Clayton’s buzzer-beater helps SMU defeat Acadia 93-90

(Halifax, N.S.)—The Saint Mary's Huskies fifth-year guard Marquis Clayton (Halifax, N.S.) hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer Saturday night, topping the Acadia Axemen 93-90 in AUS men's basketball action from the Homburg Centre.

Tied 90-90 with 45 seconds left, SMU had two chances to score and could not find the basket.

Acadia gained possession with 16 seconds and missed a wide-open shot with five seconds left.

The Huskies called a time-out on the air ball and advanced the ball to half-court.

Clayton drained the three-pointer as time expired, giving SMU the 93-90 victory.

The Axemen led 20-15 after 10 minutes and SMU used a 31-18 second quarter score to build a 46-38 halftime cushion.

Acadia outscored Saint Mary's 28-23 in the third quarter and trailed SMU by three, 69-66 after thirty minutes.

Both teams were even, 24-24, in the final frame and neither held more than a four-point advantage in the quarter.

Theon Reefer (Toronto, Ont.) paced the Huskies and all scorers with 25 points on 9 for 18 shooting from the floor.

Ben Miller (Winnipeg, Man.) had 21 points for Acadia, who drop to 8-8 and sit in sixth-place in the AUS with 22 points.

All five of Acadia's starters scored in double-digits, with Trevon Grant (Nassau, Bahamas) adding a double-double with 10 rebounds to go along with his 11 points.

Clayton finished with 23 points as SMU improves to 11-6 and sit in third-place with 30 points.

Brian Rouse (Mississauga, Ont.) added 15 points for Saint Mary's and Kemar Alleyne (Scarborough, Ont.) had 12.

Both teams return to action February 17^th at 8 p.m. when Acadia hosts 8-8 StFX and SMU travels to U Sports No. 10 ranked 13-4 Dalhousie.

Saint Mary's concludes the regular-season with a two-game road trip February 24^th-25^th versus 0-16 Cape Breton Capers.

Dominic Nolasco, SMU Communications

Photo Nick Pearce