X-Men win Donohue tournament in Ottawa
October 25, 2010
The StFX X-Men basketball team continued their pre-season exhibition competition in Ottawa over the weekend in the annual Jack Donohue Tournament hosted by the University of Ottawa. The tournament featured StFX, Ottawa, UQAM and Toronto and the X-Men took home tournament honors, posting a 2-1 record over the three-day event.
The X-Men kicked off the tournament in style with an impressive win over the UQAM Citadins 95-72. In a game which on paper looked like it could have been a lot closer, the X-Men took an early lead and never looked back. Ottawa native Charlie Spurr made sure his hometown knew he was back, scoring a game high 18 points on 6-7 shooting from the field and a blistering 5-6 from behind the three. Along with Spurr, third year forward Jeremy Dunn and freshman Terry Thomas each chipped in with 15 points. Arthaud Plesius was the high scorer for UQAM with 17 points.
In the second day of action the blue and white took on the host University of Ottawa. X had never beat Ottawa at their fall tournament – until this weekend. Lead by a huge game from Alberto Rodriguez (18 points) and more solid performances from Jeremy Dunn and Terry Thomas, the X-Men secured a 2-0 record at the tournament, defeating Ottawa 78-65. The X-Men’s ability to get to the free-throw line 32 times to Ottawa’s 10 was a huge factor in the finish of the game for a team that’s been red hot starting off the pre-season. For Ottawa it was Johny Berhane leading in the scoring department with 19 points in 23 minutes of action.
The third and final day saw another team decked in blue and white as StFX looked to go 3-0 against the University of Toronto. After grabbing a lead at the end of the first quarter to go ahead 19-13, the X-Men were unable to hold on for the last three quarters, giving a fighting effort but falling short 77-73. Jeremy Dunn had another huge game for the X-Men finishing with 13 points and 16 rebounds, while Alberto Rodriguez continued his solid shooting going 5-6 from the floor finishing with 14 points. Former X-Men player Sean Nickel scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting for Toronto while Alex Hill was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points, despite a terrible shooting display from the field.
With the loss the X-Men still secured the tournament championship as their points for and against was better than any other team.
There were plenty of positive signs for the X-Men this weekend:
- Jeremy Dunn continued to show he’s for real at the three for the X-Men as he torched teams and was a monster on the glass all weekend.
- 5th year Alberto Rodriguez was able to make his presence felt from day one in the tournament and had a great weekend averaging 14.5 points per game.
- Freshman Terry Thomas was very efficient with his points and minutes racking up good numbers over the weekend in his first trip outside Atlantic Canada with the X-Men.
Make sure to check out upcoming X-Men action this weekend at the Oland Centre as StFX hosts the 32nd annual Nike Invitational Basketball tournament. On Friday night at 6:00 pm, Saint Mary’s will meet UNB, followed by the host X-Men and UPEI at 8:00 pm. The two winners will tip-off in the championship game Saturday at 8:00 pm while the losing squads will play in the consolation final Saturday at 6:00 pm.
Story courtesy Mat MacDonald
The X-Men kicked off the tournament in style with an impressive win over the UQAM Citadins 95-72. In a game which on paper looked like it could have been a lot closer, the X-Men took an early lead and never looked back. Ottawa native Charlie Spurr made sure his hometown knew he was back, scoring a game high 18 points on 6-7 shooting from the field and a blistering 5-6 from behind the three. Along with Spurr, third year forward Jeremy Dunn and freshman Terry Thomas each chipped in with 15 points. Arthaud Plesius was the high scorer for UQAM with 17 points.
In the second day of action the blue and white took on the host University of Ottawa. X had never beat Ottawa at their fall tournament – until this weekend. Lead by a huge game from Alberto Rodriguez (18 points) and more solid performances from Jeremy Dunn and Terry Thomas, the X-Men secured a 2-0 record at the tournament, defeating Ottawa 78-65. The X-Men’s ability to get to the free-throw line 32 times to Ottawa’s 10 was a huge factor in the finish of the game for a team that’s been red hot starting off the pre-season. For Ottawa it was Johny Berhane leading in the scoring department with 19 points in 23 minutes of action.
The third and final day saw another team decked in blue and white as StFX looked to go 3-0 against the University of Toronto. After grabbing a lead at the end of the first quarter to go ahead 19-13, the X-Men were unable to hold on for the last three quarters, giving a fighting effort but falling short 77-73. Jeremy Dunn had another huge game for the X-Men finishing with 13 points and 16 rebounds, while Alberto Rodriguez continued his solid shooting going 5-6 from the floor finishing with 14 points. Former X-Men player Sean Nickel scored 13 points on 5-8 shooting for Toronto while Alex Hill was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points, despite a terrible shooting display from the field.
With the loss the X-Men still secured the tournament championship as their points for and against was better than any other team.
There were plenty of positive signs for the X-Men this weekend:
- Jeremy Dunn continued to show he’s for real at the three for the X-Men as he torched teams and was a monster on the glass all weekend.
- 5th year Alberto Rodriguez was able to make his presence felt from day one in the tournament and had a great weekend averaging 14.5 points per game.
- Freshman Terry Thomas was very efficient with his points and minutes racking up good numbers over the weekend in his first trip outside Atlantic Canada with the X-Men.
Make sure to check out upcoming X-Men action this weekend at the Oland Centre as StFX hosts the 32nd annual Nike Invitational Basketball tournament. On Friday night at 6:00 pm, Saint Mary’s will meet UNB, followed by the host X-Men and UPEI at 8:00 pm. The two winners will tip-off in the championship game Saturday at 8:00 pm while the losing squads will play in the consolation final Saturday at 6:00 pm.
Story courtesy Mat MacDonald