WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The StFX X-Men picked up four points in the AUS standings with an 89-75 victory over the Acadia Axemen Saturday night. Two evenly-matched teams came into this game looking to improve on their record before the December break.
The victory marked a coaching milestone for long-time X-Men head coach Steve Konchalski – his 900th career win. The win encompasses all regular season, playoff and exhibition games over the past 44 seasons Coach Konchalski has been at the helm of the X-Men.
The first quarter of the game set the stage for this close matchup and saw the X-Men lead by only one point heading into the intermission at 22-21.
The second quarter saw both teams start to fall into their respective playing styles. Acadia managed to make 9 of their 18 attempted threes, but shot only 12 of 38 as a whole from the field. The opposite was true for the X-Men, who shot 18 of 43 from the field but only made 3 of 14 of their three pointers.
With the X-Men ahead 45-41 at the half, the tides slowly started to turn on the Axemen in the third quarter, who no longer merely trailed a few points. Down 71-59 going into the last frame, the Axemen struggled to shrink the StFX lead.
X-Men forward Azaro Roker (Nassau, Bahamas) lead the attack in the second half of the game, intimidating the Axemen with massive dunks and fierce blocks. Standing 6'6", Roker was a force to be reckoned with against any defender that tried to stop him. He finished with 14 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
The X-Men grabbed the four-point game with a final score of 89-75, improving to 3-3 on the season.
Daniel Passley (Mississauga, Ont) posted 21 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals for StFX. For his impressive double-double night, Passley was named the Subway Player of the Game. Teammate Thomas Legallais recorded 16 points including 2 for 5 from the three-point line.
Nick De Palma (Bedford, N.S.) was a constant for the Axemen in the loss, recording a team high 16 points and was 4 for 6 from the distant arc. De Palma was named Acadia's Player of the Game. Junior Moaka-Matia and Rowan Powers added 13 points each.
The Axemen resume their season on January 5th when they host Dalhousie. The X-Men will play three exhibition games in late December when they participate in the Dalhousie Rod Shoveller Tournament December 28-30. They resume AUS regular season play on January 4th when they travel to Halifax to play Saint Mary's.
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Courtesy Theodore Giesen, Acadia Sports Information