St. John's, NL – The StFX X-Men picked up their first win of the AUS season with a high-scoring 103-96 victory over the Memorial Sea-Hawks Saturday evening.
The teams were evenly matched between the first two quarters of their two-game weekend series. Memorial took the first quarter 29-28, and the X-Men took the second quarter 24-18, and held a 52-47 lead at halftime. The X-Men had a successful shooting performance through the first half, making 23 of 37 shots (62.2%).
The X-Men applied pressure during the second quarter, creating fast break points off turnovers. Julius Antoine led StFX in the first half, scoring 18 points on 7 for 9 shooting. For Memorial, Nathan Barker continued his consistent performance from last weekend, leading the Sea-Hawks with 14 points, on 6 for 11 from the field.
The intensity was heightened in the second half, especially in the third quarter. Paddy Dawe provided a strong spark for the Sea-Hawks with a resounding dunk. Teammate Daniel Gordon had an excellent third quarter as well, scoring 11 points, including a three-pointer at the end to tie up the game at 74-74 heading into the fourth. Gordon ended with a game-high 30 points, shooting 4 for 10 from beyond the arc.
The X-Men competed with Memorial, making clutch plays down the stretch to counter the intense Fieldhouse atmosphere. Two X-Men ended with 20+ points, Kevin Bercy (23) and Subway Player of the Game Julius Antoine (27). Bercy led the X-Men in rebounding with eight.
Davion Parnsalu led the Sea-Hawks in rebounding with eight, while Gordon and Nathan Barker hauled in seven rebounds apiece. Barker also scored 23 points on the night and Parnsalu scored 15.
Davonte Provo (12), Justin Andrew (10) and Tristen Ross (10) off the bench, all ended in double-scoring digits for the X-Men.
While the X-Men earned their first win of the season, the Sea-Hawks are still searching for their first victory. The same two squads tip-off again tomorrow at 2:00 pm.
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Courtesy Jacob Riche, Memorial sports information