 11 rebounds from teammate Boris Ristanovic to put the X-Men away. Ultimately, the Sea-Hawks effort on the backboard helped them soar to victory, outrebounding the X-Men by a total of 47-29.

Nava and Muenkat both finished the game with 16 points apeice for the X-Men and Justin Andrew addd 14. 

The teams clash again tomorrow at 3:00 pm at the Field House.

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Courtesy Memorial Sports Information