Saturday 12 January 2008

AUS: Capers grab big road win at X; SMU defeats Dal

Cape Breton (9-1) 75, St. FX (6-3) 66 In a game of major runs on both sides, the Capers finished the game on a 36-18 push, coming back from 9 points down late in the third quarter, primarily on the exploits of 5'10" freshman Tremaine Fraser to get a big road win in Antigonish played in front of a jam-packed, boisterous overflow crowd of 1,500. In what both coaches called "tremendous basketball atmosphere", the X-Men culminated a huge third quarter run as 5'10" Christian Upshaw (16 points, 5 assists) threw an ally-oop off the backboard on the break to 6'8" Islam Luiz de Toledo, who hammered it home, giving St. FX a 9 point lead and sending the crowd into a frenzy. However, after a Cape Breton timeout, Fraser (19 points) and 6'4" Paul Blake (team-high 20 points), officially completely back from a hamstring injury, keyed a quick 19 point turnaround to go up 10 in the fourth quarter as the Capers went to a 2-2-1 press after made baskets to turn the game around. "Our youth really showed in front of the big crowd down the stretch after our big run", commented X Head Coach Steve Konchalski, "We played to the crowd instead of playing fundamental basketball when it mattered most. And the freshman Tremaine Fraser was the difference in the game." Toledo, another of the country's top freshmen, ended with 21 points and 12 rebounds and did a sterling job on Capers leading scorer 6'5" Eric Breland who finished with only 11 points, well below his 20 ppg average. Breland did add 9 rebounds and 6 assists with some fine looks. X's 6'2" Tyler Richards added 19 points, 5 assists but committed 6 turnovers in the loss, which was another signature game in the Caper/X-Men rivalry. Cape Breton heads to Halifax to face Dalhousie tomorrow while the X-Men look to regroup with a test at St. Mary's, also in Halifax, this coming Tuesday.

St. Mary's (6-3) 85, Dalhousie (4-5) 71 The Huskies created 15 first-half turnovers and got a strong effort from 6'1" Shane Morrison (20 points, 5 rebounds) to build a big lead and then held off a late Tiger charge to win at Dalplex. The Tigers came out with little life in the first half and paid for it, quickly falling behind but were energized after halftime, bringing the game back to within 5 points with 5 minutes remaining. But then 6'2" Mark McLaughlin (25 points, 7 rebounds) took over, making a couple of big shots to lock up the win for SMU. 6'1" Andrew Sullivan led Dal with 13 points and 6 assists, which again played without star 6'1" guard Simon Farine out with hand and groin injuries as they prepare to face Cape Breton tomorrow.

Acadia (8-1) 102, UNB (0-10) 69 The Axemen had 6 players in double figures including 6'1" Paola Santana, who appears to be rounding back into form after his ankle troubles, with 16 points and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes. 6'5" Shawn Berry led the way with 19 for Acadia.

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