The Tigers pulled away in the third quarter, locking down the Axemen defensively and rode to a victory that officially clinched second place in the AUS and a first round playoff bye for Dalhousie. The game was close through two quarters however Acadia could muster only 4 points in the first 8 1/2 minutes of the third while 6'9" Joe Schow went to work inside, especially after 6'6" Owen Klassen picked up his 4th foul with about 4 minutes left in the third. Dal took its largest lead to that point in the game at 61-46 late in the third and coasted the rest of the way for the win at DalPlex.
6'3" Anthony Sears singlehandidly pushed the Axemen to an early lead, scoring 10 points including two 3's in the first four minutes of the game however Sears quickly had to sit down after picking up a pair of fouls. Dalhousie's guards then went to work, beating Acadia defenders off the dribble and when Axemen tried to play zone, 6'1" Simon Farine and 6'0" Peter Leighton each answered with long 3's. Still, Acadia stayed close, getting a pair of threes from 6'3" Alex McLaughlin and another from freshman Thomas Figliano.
The third quarter again put on display Tigers depth and ability to lock teams down defensively in the quarter court, especially during the key stretch in the game - first 8 minutes of the third - after the teams went to the locker room at halftime tied.
Acadia remains in 7th place with only 12 points, losing their sixth in a row while Dal won their fifth straight and sets their sights on first place, which remains a mathematical possibility but is not likely achievable with Cape Breton needing only 4 points to clinch. The Axemen now travel to Antigonish to face St. FX, which is a virtual fixture in third place with Acadia needing wins. Dal next hosts Saint Mary's next Wednesday night, looking for their first victory of the season over the Huskies, who themselves need at least one win in the last 3 games to ensure themselves of an AUS tournament spot.
2 comments:
I sincerely hope Dal wins the AUS title because unlike CBU and X, the Tigers play the game the way it is supposed to be played and more importantly, conduct themselves with CLASS.
My vote for COY would be John Campbell and POY Simon Farine.
Alas, the voters will probably opt for the scoring machine Haywood as POY and look strictly at numbers and pick Charters (ugh!) for COY.
AUS MVP race could be very interesting. How do you deny Joey Haywood considering what he's done but Simon Farine has played like a man posessed this year. Could come down to the two games at Dalplex later this month. But I think you have to put those two at the top of the race. Even the AUS First Team all conference selections are gonna be tough for sure. Not to count out other team, but a STFX/Dalhousie semi final at AUS championships is looking very likely and it is going to be awesome!
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