Halifax, NS – In the second game of a home-and-home series, the Dalhousie Tigers were able to hold on for a 78-72 win over the StFX X-Men to sweep the series.
The first run of the game came from the interior play of the X-Men, crashing the offensive boards and getting Atik Gilao (Brampton, ON) going early from midrange, and in the paint, finishing an and-one play to make it 7-2 early.
The offense was stalled for the Tigers, but they slowly chipped away at the hole, starting with Alex Carson (Lower Sackville, NS) knocking down a shot from the outside, opening up room in the paint for Sascha Kappos (Miami, FL) to get touches inside.
At the end of a tight quarter, the Tigers took an 18-17 lead.
DAL continued to push the ball inside early in the quarter, this time with Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, ON) picking up six quick points in the opening minutes.
On the other end, outside shots kept falling for the X-Men, with Justin Andrew (Hamilton, ON) and Thomas Legallais (Cornwall, ON) each hitting a shot from deep.
Legallais and Daniel Passley (Mississauga, ON) each hit one more from long range late in the half, but the interior shots were falling at a higher rate for the Tigers, and helping them earn trips to the line.
Heading into the break, the Tigers still held the lead at 41-37.
The second half started at a furious rate, with both teams trading threes. The X-Men started it off with Jaydan Smith (Halifax, NS) hitting back to back, while Jordan Brathwaite (Milton, ON) answered both of them on the other end.
The X-Men battled on the inside throughout the quarter, with Passley getting the majority of the touches in the paint.
The Tigers offense slowed at the end of the third, and the X-Men were able to make back ground after the barrage of threes launched by the Tigers. A tough and-one play from Lagallais ended off the quarter, with the Tigers leading by just one point, 61-60.
The fourth quarter was scrappy and defensive, with scoring hard to come by on both ends.
Coming down to the final two minutes in a tight matchup, the X-Men were able to capitalize on defensive plays, opening up easy running lanes off of steals.
The Tigers settled in late in the game, with Carson stepping in to knock down a clutch floater, followed by Brathwaite getting on the offensive glass and finishing a tough play to give the Tigers a two-possession lead.
Forcing the X-Men to foul in the dying seconds, Brathwaite and Kappos were able to make their free throws to secure the hard-fought win for the Tigers with a final score of 78-72.
Daniel Passley led the scoring for the X-Men in this one, finishing with 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Mike Shoveller finished with 15 points and 6 boards for the Tigers. Jordan Brathwaite's scoring at a critical point in the game earned him the Subway Player of the Game title in the victory.
The Tigers will be back on the court on Tuesday for a four-point game against Saint Mary's, while the X-Men will be back at home on Wednesday evening to take on Cape Breton.
-30-
Courtesy Kirk Jessome, Dalhousie Sports Information