Halifax, NS – In the second day of the Rod and Joan Shoveller Memorial Basketball Tournament, the StFX X-Men took on the Holland Hurricanes. In a gritty, physical game, the X-Men were able to hold on to a late lead to take a 100-91 victory.

It was a tough start from the field for the X-Men, with normally hot hands like Tristen Ross (Truro, NS) going cold from deep. The X-Men had opportunities to create a lead off of Hurricane turnovers and foul trouble, but shot just 25% from the field as a team in the first quarter.

The X-Men were eventually able to move the ball inside from Daniel Passley (Mississauga, ON) to get to the rim, as well as earn trips to the line.

Despite the frustrating start for the Hurricanes, they kept themselves in it by showing energy running the floor with an impressive transition game, giving Travis Adams opportunities to knock down shots from deep.

At the end of the first quarter, the X-Men had a slight lead at 21-20.

The interior game for the X-Men continued to be their strong suit in the second quarter, with the inside-out game opening up chances for Ross to get his shooting touch going from the outside.

Adams was still on fire from deep in the second quarter, knocking down five in the half to lead the attack for the Hurricanes, while Jace Colley (East Preston, NS) got himself going at the rim.

Attacking the paint helped the X-Men open up a lead before the halftime buzzer, as they went into the break leading 52-43.

Foul trouble caught up with both teams in the third quarter, as three starters for the Hurricanes reached four fouls by the midway point in the quarter.

With his team needing to go deep into the bench, Adams continued to shoot the lights out, ending the third going 8-11 from beyond the arc to help his team win the quarter.

For the X-Men, Thomas Legallais (Cornwall, ON) controlled the offense, attacking the rim and earning trips to the line to hold off the run by Adams.

The Hurricanes brought themselves a little bit closer at the end of the third, trailing 74-68.

It was Colley's turn to take over the offense for the Hurricanes, running the floor after every rebound and finishing at the rim on four straight possessions, but the X-Men countered those on the other end with tough threes to maintain the lead.

The Hurricanes brought the lead down to just four, but a few tough possessions led to free throws for the X-Men, and the lead was pulled out of reach.

As the final buzzer sounded, the X-Men held on to take the 100-91 victory.

Tristen Ross led the X-Men in scoring with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Legallais finished with 18, and Passley netted 16 along with hauling in a whopping 19 rebounds. Azaro Roker (Nassau, Bahamas) also had a double-double game for StFX with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Justin Andrews (Hamilton, ON) scored 15.

For the Hurricanes, Jace Colley finished with a game-high 35 points and 7 rebounds, while Travis Adams ended up with 30 points and 8 boards.

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Courtesy Kirk Jessome, Dalhousie Sports Information