Friday 31 December 2010

Concordia holds off Saint Mary's at Shoveller

The Stingers broke a 66 all tie early in the fourth quarter and then went to 6'2" Kyle Desmarais frequently down the stretch to claim a 90-84 victory over the Huskies in the first game of the 20th Annual Rod Shoveller tournament.  While the Stingers have a nice array of weapons on the wing, the crafty, talented Desmarais makes Concordia go with his fine array of offensive skills and ability to defend and rebound.  ConU flattened out for Desmarais on virtually all of the final possessions down the stretch when they were protecting a four point lead and the second year D1 transfer delivered, usually getting fouled and making key free throws.

The Huskies struggled in large parts of the game defending and with shot selection however 6'1" Joey Haywood was the one constant, making several big shots and was a one-man band in the third quarter when SMU rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to lead 62-60 after three.  Haywood knocked down 3 3's as part of a 14 point third quarter effort.  Huskies coach Ross Quackenbush had been having a mouth match of sorts with the referee crew which culminated in the veteran coach getting Teed up midway through the third with his club trailing by 7.  The T energized his group and when 6'4" Demetri Harris finished a breakaway slam, the Huskies had a two point lead after a 14-2 run.

But the Stingers were undetered and took the lead for good on a lay-up by 6'5" James Clark on a play in which Haywood was injured.  Stingers took over from there and never trailed.  Concordia looks forward to the winner of the St. FX/ Laurentian game in tomorrow's semi-final.

More to come...

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