Antigonish, NS - The Cape Breton University Capers captured the 36th Annual StFX Invitational, sponsored by Pizza Delight, with a 91-84 victory over the host X-Men Saturday night at Oland Centre.
Akeem Isaac-Philip (Scarborough, ON) led the Capers with 18 points off the bench, while adding six assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Meshack Lufile (Burlington, ON), who earned the Ernie Foshay Memorial Award as tournament MVP, was a perfect eight-for-eight from the field in scoring 16 points.
Tournament all-star AJ Geugjes (Amsterdam, NED) led Cape Breton with eight rebounds to go with 12 points. Kenny Jean-Louis (Montreal, QC) and Seth Amoah (Montreal, QC) also hit double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
The Capers led 46-40 at halftime.
For the X-Men, tournament all-star Kevin Bercy (Kanata, ON) had a game-high 20 points, along with eight rebounds, four steals and one assist.
"We put in a lot of effort and played hard," the sophomore forward said after the loss. "We have things to work on, but we are going to be fine; it is just one game." Bercy reminded that it was the X-Men's first game of the season versus a CIS opponent.
Tournament all-star Jordan Tyrrell (Montreal, QC), in only his second game after missing most of last season, scored 15 points, while chipping in four steals and three assists. Sophomore Cameron Walker (Dallas, TX) contributed a double-double – 14 points and 10 rebounds – for StFX.
In Saturday's first game, the Dalhousie Tigers defeated the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics, of the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association (ACAA), 81-58 to earn consolation honours. Cedric Sanogo (Montreal, QC) had a game-high 20 points for the Tigers.
Sven Stammberger (Halifax, NS), a tournament all-star, had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jarred Reid (Aurora, ON) and Sean Dodds (Ottawa, ON) also hit double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Tournament all-star Emad Khalek (Truro, NS) led the Mystics with 12 points. Dustin Poirier (Waterville, NS) scored 11, while collecting seven assists, four rebounds and four steals. Jack Gallinaugh (Halifax, NS) contributed nine points and a team-high six rebounds for the Mystics.
Dalhousie led 46-26 at the intermission.
The X-Men earned their trip to the tournament final with a lopsided 110-69 win over Mount Saint Vincent Friday night.
"I think in the first half we were getting the kinks out a little bit," StFX head coach Steve Konchalski said after the win.
Bercy led five X-Men in double figures with 25 points, while adding 10 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. He converted 11 out of 13 field goal attempts.
In his first game with StFX, guard Alastair Cole (Pickering, ON) scored 17 points off the bench, while starters Walker and Tyrrell added 13 points apiece. Tyrrell also contributed five assists and three steals. Temitayo Shittu (Burlington, ON) chipped in 10 points and four rebounds.
Sophomore guard Jameel Williamson (Pickering, ON) led the X-Men with nine assists, while adding six rebounds. StFX soundly led the rebounding battle with a 53-23 advantage over the Mystics.
The X-Men, who led 56-45 at the break, outscored the Mystics 54-24 in the second half.
"It feels great," Cole said at halftime, noting how happy he was to join his friend and fellow Pickering, Ontario native Jameel Williamson with the X-Men.
Khalek led Mount Saint Vincent with 12 points, including three three-pointers, while Gallinaugh and Rene Amit (New Glasgow, NS), with 11 and 10 points, respectively, also scored in double digits for the Mystics. Poirier led the Mystics with six rebounds, while Khalek and Brandon Doyle (Fall River, NS) had four rebounds each.
Prior to the game, StFX Athletics unveiled a banner in Oland Centre to commemorate Konchalski's 40th season as head coach of the program. Members of the back-to-back CIS champion X-Men teams (1999-2000 and 2000-2001) were also honoured. On the previous night, both squads were inducted into the StFX Sports Hall of Fame at the StFX Keating Centre.
"It is great to see any of my former players," Konchalski said of the reunion with members of those X-Men teams. "It is terrific and much appreciated," he added of the hall of fame inductions.
In the opening semifinal game Friday night, the Capers outscored the Tigers 26 to 11 in the fourth quarter en route to a 74-61 victory.
First-year Caper guard Vishal Banipal (Calgary, AB) led his team with 18 points, including a five-for-six effort from three-point range. Geugjes scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 17 minutes for Cape Breton.
Amoah chipped in eight points, six assists, two rebounds and two steals for the Capers. The Tigers led 39-33 at halftime.
Ritchie Kanza Mata (Toronto, ON) and Devon Stedman (Ottawa, ON) led Dalhousie with 15 points apiece. Stedman added eight rebounds, while Kanza Mata and tournament all-star Sven Stammberger (Halifax, NS) added seven apiece.
The X-Men will next see action when they travel to Montreal to the McGill RedBird Classic invitational tournament October 17-19. StFX will play exhibition games against McGill, Ottawa and Brock.
