Antigonish, NS – Thanks to a strong second quarter, the X-Men handled the Acadia Axemen by a 96-59 margin Friday night on Coach K Court at the StFX Saputo Centre.
After trailing 23-20 after the first quarter, the X-Men outpaced the Axemen 24-8 in the second to go up 44-31 at halftime and they never looked back.
The first quarter was close and X got out to an early 10-5 lead but Jacques Lukusa (Ottawa, ON) was solid from three-point range draining a trio of shots from beyond the arc to keep the Axemen in it. Azaro Roker (Nassau, Bahamas) played a strong opening quarter for StFX.
The X-Men defense held the Axemen to only eight points in the second quarter and Avan Nava (Mississauga, ON) drained a three-pointer with just over two minutes left in the half to put the X-Men up 39-31.
They increased that lead to 44-31 at halftime.
The third quarter saw both squads get out to a slow start and force several turnovers. The X-Men lead 46-36 midway through and Nava continued his sharp outside shooting, scoring three of his six three-pointers of the night in the third frame.
StFX held a solid 20 point lead at 65-45 after three and the lead was too much for the Axemen to overcome in the fourth quarter.
The X-Men dominated the remaining quarter 31-14 en route to the 95-59 victory, one that was worth four points in the AUS standings.
Subway player of the game Roker finished with 18 points on the night and added 11 rebounds for another solid double-double performance.
Nava had 20 points for the X-Men, while Justin Andrew (Hamilton, ON), Thomas Legallais (Cornwall, ON) and Michael Utsalo (Brampton, ON) each scored nine.
The X-Men had 31 points continued from their bench in a well-balanced offensive attack.
Rowan Power (Dartmouth, NS) was the top scorer for the Axemen with 12 points, while Marcus Upshaw (Burlington, ON) netted 10.
The X-Men are back in action again on Saturday night as they travel to Sydney for an 8:00 pm game against the Cape Breton Capers.
Acadia next sees action on Wednesday night when they play Saint Mary's in Halifax.
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Courtesy StFX Sports Information