Coach K focused on adding victories

By Monty Mosher, The Chronicle Herald

Steve Konchalski will be honoured tonight for 35 years of success.

But what he really wants is to add to his awesome win total by hanging a loss on the Acadia Axemen.

Konchalski’s X-Men tangle with the Axemen tonight at Oland Centre in a clash of the last two unbeaten teams in the men’s basketball ranks in the AUS. The veteran X-Men are 3-0, all on the road, while the young and talented Axemen are 4-0.

StFX hops right back on home court Saturday afternoon for a game against the Dalhousie Tigers (3-1), also one of the top teams in the conference.

"I’m very appreciative of the honour and the recognition, but in a lot of ways I’d rather just be focusing on the games," said Konchalski, who was watching game film of the Axemen when reached Thursday afternoon.

Konchalski passed former Brandon head coach Jerry Hemmings on the all-time men’s basketball wins list earlier this season. Hemmings, now retired, had 734 career victories.

The X-Men haven’t been home since Coach K passed the standard and plan a big night complete with prize giveaways. The first 735 fans will receive a commemorative poster.

"I think it’s a tribute to our program and the many players and coaches who should feel like they are sharing in this," he said of the record. "All those 35 years . . . I didn’t score a point. But the games are what it’s all about."

It’s been a breeze early for the X-Men with wins over UPEI, UNB and Dalhousie by a combined 63 points. StFX is scoring a league-best 92 points per game.

Christian Upshaw went off for 30 points last week at Dalplex in an 83-71 win over the Tigers. Upshaw is second in conference scoring with 21.3 points per game.

Acadia has had to scrap a little in its four wins, all against Memorial, UNB and UPEI. Casey Fox has had the hot hand for the Axemen at 19.3 points per game.

"We’ve done a good job this year with people coming in and out of the lineup," said Konchalski, who is currently missing Terrence Taylor, who has a knee injury. "We’ve had injuries we’ve had to deal with. One day somebody’s been available and next day they’re not, but we’ve been able to consistently play as a team and continue to win.

"Through the injuries we’ve had we’ve been able to develop some depth and I think in the long run that will pay off. Looking at Acadia, they have some great young talent there, no doubt about it. They have a base there that can serve them well for several years. But having said that I think we’re a little more experienced than they are and hopefully we’ll be able to capitalize on that."

Dal beat StFX in Antigonish last season.

"I’m sure they are thinking about the same thing again, so we’re going to see if we can have something to say about that. We shouldn’t need any more motivation than the fact they beat us last year in the AUS championship and they beat us on our home court."

Konchalski takes a career record of 737-399 into tonight’s game.

Cape Breton also has a pair of home games this weekend with Dalhousie visiting tonight and Acadia on Saturday.