X-Men start off Calgary Cup on winning note

Calgary – The StFX X-Men started off the Calgary Cup pre-season exhibition tournament on a winning note, defeating the UBC Thunderbirds by a 90-83 score.

The X-Men were led by sharp three-point shooting, draining 18 of 42 from beyond the arc for a 42.9% shooting percentage. Fourth year guard Justin Andrew netted five of those three-pointers as he led the X-Men with 27 points on the night and pulled in six rebounds.

Jaydan Smith was 7-12 from the three-point line off the StFX bench, contributing 21 points in the win. He also had five rebounds.

Atik Gilao had a double-double night for the X-Men with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while freshman guard Avan Nava also netted 13. Veteran forward Azaro Roker had seven rebounds.

For the Thunderbirds, Jadon Cohee and Grant Shephard were the top scorers with 22 and 20 points, respectively. Shephard also had 15 rebounds on the night.

It was the Thunderbirds who got out to an early lead in the game, up 22-15 over the X-Men after the first quarter. The X-Men poured it on in the second quarter and began their three-point rain, outscoring UBC 30-19 to take a 45-41 lead into halftime.

StFX continued their strong play in the third quarter, thanks to the sharp shooting of Andrew and were up 72-60 after three.

The Thunderbirds came back to win the fourth quarter 23-18 but could not overcome the X-Men lead as they held on for the victory.

The X-Men will next see action on Friday night against the host Calgary Dinos squad. Tip-off is 8:00 pm MDT at Jack Simpson Gym. There will be a special pre-game ceremony honouring former Dinos player Andrew Milner, also an Antigonish, NS native who lost his life last spring in a tragic boating accident.

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Courtesy StFX Sports Information