X-Men win barn burner at the Oland Centre

The CIS No. 4 basketball X-Men have won round two against the No. 3 Cape Breton Capers after an exciting 81-80 victory Friday night in a barn burner at the StFX Oland Centre.

Led by Christian ‘T-Bear’ Upshaw who scored a game-high 33 points, the X-Men came from behind in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory in the final minutes of play.

The Capers handed the X-Men their first and only loss of the AUS season last week with an 85-82 win in Cape Breton and jumped ahead of them in the CIS top 10 rankings for the first time this year.

On Friday night in front of a packed StFX crowd, Upshaw paced the X offense and big-man Riiny Ngot at 7’2” posted some key blocks in the game to lead them to victory.

The Capers opened up with a 17-14 first quarter lead. The top two AUS teams exchanged several three-point jumpers in the second quarter and each scored 22 points a piece. Cape Breton took a 39-36 advantage into the locker room at half-time.

The Capers widened their lead to 10 points in the third quarter but the X-Men picked away at them. Upshaw drained a pair of key three-pointers and Ngot had a stuff late in the quarter which pumped up the crowd and shifted the momentum in the X-Men’s favor. Cape Breton led 64-59 after the third.

Ngot had another big block to start the fourth quarter then Charlie Spurr and Chad Warren sank consecutive three-point baskets to turn the tides and give the X-Men their first lead in the game at 67-64. The X-Men continued their offense from outside the perimeter, holding onto a slim lead through the final minutes of play.

Paris Carter put the Capers to within a point at 81-80 with 55 seconds left in the game after scoring on a three-point jumper, then the X-Men lost possession on the ensuing play. With 18 seconds on the clock, Cape Breton had control of the ball and put up a pair of shots which did not sink as the X-Men were able to hold onto the one-point victory at the buzzer.

Upshaw took home Player of the Game honors, going 4 for 6 from three-point range with 33 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Charlie Spurr scored 15 points and Chad Warren sunk 13, including 3 for 5 from the perimeter. Warren also contributed 9 boards. Ngot had 6 rebounds and 4 blocks off the bench for the X-Men.

The Capers countered with a balanced attack with James Dorsey netting 18 points and 6 rebounds. Philip Nkrumah scored 17, hauled in 9 boards and had 4 assists and 5 steals. Paris Carter contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds.

With the win the X-Men improve to 18-1 on the season and currently sit four points back of the first place Capers (17-2). The AUS season closes out next weekend as the X-Men will host Saint Mary’s (13-5) Friday night at the StFX Oland Centre in a four point game, while the Capers travel to UPEI (4-14) for a two point game.

StFX Sports Information