Coach K to wait for CIS all-time win record

The X-Men basketball team were 1-2 in exhibition action in Ontario this past weekend, and Coach K will have to wait for AUS regular season action to beat Jerry Hemming’s all-time CIS career win record.

The 35 year veteran Coach Konchalski currently has 733 career wins and is one win shy of tying the record, which he can do on Nov. 1 at Saint Mary’s in their final pre-season exhibition game. The record-breaking game will have to wait until AUS regular season competition begins on Nov. 6-7 when the X-Men travel to UPEI and UNB.

In Ontario, the X-Men were handed a lopsided loss at the hands of the McMaster Marauders by an 88-54 margin, they defeated the Brock Badgers 74-54 and lost to the Guelph Gryphons 77-70.

On Friday night in Hamilton, the McMaster Marauders jumped all over the X-Men, opening up a 12-2 lead, en route to the 88-54 win.

The Marauders led 29-16 after the first quarter, and they extended the margin to 26 points, 53-27, at the half. McMaster kept things rolling in the second half and improved their exhibition record to 7-0 with the win. The loss was the first for the X-Men who entered the game at 5-0 with two exhibition tournament wins.

Keenan Jeppeson paced the Marauders with a game high 19 points, and added 7 steals and 5 rebounds. Cam Michaud had 15 points and Jermaine De Costa scored 14 points.

No X-Men reached double scoring figures in the game. Jeremy Dunn scored 9 points and added 7 rebounds while Christian Upshaw scored 8 points.

On Saturday in St. Catherines, ON, the X-Men rebounded from their loss against McMaster to defeat the Brock Badgers by a 74-54 score.

With the score tied 18-18 early in the second quarter, StFX went on 17-3 run over the next six minutes leading 35-21 with less than a minute left in the quarter.

As a team the Badgers shot just 28.8% from the field (21-for-73) while StFX shot 43.3% for the game connecting on 26-for-60. The X-Men also won the battle on the boards outrebounding Brock 46-34.

Leading the X-Men was Christian ‘T-Bear’ Upshaw who led all scorers with 18 points. He also collected 5 steals and 3 assists. Also in double figures for StFX was Charlie Spurr who recorded 16 points including going 4-4 from beyond the arc. Rookie Jordan Clarke contributed 8 points and 6 rebounds, while Will Donkoh scored 8 points and had 5 boards. Big man Alberto Rodriguez hauled in 11 rebounds for the blue and white.

Jordan Johnson led the offense for the Badgers with 13 points, going 6-for-9 from the floor. Also in double digits were Andrew Cicutinni and Clinton Springer-Williams who contributed with 12 and 10 points respectively. 

On Sunday afternoon in Guelph, ON, the Guelph Gryphons improved their exhibition record to 5-0 with a 77-70 win over the X-Men, who now drop to 6-2 in exhibition play.

Leading scorers for the Gryphons were Jay Mott with 22, going 6-9 from three-point range. Jonathan Moscatelli chipped in with 14 points off the bench. Christian Upshaw led the X-Men with 25 points before fouling out of the game. Jeremy Dunn netted 13 points, while Alberto Rodriguez scored 9 to go along with his game high 10 rebounds.

The Gryphons were able to take the lead early in the game, shooting 50% from the field in the first quarter. Guelph’s defence was able to hold the high scoring X-Men in check, forcing eight turnovers for the quarter. The Gryphons led 21-11 after one.

Guelph was able to hold their advantage in the second, and went into the half-time intermission leading 38-27.

StFX changed their defence in the second half, hoping their trapping zone defence would force turnovers and create offensive opportunities. Guard Michael Petrella did his best to manage the game and limit the damage of the X-Men zone.

Adam Bering used the zone to his advantage, scoring multiple buckets in the third quarter as well as being a force on the boards. He finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Guelph continued to lead 57-39 entering the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter belonged to the X-Men, as they outscored the Gryphons 31-20. The comeback was led by Upshaw, who scored 16 points in the final quarter. The X-Men zone forced multiple turnovers, but the Gryphons were able to weather the comeback and hold on for the win, with Petrella being a major contributor. He netted seven points in the quarter, and ended the game with 12 points and a game high nine assists.

The X-Men have one more pre-season exhibition game on the schedule as they travel to Halifax on Sunday, Nov. 1 for a game against the Saint Mary’s Huskies.

With contributions from McMaster, Brock and Guelph Communications