No. 3 X-Men keep on rolling

The CIS ranked No.3 X-Men just keep on rolling in AUS regular season competition as they picked up another two wins this weekend and extended their unbeaten streak to 9-0 in league play.

The X-Men beat the Acadia Axemen 81-72 Friday night at home and followed up with a 69-54 win over the Dalhousie Tigers Sunday afternoon in Halifax.

On Friday night the Axemen played a close first half with the X-Men as StFX was down 19-17 after the first quarter and led 37-35 at half-time. The X-Men gained a bit more of a lead in the third quarter, highlighted by a pair of Charlie Spurr three-pointers and the score was 57-52 after 30 minutes of play in StFX’s advantage.

The X-Men continued to hold a lead throughout the final quarter, pulling away by as much as five points, but the Axemen kept fighting back and were within a point at 71-70 with a minute and a half to go in the game. Reigning AUS MVP T-Bear Upshaw nailed a pair of baskets from three-point range to seal the victory for the X-Men as they closed out the game with an 81-72 victory.

Upshaw earned Subway Player of the Game honors and scored a game-high 24 points. He also added 4 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks and 5 rebounds. A pair of freshmen off the bench played well for the X-Men as Charlie Spurr scored 13 points and Jordan Clarke notched 10. Jeremy Dunn tallied 10 points and 5 boards for the blue and white while Will Silver scored 9 baskets and added 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Casey Fox was the high scorer for the Axemen with 17 points with Anthony Sears adding 14. Justin Boutilier had a double-double game with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Two other Axemen were in double scoring figures as Alexander Traikov scored 13 and Owen Klassen had 12.

On Sunday afternoon at the Dalplex, the X-Men were led by a 17 point effort from Jeremy Dunn as they handed the host Tigers a 69-54 loss. The X-Men led 18-15 after the first quarter and 38-26 at half-time and held onto the double digit lead for their ninth consecutive win of the season.

T-Bear Upshaw scored 14 points and had 4 assists and 2 blocks in the game for X, while Jordan Clarke had 8 points and 6 rebounds. Simon Farine led the Tigers with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Dunn earned Player of the Game honors for StFX.

The X-Men (9-0) picked up 4 points with the two wins, and find themselves in second place in the AUS conference with 22 points. The Cape Breton Capers moved into first place for the first time this season after gaining 8 points this weekend. They currently have 24 points and an 8-1 record.

The X-Men will be on the road on Friday, Jan. 22nd for a rematch against the fourth place Acadia Axemen (4-6), then visit the third place Saint Mary’s Huskies (8-2) on Wednesday, Jan. 27th.

StFX Sports Information