Antigonish, NS - The STFX X-Men basketball team extended their winning streak to three, dropping the Memorial Sea-Hawks 78-72 on Coach K Court on Sunday afternoon.

For the X-Men, David Muenkat (Brampton, ON) earned Subway player of the game honors, picking up 20 points and seven boards, while Antoine Vernon (Hamilton, ON) had 13 for the home team, while adding four assists and five rebounds.

Emanuel Ring (St. John's, NL) led the Sea-Hawks in scoring and earned player of the game for his squad, dropping 23 points in the loss. Nicholas Tuff (St. John's NL) was close behind, adding 19 points and six rebounds for the visitors.

The Sea-Hawks bounced back from their 121-63 loss to the X Men on Saturday night, taking it to the home squad early. Memorial led by four points midway through the first quarter, but X fought back and even retook the lead, before the Sea-Hawks hit their final shot in the quarter, which ended with the score 19-18 in favour of the visitors. Twelve of Memorial's points came from beyond the arc in the quarter.

The two teams exchanged scores early in the second quarter, with neither able to maintain extended offensive pressure until X went on a short run midway through. Memorial had a hot streak of their own, and retook the lead late, but the back and forth half ended tied 40-40 at halftime.

Both teams were tough on defence, with each hitting double digits in fouls before the half was over, leading to 11 free throw points for Memorial and 10 for STFX. Memorial held a slight edge in rebounds at the end of the half, 22-19, while X had 11 turnovers to the Sea-Hawks' 15.

The teams traded buckets on their first possessions in the second half, and the game stayed close throughout the third stanza. No lead was safe, as the teams went back and forth, but Memorial held a slim 61-60 edge going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter saw much of the same, with the teams trading leads, until X pulled away by three points with just under two minutes left. After a late time out, STFX turned it into a two-possession game, and Memorial wasn't able to close the distance.

The 7-1 X Men next hit the court on Friday against Dalhousie in Halifax, before returning home the next night to host UNB.

The 3-5 Sea-Hawks finished up their first half of the regular season, and next hit the hardwood on January 7, for a road game against the Dalhousie Tigers.

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Recap courtesy Matt Draper, STFX Athletics

David Muenkat earned Subway Player of the Game honours with 20 points & 7 rebounds in the X-Men's 78-72 win over Memorial this afternoon! #goxgo #SubwayFuel pic.twitter.com/I0zqONYZwg

— StFX Athletics (@StFXAthletics) November 20, 2022