X-Men win 31st annual hoop Invitational

The X-Men basketball team claimed tournament honors in their own 31st annual X-Men Basketball Nike Invitational tournament held this past weekend at the StFX Oland Centre. StFX defeated Saint Mary’s by an 82-71 score in the championship game.

The win marked the 17th occasion the X-Men have won this tournament and the 7th time in the past 9 years.

StFX was lead by Tournament MVP Christian ‘T-Bear’ Upshaw in the final game as he scored 19 points and added 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. The X-Men and Huskies exchanged leads throughout the game.

Saint Mary’s came out strong in the first quarter and led the X-Men by a 22-16 margin after 15 minutes of play. StFX turned their game around in the second quarter and held a 42-35 lead at half-time. The Huskies narrowed the gap in the third quarter but the X-Men went on a scoring run in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.

Alberto Rodriguez, who was named to the tournament all-star team, had a strong weekend for the X-Men, who also had a 78-72 win over Memorial in the semi-final game. Rodriguez scored 14 points against SMU and added 5 rebounds.

Freshman Charlie Spurr scored 10 points in the championship game and Jeremy Dunn scored 9 points and had 9 rebounds.

Tournament all-star Joel Haywood led the Huskies with 19 points while teammate Mark McLaughlin, who also earned tournament all-star status scored 13. Saint Mary’s earned their way into the final with a decisive 93-60 win over UNB in the semi-finals.

Joining Rodriguez, Haywood and McLaughlin on the all-star team were Memorial’s Mike Helsby and UNB’s Colton Wilson. In the consolation game, the UNB Varsity Reds defeated the Memorial Seahawks 77-71.

In the X-Men’s 78-72 win over Memorial, Alberto Rodriguez led the offensive attack with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. T-Bear Upshaw scored 11 and had 7 assists and 2 steals in the game, while rookie Jordan Clarke scored 10. Will Silver and Charlie Spurr ach scored 9 points a piece.

Mike Helsby led the Seahawks with 20 points and Jason Shepherd scored 16.

With the win, the X-Men improve their pre-season exhibition record to 5-0 and have won consecutive tournaments after finishing first last weekend at the UNB Eric Garland Invitational.

Next on the X-Men schedule is a trip to Ontario Oct. 23-25 where they will play exhibition games against McMaster, Brock and Guelph.