(HALIFAX, N.S.) The defending men’s champions started off the 2022 Subway AUS Men’s Basketball Championship on the right note as the Dalhousie Tigers (1st seed) defeated the Acadia Axemen (8th seed) 86-69.
Fourth-year forward Eli Kraushar (Halifax, N.S.) opened the scoring for Acadia before Dalhousie’s two first team all-stars, Alex Carson (Lower Sackville, N.S.) and Keevan Veinot (Port Williams, N.S.) put the Tigers on the board with four straight free-throws.
An early slam dunk by Subway Player of the Game Keevan Veinot gave the hometown Halifax crowd a chance to cheer. Veinot finished with seven rebounds and 24 points while going six-for-six from the free throw line.
Kraushar responded shortly after with a big three-point shot, much to the delight of the Acadia fans in attendance. After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Tigers held a one-point lead, 15-14.
A three-pointer for Dalhousie from Carson gave the Tigers a 20-15 lead in the first half.
Acadia turned it on at the end of the quarter with a late three-pointer from Axemen guard Ryan Munro (Timberlea, N.S.). Moments earlier, his teammate Jack Tilley (Rothesay, N.B.) also sank a three, part of a seven-point run for Acadia. Dalhousie finished the half ahead 34-31.
Alex Muise (Halifax, NS) made it a tied game with a three-pointer for Acadia to start the second half, but eight unanswered points by Dalhousie, including four from Samuel Wade (Wallace, N.S), were key in the Tigers establishing a lead. The Tigers outscored Acadia 27-17 in the third quarter.
A late push by the Axemen in the final quarter, including 10 points by third-year guard Muise, highlighted a tight fourth quarter, with Dalhousie narrowly had 25 points compared to 21 for Acadia.
AUS defensive player of the year Samuel Maillet (Moncton, N.B.) finished his night with a slam dunk as part of a one-rebound, seven-point night. Dalhousie’s Nginyu Ngala (Montrael, Que.), a member of the 2021-22 all-rookie team, finished the game with 14 points.
Thomas MacDonald (Rothesay, N.B.) was the Subway Player of the Game for the Axemen thanks to a strong game on both sides of the ball, with seven rebounds and 13 points.
Acadia made 8 of 20 (40%) three-pointers compared to 6 of 21 (28.6%) for Dalhousie, but the Tigers were more efficient from the free-throw line, making 32 of 37 compared to 13 of 22 for the Axemen.
Dalhousie’s next game is on Saturday, March 19 at 3 p.m. The Tigers play the winner of the Memorial vs. Saint Mary’s quarter-final, which takes place on Friday, March 18 at 3 p.m.
Both games, along with the rest of the 2022 Subway AUS Basketball Championships are available to watch on AUStv.ca.
For tickets to Friday, Saturday and Sunday's games, visit ticketatlantic.com
Recap by Jonathan Briggins