(ST. JOHN'S, N.L.) - The Acadia Axemen claimed their first victory in eight games, splitting the weekend with a 71-56 victory over the Memorial Sea-Hawks at the Field House on Sunday afternoon.
The first quarter was a tight one with the home team squeezing out only a two-point lead over Acadia. Memorial was 100 per cent from the free-throw line while second-year guard Kieran Hawskley (St. John's, N.L.) put two in from three-point distance in his four minutes off the bench.
In the second quarter, Acadia began to inch away from Memorial, out-shooting them 19-16. Going into the half the Axemen were leading 35-34 thanks to fourth year Shaquille Smith's (North Preston, N.S.) layup with 30 seconds to go.
The second half saw Acadia come back strong as Memorial was unable to find cohesion making only four of 28 field attempts in the last two quarters. In the third quarter the Axemen out-shot the Sea-Hawks 21-10 and finished the third up by 12 points over the home team.
The last quarter was more even between the two teams as Memorial attempted to close the gap. Second-year Sea-Hawk Davion Parnsalu (Ajax, Ont.) led the quarter with five points, all of which were from the free-throw line where the team was solid, capitalizing on Acadia fouls.
The Axemen outshot Memorial by only three points in the fourth but their gains in the previous quarters solidified the 71-56 victory.
Acadia's Rhys Larry (Maitland, Ont..) had a game-high 17 points and an impressive 20 rebounds earning him Subway player of the game honours. Shaquille Smith had 13 points of his own and three blocks in the win.
Caleb Gould (Aurora, Ont.) led the Sea-Hawks with 12 points and six rebounds while teammate Noel Moffatt (St. John's, N.L.) provided 10 of his own and 13 rebounds.
The Axemen improve to 5-14 on the season while Memorial falls to 6-12 with the loss.
Despite the loss the Sea-Hawks clinched the final playoff position in the AUS with four points over Acadia. While the Axemen have one game left to potentially catch the Sea-Hawks in a 18-point draw, Memorial's 29 point victory on Saturday would break the tie by point differential. This marks the first time in nine years the Sea-Hawks have made the playoffs.
Memorial will be off to Fredericton, N.B. next weekend for games against the first-ranked UNB Varsity reds on Feb. 20 and 21. Acadia plays next when they host the UPEI Panthers in their last four-point game of the season on Friday.
Source: Memorial Sports Communications