Basketball X-Men heading into AUS championship

The StFX basketball X-Men are preparing for the upcoming Subway AUS championship, slated for this weekend, March 12-14 at Centre 200 in Sydney, NS.
 
The X-Men enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and have received a bye into the semi-finals on Saturday at 8:15 pm. They await the winner of the Saint Mary’s (No. 3) and UPEI (No. 6) quarterfinal game for their opponent. Dalhousie (No. 4) and Acadia (No. 5) meet in the other quarterfinal with the winner advancing to play the No. 1 seeded Cape Breton Capers Saturday at 6:00 pm. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 pm.

“The AUS men’s basketball playoffs will be a ‘war’ this weekend, with StFX, CBU and Saint Mary’s all having beaten each other this year, and the defending champion DAL Tigers trying to repeat their upset victory of last year, with young teams from Acadia and UPEI attempting to upset the applecart,” comments veteran X-Men head coach Steve Konchalski. “In any playoff on a neutral court, anything can happen – and usually does.”
 
The X-Men own a 1-1 conference record and 3-2 overall record against the Saint Mary’s Huskies this season. The Huskies recently handed them only their second regular season loss this past Friday at StFX, knocking them off 87-79. In the other regular season meeting, the X-Men easily handled the Huskies 95-59 in Halifax on Jan. 27th.
 
In exhibition play, the X-Men two wins over Saint Mary’s, an 82-79 win in Halifax on Nov. 1st and an 82-71 win at Antigonish on Oct. 17th in the championship game of the StFX Invitational tournament. The Huskies beat the X-Men in the championship game of the Dalhousie Rod Shoveller Invitational by a 71-66 margin.
 
The X-Men posted a 2-0 record over the UPEI Panthers this season, although both wins were high scoring affairs with close margins of victory. StFX had a 94-83 win in Charlottetown on Nov. 6th and a 91-85 win in Antigonish on Jan. 31st. The two teams did not meet in exhibition play.  
 
Regardless of the opponent, the AUS semi-final match up should prove to be an exciting affair, as would the championship game should the X-Men advance. The StFX squad will be looking to redeem their 72-60 loss in last year’s AUS final to the Dalhousie Tigers. The last time the X-Men won the AUS banner was I the 2005-06 season. They have 12 total conference championship titles to their credit.
 
The 2010 Subway Atlantic University Sport Men’s Basketball Championship championship schedule is as follows, with all games being played at Centre 200 in Sydney. Saturday’s semi-final games, along with the championship game will be broadcast on EastLink Television and streamed online at http://www.eastlink.ca/eltv/ELTV_WebCasting/.

Friday, March 12th
Quarter-final #1: Dalhousie (4th) vs. Acadia (5th), 6:00pm
Quarter-final #2: Saint Mary’s (3rd) vs. UPEI (6th), 8:15pm

Saturday, March 13th
Semifinal #1: Cape Breton (1st) vs. Winner of Quarter-final #1, 6:00pm
Semifinal #2: StFX (2nd) vs. Winner of Quarter-final #2, 8:15pm

Sunday, March 14th
Championship Game: Semi-final Winners, 2:00pm

The Atlantic University Sport champions will advance to the 2010 CIS Men’s Basketball Championship, March 19-21, 2010, hosted by Carleton University in Ottawa.
 
For more information on the 2010 Subway AUS Men’s Basketball Championship, visit the event website at www.atlanticuniversitysport.com/final6/.
 
Tickets for the championship can be purchased by contacting the Centre 200 box office at:  902-564-6668.