Game recap by: Kirk Jessome
(Halifax, NS) – In game two of the weekend series, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the Cape Breton Capers in matinee action. After a tight three quarters, the Tigers doubled up the Capers in the fourth to take an 89-76 win.
The key was clogged up early on both ends of the floor, with neither team able to get clean looks from the inside, so both looked for perimeter chances in the opening minutes.
For the Capers, Artur Arhangelski (Rakvere, Estonia) knocked down his first shot of the game from deep, and on the other end the Tigers answered right back with a three of their own from Alex Carson (Lower Sackville, NS).
With so many people attacking the paint on each shot, offensive rebounds were abundant for the Tigers late in the quarter, and they were able to use the extra possessions to continue finding shooters on the perimeter like Jordan Brathwaite (Milton, ON), who knocked down shots on back to back possessions.
At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers had a 26-18 advantage.
The Tigers changed up their attacking style, moving much of the play down to the baseline in order to free up space in the high post, and it was working early in the quarter with Keevan Veinot (Port Williams, NS) and Brathwaite both getting inside and finishing through contact for three-point plays.
The Tigers stretched their lead to 10, midway through the second quarter.
The transition game for the Capers was strong in the quarter after beating the Tigers pressure defense, it opened up passing lanes for Shacqier Locke (Mississauga, ON) to get to the rim, and Osman Omar (Mississauga, ON) to knock down a shot from deep.
The final minutes of the half ended in a flurry, with Braithwaite driving to the hoop and setting up Sascha Kappos (Miami, FL) for the alley-oop drunk, followed up by Omar knocking down another three on the next possession.
At the end of the first half, the Tigers still had the lead at 46-41.
The outside shooting for the Tigers went cold to start the second half, but Sascha Kappos was able to get himself going, picking up six quick points, including another ally-oop off the pass from Xavier Ochu (Milton, ON).
The Capers were right with them out of the break however, with Omar knocking down two more shots from deep in the opening minutes.
Gaining momentum at the end of the corner, the Capers were forcing the Tigers into turnovers, and the transition play continued to lead to opportunities at the rim, or at the line for them.
The Capers earned their first lead of the game on a massive and-one play by Ibrahim Gosselin-Diawara (Longueuil, QC) at the end of the third quarter to make it 60-59 heading into the fourth.
The Capers won the second and third quarters by a combined 42-33.
The Tigers went on a tear to start the fourth, starting an 8-0 run just over a minute into the quarter led by two tough plays on the inside by Jordan Wilson (Nassau, Bahamas), forcing the Capers to call timeout.
With five minutes to go in the game, the Tigers made a few stops in a row, and were able to come up with some big three-point plays. One from Cedric Sanogo (Montreal, QC) finishing through contact and getting to the line, and the other off of the hand of Venoit from deep.
Those back to back possessions pushed the Tigers ahead by eight, midway through the fourth quarter.
The Tigers were able to get some offense generated in the paint in the final few minutes, and it extended the lead out of reach for the Capers, up 10 with under two minutes to go.
As the final whistle blew in the fourth, the Tigers came away with the 89-76 victory.
Osman Omar led the scoring for the Capers with 25 points, going 6-9 from deep. For the Tigers, Alex Carson picked up 17 points, 6 boards and 4 assists, while Jordan Braithwaite was named the Subway Player of the Game in the win with 11 points and 4 assists.
The Tigers are back on the court next Friday, when they travel to take on UNB in a set of back to back games. The Capers will have their home opener on Saturday when they host StFX.