In the second week of AUS men's basketball action, the Cape Breton Capers and UNB Reds both played to back-to-back wins, allowing them to pick up four points apiece.
The Capers scored a home-opening 88-78 victory over the Saint Mary's Huskies Friday night. First-year Caper guard Shakael Pryce - the Chartwells player of the game – meshed a game-high 29 points, while adding six rebounds, six steals, five assists and one blocked shot. Along with Pryce, four other Capers hit double digits in scoring, including Stefan Anisko with 16, Tyson Cato with 15, Justus Peuser with 12 and Mitchell Mersereau with 11. Cato fashioned a double-double with 14 rebounds. For the Huskies, Shae Linton-Brown led three players in double figures, with 24 points, followed by Jayrell Diggs (23) and Tjark Lademacher (10). Marc-Denault Gabriel added 13 rebounds.
Saturday night, sparked by a 60-point second half, the hometown Capers thumped the Huskies 98-70. Junior forward Tyson Cato – the Chartwells player of the game – led six Capers in double figures, with 16 points, while adding five rebounds. Joining Cato in double figures were Mitchell Mersereau and Shakael Pryce, with 15 points apiece, Justus Peuser (14), along with Aaron Cunningham and Stefan Anisko – both off the bench – with 11 each. Pryce finished with nine rebounds, while Peuser dished out eight assists. For the Huskies, Jayrell Diggs scored a game-high 25 points, including six hoops from beyond the arc.
The Reds clinched a hard-fought victory over the Memorial Sea-Hawks, winning 77-65 in their home opener on Friday night. In a thrilling second half, the Reds staged a remarkable comeback led by second-year guard Marcus Barnes, who delivered an impressive performance with 19 points, five assists, and four rebounds. Barnes' contributions earned him Tim Horton's Player of the Game. Nicholas Tuff led the Sea-Hawks in points in the loss with 17.
UNB then scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Memorial Sea-Hawks 85-73 Saturday night. Second-year RED Marcus Barnes scored a game-high 27 to lead UNB and be named the Tim Horton's Player of the Game. Emanuel Ring led the Sea-Hawks, scoring 18 points, while Flynn Boardman-Raffet and Nicholas Tuff had 16 each.
Trailing by 14 points heading into the final quarter, the Acadia Axemen outscored the Dalhousie Tigers 30-13 in the fourth quarter to comeback and win 87-84 on Wednesday night. Glen Cox scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, alongside Thomas McDonald's eight of 14 to lead Acadia to victory. Defensively, the Axemen finished with eight steals as Kyle Munro led Acadia in the category again, finishing with a game-high three. The Tigers' offence was led by Malcolm Christie and Spencer Riar each scoring 21 points. Nginyu Ngala was the only other Tiger to start and finish with double digits, scoring 18 with a game-high eight rebounds.
The Tigers bounced back in a rematch of Wednesday's game, defeating the Axemen 81-65. Malcolm Christie finished the night with a game-high 22 points for the Tigers, while Glen Cox tallied 20 points for Acadia in the loss.
The StFX X-Men put on a defensive clinic in a convincing 85-68 win over the UPEI Panthers Friday night. The backcourt duo of Dondre Reddick and Antoine Vernon went off for the X-Men, scoring 18 and 17 points, respectively. Reddick connected on eight of 11 shots, with nine rebounds and two assists, while Vernon finished 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. UPEI's Kamari Scott and Jace Colley were limited to 21 points, with Colley scoring 14.
The Panthers flipped the narrative on the X-Men Saturday night, securing an impressive 80-61 win. Jace Colley finished with a game-high 28 points, also recording a double-double with 10 rebounds while adding four assists, a steal, and a block. Bennett Grumbach led the way for the X-Men with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Matt Pennell had 12 on 5-of-7 shooting.
Scores:
Wednesday, November 1
Dalhousie 84 at Acadia 87
Friday, November 3
Saint Mary's 78 at Cape Breton 88
StFX 85 at UPEI 68
Memorial 65 at UNB 77
Saturday, November 4
StFX 61 at UPEI 80
Memorial 73 at UNB 85
Saint Mary's 70 at Cape Breton 98
Sunday, November 5
Acadia 65 at Dalhousie 81
Standings
1. Cape Breton Capers (3-1)
2. StFX X-Men (3-1)
3. Acadia Axemen (2-2)
4. Dalhousie Tigers (2-2)
5. UNB Reds (2-2)
6. UPEI Panthers (2-2)
7. Memorial Sea-Hawks (1-3)
8. Saint Mary's (1-3)