Antigonish, NS – The STFX X-Men closed out their pre-season with an 87-82 victory over the Cape Breton Capers Wednesday evening on Coach K Court at the STFX Saputo Centre.
The Capers got out to an early lead in the game, 7-3, but the X-Men quickly evened things up then took over the lead thanks to the sharp shooting of Bennett Grumbach and Dondre Reddick.
STFX was up 20-19 after the opening quarter as Grumbach and Reddick contributed eight and seven points, respectively. Shakael Pryce netted seven for the Capers.
The teams played a balanced second quarter with the lead never wavering more than 5 points either way. The Capers edged the X-Men 24-22 in scoring to hold a slim 43-42 lead at halftime.
Tyson Cato scored 13 points in the opening half for Cape Breton and Pryce had 11. Grumbach drained four three-pointers as he contributed 16 points for the X-Men.
The Capers executed a well-balanced offense in the third quarter. They lead the X-Men by five points, 56-51 midway through the quarter. The X-Men trailed 62-60 after three quarters.
The back and forth action continued in the fourth quarter. A Reddick slam dunk with just under four minutes to play gave STFX a seven point lead at 80-73 and they didn't look back. The Capers pulled to within four points but couldn't close the gap and the X-Men took home the 87-82 win.
Grumbach finished with a game-high 26 points for STFX and had eight rebounds in the game. Marcus Upshaw scored 14 and Deon Ejim netted 13 and had nine rebounds.
Cato was the Capers top scorer of the night with 25 points and eight rebounds. Pryce finished with 14 points and eight rebounds and Mitchell Mersereau scored 13 and pulled in 11 boards.
The game marked the final one of the pre-season for both squads. The X-Men wrapped up exhibition play with a 7-1 record.
The Capers will travel to Halifax to take on the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday, October 27th to open up AUS regular season play. The X-Men will host the UNB Reds on the same night. Tip-off for both matches is 8:00 pm.
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Recap courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Athletics