X-Men, Capers set for first hoop battle

CIS No. 2 StFX to meet No. 4 CBU for first time this season
Courtesy Monty Mosher, The Chronicle Herald 

How big is Wednesday night’s AUS men’s basketball game between the host Cape Breton Capers and the St. Francis Xavier X-Men?

Big enough that Cape Breton coach Jim Charters began getting requests more than a month ago for advance tickets that the team doesn’t even sell.

The eyes of the AUS, and most of the CIS, will be on Sullivan Fieldhouse in Sydney when the X-Men, 15-0 in the conference and ranked second in the nation, battle the conference-leading Capers, 16-1 and ranked fourth in Canada. It is Cape Breton’s final home game of the regular season with Mark McGarrigle, Chris Noddle and Ryan Roper bidding farewell to the Sullivan hardwood.

The two teams haven’t met all season, but will meet again next Friday in Antigonish. Then there’s the prospect of a third meeting in the AUS tournament starting March 12 at Centre 200.

Charters said he’s trying to approach the X-Men game like any other on the schedule, but it’s tough.

"We’re trying to stay out of the hype," said Charters. "There’s a lot of hype up here right now."

The teams have won a combined 30 straight in the AUS with the only blemish on Cape Breton’s slate a five-point loss to Saint Mary’s on Nov. 7 in Sydney.

The Capers win by an average of 21 and the X-Men 18.2.

They rank first and third in the CIS in scoring with the Capers scoring a national-best 96.6 points per game and the X-Men 86.6. Cape Breton has hit triple digits on the scoreboard in seven of its last nine games and has five players averaging 10 points or better.

St. F.X. is the only AUS team holding opponents under 70 points per game.

Charters said the home-and-home set will give the teams a good read on each other with tournament time looming.

"When I first saw the schedule I wasn’t sure it was the best we were playing nine days apart, but I think now, coming down to the end of the season, I think it’s a good thing. It will give a good indication who is the strongest team."

Cape Breton is second in rebounding in the CIS. The X-Men lead in three-point shooting percentage (41.1).

"They are the leading-scoring team in the country, so they obviously have a lot of fire power," said X-Men head coach Steve Konchalski. "They are athletic, they shoot the ball well, they rebound well — they’ve got six guys averaging four or more rebounds per game. They have a heck of a team. They are a legit top-five team in the country, there’s no question about that."

But Konchalski said he doesn’t expect both teams to score 110.

"I hope we can play better defence than that," he said. "We’ve been holding our opponents to 68 points per game and our defensive intensity is something we’d like to maintain, but by the nature of these two teams I don’t think you’re looking at a 61-60 game."

Konchalski said fans can’t read too much into Wednesday night.

"Certainly this is big game. But we’re going to play them one more time, if not two, and I think the ultimate test of who has the superiority will come in March."

In case anyone has forgotten the passionate nature of the rivalry, St. F.X.’s last visit to Cape Breton ended up with a dust-up at the scorers’ table that saw X-Men assistant coach Garry Gallimore, now a member of the Halifax Rainmen, eventually resign and Konchalski receive a one-game suspension served on opening night this season.