Coming off a tough loss from by the hands of the Cape Breton Capers, the St. FX X-Men looked to take advantage of an opportunity to play the Memorial Seahawks in order to help get themselves back in the win column.
Saturday night was a big night for the X-Men. After a blistering start thanks in large part to Jeremy Dunn who scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, the X-Men blew away from the Seahawks and never looked back.
Freshman Jordan Clarke played big for the X-Men, going 6 for 8 from the field, finishing with 13 points, while helping spark a big second quarter run which gave the X-Men a 44-29 lead heading into halftime.
The X-Men shot the ball well the whole half, including a blistering 42% from beyond the arc.
The second half proved to be more of the same for the X-Men as they held Memorial to just seven points in the third quarter and poured in 19 points themselves in both the third and fourth en route to an 82-48 victory.
For Memorial, Jason Shepherd scored 15 points leading the way for them, while Sackville, NS native Robbie Habib followed up with eight points.
The Seahawks looked outmatched from the opening tip as the X-Men ran them off the floor. The look on the faces of the Seahawk players said it all after Jeremy Dunn hit three after three – there was no stopping the X-Men on this night.
With the win, the X-Men remained undefeated at home and started a new win streak after Wednesday’s tough loss.
Riiny Ngot returned from injury to play 10 minutes, chipping in with two points and six rebounds while blocking three shots. The addition of Ngot helped the X-Men give some much deserved rest to both Alberto Rodriguez and Terrence Taylor.
Sunday was more of the same for the X-Men as they rallied again to beat the Seahawks 91-76. On the second day of a back to back, the X-Men looked more fatigued which made the game much closer than it needed to be, giving the Seahawks a boost, but the team from St. John’s, NF was once again no match for StFX.
A night after just attempting three field goals, Christian T-Bear Upshaw exploded for 23 points and nine assists, while Jeremy Dunn continued his hot play going for 15 points.
Perhaps the stat line of the night game out of fourth year guard Will Silver, who finished the game with a mark in almost every stat, going for 13 points, while adding four rebounds, four assists, and seven steals.
A late second half push by the Seahawks pulled the game to within ten, but the X-Men never backed down, holding Memorial off and securing their second win in as many nights.
For Memorial, it was Mark Woodland leading the way, scoring 20 points, while Robbie Habib chipped in for 15.
The X-Men now sit at 17-1 and have two more games against Cape Breton and Saint Mary’s University before they start their AUS playoff schedule.
Next up for X will be that Capers team that knocked the X-Men off just a week ago in Cape Breton. X will look to use their home crowd as an advantage as they’ll look to split the season series 1-1. Game time is 7:00 pm Friday night at the StFX Oland Centre.
Note: Riiny Ngot tallied six blocks over his last two games, and the X-Men finished the weekend hot from the free throw line, going 37-44 over the weekend series with Memorial.
Courtesy Mat MacDonald, StFX Sports Information