Posted: Jan 24, 2011
The X-Men held the Varsity Reds to 36% shooting from the field and forced them into 20 turnovers. The first quarter saw the X-Men jump out to a 21-15 lead thanks to the sharp shooting Charlie Spurr who finished the game with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
The Varsity Reds were able to stay in the game thanks to second-chance points and a sluggish start on the glass by the X-Men. With the score tight, the X-Men held the V-Reds to just 11 points in the second quarter, scoring 19 points in turn and solidifying their stance that they weren’t going to let this game go. The X-Men held a 30-26 half-time edge.
Big man Riiny Ngot was a huge factor for the X-Men, pulling in 12 rebounds and blocking five shots. While scoring just four points himself, his five offensive rebounds proved to be big for the X-Men as they all lead to second opportunities for the X offence.
The second half was when things started going completely in StFX’s direction as they held the V-Reds to a combined 30 points through the third and fourth quarter while scoring 58 of their own points.
For the game the X-Men shot 49% from the field and 71% from the free throw line.
Rookie Terry Thomas was the leading scorer for the X-Men as his uptempo defence led him to score 19 points. Charlie Spurr scored 16 points and Chad Warren posted 14 points and 7 rebounds. Christian Upshaw and Rodrego Madero each contributed 10 points a piece for the victory.
William McFee led the Varsity Reds with 13 points while Dustin Anthony scored 12.
Up next for the X-Men (8-3) are the Saint Mary’s Huskies (6-8) in Halifax on Wednesday night. The Huskies are coming off a tough loss to the aforementioned UNB Varsity Reds despite a 46 point effort from their standout All-Canadian, Joey Haywood.
Last season the X-Men handed the Huskies an early exit from the AUS playoffs with a nail-biting fourth quarter finish that saw Christian Upshaw knock down two game winning free throws in the semi-final.
The X-Men have hooked up with the Huskies once already during the regular season and took that contest 97-84.
Courtesy Mat MacDonald