Sea-Hawks drop X-Men 92-78

Photo credit Memorial Athletics
Photo credit Memorial Athletics

ST. JOHN'S, NL - The Memorial Sea-Hawks defeated the STFX X-Men by a score of 92-78 in their first of two weekend games Friday night.

STFX's Gatluak James opened up the scoring in the game with an easy drive to the net and the X-Men came out strong bringing the heat to the court and creating an early lead.

Sea-Hawks Flynn Boardman-Raffet put his side on the board first and followed with two successful layups leading to another point on a free throw. Memorial was heavy on the boards capturing an abundance of rebounds to keep the teams close with the help of Emmanuel Ring's three-pointer.

Memorial's Flynn Boardman-Raffet was cut short of a slam dunk but able to redeem the points as he successfully hit both foul, shots bringing the game to a one-point lead for the X-Men.

Boardman-Raffet along with River Drefers helped their team to a 23-20 lead with four successful free throws to end the first quarter.

The X-Men tied the game early 26-26 in the second quarter with a layup from James, before Drefers netted one to once again crawl ahead. The teams then exchanged leads to continue the second quarter.

The Sea-Hawks were strong on their defensive rebounds, gaining points off the X-Men's missed shots. Memorial's Jodick Moudiandambu was able to secure a 10 point lead with a layup off of a steal immediately following a three from Josh Reimer. The Sea-Hawks continued to lead as the first half ended 55-40 in their favour.

Boardman-Raffet led the scoring throughout the first half coming out with 16 points. #8 Cameron Stanford and Ring were not far behind, capturing 11 points each for the Sea-Hawks.

STFX's Antoine Vernon led the X side points wise with 10, while James was able to get his team eight first-half points.

Both teams contested hard and fought each other away from the basket until a Memorial foul gave Vernon a chance to sink two free throws where he succeeded. After an offensive rebound scramble for the X-Men, Marcus Upshaw found the back of the net with a three-pointer in an attempt to close the gap between the two teams.

Sea-Hawks Jason Thompson dominated the middle part of the third quarter by holding possession, grabbing rebounds and sinking two shots to push the score to 71-50 for the Sea-Hawks. Both teams managed to gain five team fouls, creating an opportunity for free throws off of opposing teams fouls. Memorial was able to hold their lead ending the third quarter at 79-57.

Defense was strong on both sides, preventing any baskets until 7:48 when Thompson netted the first basket of the quarter for the Sea-Hawks. Vernon responded with a jump shot himself to get the X-Men on the board. The Sea-Hawks continued to climb the scoreboard while attempting to halt the X-Men.

James stood out for the X-Men by captivating on two layups, one free throw and a three-pointer in 40 seconds in an attempt to get them back in the game. The Sea-Hawks found the offensive and defensive rebounds to hold possession for much of the last part of the fourth quarter but were unable to net any baskets. Despite that, the home team was able to capture the win with a final score of 92-78.

Boardman-Raffet dominated the court, leading the Sea-Hawks side with 25 points. Not far behind was Ring with 18 points. Leading for the X-Men side Gatluak James also with 25 points. Vernon scored 19.

The Sea-Hawks will face the X-Men again tomorrow night November 11 at 8pm at the fieldhouse.

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Recap courtesy Memorial Athletics