Halifax, NS – The StFX X-Men came from behind to steal an 89-88 game from the UNB Varsity Reds in Subway AUS quarterfinal action Friday night at the Halifax Metro Centre.
With the victory the X-Men move on the semifinals Saturday evening to face the top seeded Acadia Axemen at 6:00 pm.
Subway player of the game freshman guard Julius Antoine led the X-Men in scoring with 22 points and also had 4 rebounds and 4 assists coming off the X bench. The Woodbridge, ON native was named to the AUS all-rookie team this week.
Veteran fifth year guard Will Donkoh (Ottawa, ON) was called upon for his leadership down the stretch with three freshman in the starting lineup. Donkoh scored the winning shot with six seconds left to play as he tallied 21 points in the game, along with 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
After the teams were deadlocked at 34-34 at halftime, the V-Reds pulled ahead to lead the X-Men 68-60 after three quarters as they outscored them 34-26 in the third frame.
UNB went on to open up a 13 point lead early on in the fourth quarter and led for the majority of play but the X-Men clawed their way back into the game. Down by four points with just under two minutes to play, Antoine sunk a free throw and Donkoh hit a jumper, then freshman forward Kevin Bercy made a shot inside the paint to give the X-Men an 85-84 lead.
After a miscue on a Varsity Reds inbound, Jordan Clarke made a pair of free throws to give X a three point lead with 18 seconds left on the clock, then veteran fifth year guard Daniel Quirion drained a three-pointer to get the V-Reds right back into the hunt.
It was his fourth bucket from three-point range on the night.
StFX made good on their next possession as Donkoh gave them the two-point lead on his clutch basket from in tight.
Just when the X-Men thought they had the game wrapped up, they drew a foul on a Varsity Reds inbound with eight-tenths of a second left on the clock. UNB forward Ryan Smith made one of his two foul shots and the X-Men hung on for the 89-88 victory.
AUS rookie of the year Javon Masters, a guard from Kitchener, ON led the Varsity Reds in scoring with 25 points and had 6 assists, while fourth year guard William McFee scored 18 and had 4 rebounds.
Quirion added 13 points for UNB, 12 of which came from three-point range.
Freshman forward Kevin Bercy, an AUS all-rookie, had a double-double night for the X-Men scoring 14 points and hauling in a game-high 15 rebounds. He also had 6 assists and a block.
Fifth year guard Jordan Clarke scored 11 points for the X-Men and Shane Coupland added 10. The X-Men bench contributed 34 points in the win.
StFX will now look ahead to Saturday evening's semifinal match-up against the AUS first place Acadia Axemen. In four meetings in regular season play this year the Axemen hold a 4-0 record over the X-Men.
Tip-off is 6:00 pm at the Halifax Metro Centre.
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