Mitchell leads Huskies to thrilling 97-95 win over Sea-Hawks to split weekend series

Saint Mary's guard Dontae Mitchell led the way with 21 points and nine assists, as the Huskies defeated the Memorial Sea-Hawks 97-95 in a Sunday afternoon thriller in St. John's, NL.

After dropping the first game of the weekend series 83-73 on Saturday, the Huskies looked to bounce back into the win column on Sunday.

The Huskies got off to a good start offensively, shooting 50% from the field in the first quarter and scoring 16 of their 21 points in the paint, but the Sea-Hawks offence was even better, shooting 53% from the field and 4/8 from beyond the arc to take a 25-21 lead after the first.  

Huskies forward Jackson Enyinna (Port Harcourt, Nigeria) led the charge with six points on 3/3 shooting, while Shae Linton-Brown (Toronto, ON) added four points and four rebounds. The Sea-Hawks were led by guard Flynn Boardman-Raffett (London, UK) with eight points.

In the second quarter the Sea-Hawks would open up a 35-28 lead after a dunk by Boris Ristanovic (Kragujevac, Serbia) at the 5:48 mark. But the Huskies would come roaring back, finishing the half on a 24-13 run sparked by seven points from guard Jayrell Diggs (East Preston, NS) and a pair of three-pointers from forward Sam Gillett (Halifax, NS), and capped off by a buzzer-beating lay-up by Linton-Brown, as the Huskies took a 52-41 lead into the half. 

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Shae Linton-Brown with a coast-to-coast lay-up to beat the halftime buzzer and put the Huskies up 11 at the half. pic.twitter.com/WpUal3r1Af

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 30, 2022

The Sea-Hawks pulled back ahead in the third quarter, led by eight points from Ristanovic, as they outscored the Huskies 31-19 to take a 72-71 lead into the fourth. 

The back-and-forth affair continued in the fourth quarter. After Linton-Brown fouled out with over seven minutes remaining, the Sea-Hawks opened up an 11 point lead as a Nicholas Tuff (St. John's, NL) lay-up made it 87-76 with 6:24 to go, but the three-point shooting of Gillett and Diggs brought them back within two, as each hit twice from beyond-the-arc to cut the lead to 93-91 with three minutes remaining. The Huskies put on a shooting clinic in the fourth quarter, shooting 8/10 from the field and a perfect 5/5 from beyond the arc, led by Jayrell Diggs who dropped 11 fourth quarter points on 4/4 shooting before fouling out with two minutes remaining.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Jayrell Diggs and Sam Gillett put on a fourth quarter shooting clinic, combining for 17 points on 6/6 from the field and 5/5 from three as the Huskies erase an 11 point deficit to win 97-95. pic.twitter.com/IWk1ejve7U

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 30, 2022

After Jackson Enyinna split a pair of free-throws, Dontae Mitchell had a steal and fast-break lay-up to put the Huskies back in the lead 94-93. Enyinna's clutch free-throw shooting helped seal the win as the big man hit 4/6 in the final two minutes to help push the lead to 97-95. The Sea-Hawks had the final possession of the game, but Nicholas Tuff's three-point attempt and Emmanuel Ring's putback both rimmed out and the Huskies secured their first victory of the season.

Huskies guard Dontae Mitchell (Vaughan, ON) recorded game-highs with 21 points and nine assists, was named Subway Player of the Game. Diggs added 20 points, including four three's and four assists, Enyinna added 18 points on 7/9 FG, Linton-Brown stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and Gillett scored a career high 14 points including four three's. 

All five Sea-Hawks starters scored over 16 points and combined for 87 of the team's 95 - Emmanuel Ring (St. John's, NL) and Nicholas Tuff each with 18 point, 10 rebound double-doubles, Caleb d'Entremont (St. John's, NL) with 18 on 6/8 from beyond the arc, Flynn Boardman-Raffett with 17 points and seven assists and Boris Ristanovic with 16.

After splitting the weekend series, the Huskies and Sea-Hawks both take a record of 1-1 into the second week of the season. The Huskies will return to Halifax for their home opener as they host crosstown rivals the Dalhousie Tigers on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. Atlantic. GET TICKETS

Recap by Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics