In the first weekend of men's basketball action of the New Year, the UPEI Panthers hosted the Acadia Axemen, earning back-to-back wins to sit second in the standings.
The Panthers delivered a definitive blow to the Axemen in the second quarter of a 83-57 win Friday night. UPEI outscored the Axemen 32-9 in the decisive frame, carrying a 50-26 lead into halftime. UPEI's Sam Chisholm, Elijah Miller and Kamari Scott all finished in double figures in the win. Chisholm connected on 7-of-10 field goals for a game-high 20 points. Scott recorded 15 points and six rebounds, while Miller collected 13 points and seven assists in just 25 minutes of action. Gabe Davignon was the lone Axeman to reach double figures, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
Saturday, the Panthers took off in the opening frame, outscoring the visiting Axemen 24-8 in the opening 10 to hold on for a 89-56 victory. Four players finished in double figures for UPEI, including Sam Chisholm, who scored a game-high 19 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field. Dakelle Brooks had 16 points, while Kamari Scott was a rebound shy of a double-double (15 points and nine rebounds). Subway Player of the Game Elijah Miller filled the stat sheet with 13 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a steal. Alex Muise led the Axemen with 10 points in the loss.
The Cape Breton Capers and StFX X-Men faced off in a home-and-away series this weekend, with the X-Men first hosting the Capers in Antigonish Friday night. The U SPORTS No. 7 ranked StFX X-Men picked up where they left off in November – on a winning note – as they defeated the Capers 106-82. Dondre Reddick finished with a game-high 21 points for the X-Men and picked up six rebounds and three steals as he was honoured as the Subway player of the game. David Muenkat scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds for a double-double night, along with coming up big on defense with three blocks. For the Capers, Chris Ruta was their high scorer with 19 points on the night, also hauling in nine rebounds.
Trailing by more than 20 points during the first half, the Capers rallied for a dramatic victory over the X-Men Sunday afternoon at Sullivan Fieldhouse, handing the X-Men just their second loss of the season. Chris Ruta – the Subway player of the game – finished with a double-double (20 points and 15 rebounds), while adding five blocked shots and three assists. Jason Callaghan scored a game-high 22 points while adding five rebounds and five assists for the Capers, while Tyson Cato contributed 16 points and six rebounds. Dondre Reddick and David Muenkat led the X-Men with 18 points apiece, while Antoine Vernon (13), Deon Ejim (Brampton, ON) and Nava, with 10 each, also scored in double digits.
The Saint Mary's Huskies traveled to Fredericton this weekend to take on the UNB Reds. First-year guard Marcus Barnes scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Reds in an 81-70 Friday night win over the visiting Huskies. Barnes was named Subway Player of the Game. UNB's Norm Burry posted a double-double, grabbing 10 rebounds and scoring 11 points. Jayrell Diggs and Shae Linton-Brown led the Saint Mary's offence with 20 points each. Diggs grabbed 10 rebounds too, recording a double-double.
The Huskies bounced back for their first win of 2023, defeating the Reds 77-71 Saturday afternoon in Fredericton, N.B. Huskies guard Shae Linton-Brown stuffed the stat sheet, leading all players with 23 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, and was named Subway Player of the Game. Jayrell Diggs scored 19 points and added nine rebounds for the Huskies, while first-year centre Topaz Nnani helped spark the fourth-quarter comeback with five points, three rebounds and a block. The Reds were led by Norm Burry, who finished with 23 points and five rebounds in the loss.
The Dalhousie Tigers hosted the Memorial Sea-Hawks at the Dalplex this weekend. The Tigers came out on top Saturday night, playing to a 89-75 victory over the visitors. Sam Maillet had a game-high 8 assists in addition to his 6 rebounds and 11 points and was named the Subway player of the game for his efforts. Emanual Ring finished the game with 25 points and seven rebounds while fellow Sea-Hawk Nicolas Tuff finished with a game-high 28 points and seven rebounds.
The Sea-Hawks bounced back Sunday afternoon, and were able overturn a halftime deficit to edge the Tigers 75-73 in Sunday AUS action at Dalplex. Boris Ristanovic was named the Subway Player of the Game for his game-high 20 points in Memorial's win, while Joshua Koulamallah had a team-high 15 points for the Tigers in the loss. Samuel Maillet pulled down 9 rebounds and added a steal.
Scores:
Friday, Jan. 6
Cape Breton 82 at StFX 106
Saint Mary's 70 at UNB 81
Acadia 57 at UPEI 83
Saturday, Jan. 7
Saint Mary's 77 at UNB 71
Acadia 56 at UPEI 89
Memorial 75 at Dalhousie 89
Sunday, Jan. 8
Memorial 75 at Dalhousie 73
StFX 86 at Cape Breton 91
Standings
- StFX X-Men (10-2) - 28 points
- UPEI Panthers (8-3) - 18 points
- Dalhousie Tigers (7-4) - 18 points
- Saint Mary's Huskies (6-5) - 14 points
- UNB Reds (4-7) - 12 points
- Memorial Sea-Hawks (4-6) - 8 points
- Cape Breton Capers (3-7) - 8 points
- Acadia Axemen (1-9) - 2 points