Sydney, NS – The StFX X-Men opened play at the Cape Breton Fall Classic with an 82-77 victory over Thetford Prep in pre-season exhibition play at Centre 200.

The teams played a very close first half with Thetford leading 21-19 after the first quarter and 41-40 at halftime.

The X-Men outscored their opponents from Quebec 19-13 in the third quarter to go ahead 59-54 after 30 minutes. As each team scored 23 in the fourth quarter, the X-Men were able to hold onto their advantage and pull out the win.

Kevin Bercy led the X-Men in scored with 17 points and pulled in a game-high 14 rebounds for a double-double night. Akil Charles scored 13 and added four rebounds while Julius Antoine netted 12 points.

Freshman guard Justin Andrew scored 12 points off the X-Men bench, all coming from three-point range. Tristen Ross added eight points and dished four assists, while Cameron Walker had 10 rebounds on the night and five points.

Louis Alain led Thetford Prep with 19 points and Guerrier Quincy scored 16.

In earlier tournament action in the eight-team tournament, Acadia defeated Holland College 108-87, Saint Mary's beat UPEI 81-65 and in the late game of the evening the host Cape Breton Capers defeated the University of Maine – Fort Kent 81-77.

Saturday's schedule will be as follows:

1:00pm:  Holland College vs UPEI
3:00 pm:  Thetford Prep vs U Maine
6:00 pm:  Acadia vs Saint Mary's
8:00 pm:  StFX vs Cape Breton