X-Men finish 4th at DAL Shoveller tourney

The X-Men basketball team placed fourth overall at the 22nd annual Rod Shoveller Memorial tournament at Dalhousie University in Halifax. The X-Men were the defending two-time tournament champions but failed to defend their exhibition title, going 1-2 in this year’s event.

They lost to Laval 98-82 in the bronze medal game. The X-Men opened the tournament with a close 89-87 overtime win over Laurentian then lost 81-64 to Saint Mary’s in the semifinals. The host Dalhousie Tigers won the tournament, posting a 79-75 overtime win over Saint Mary’s in the championship game.

Along with StFX, SMU and Dalhousie, the tournament featured fellow AUS teams in Cape Breton and Acadia, along with Laval, Laurentian and Algoma University.

The X-Men opened action Saturday afternoon against OUA East opponent Laurentian. The two teams played an even first half with the X-Men leading 26-25 after the first quarter and 43-41 at halftime. The Voyageurs opened up a lead after 30 minutes of play after a 24-18 third quarter in their favor put them up 65-61. They were ahead by as much as 10 points midway through the final quarter but the X-Men battled back to tie the game at 78-78 at the end of regulation.

StFX went on a 9-0 run to open the overtime period but the resilient Voyageurs came back with three consecutive three-point jumpers to knot the game at 87-87 with 21 seconds to play. Player of the game and veteran fifth year X-Man Jeremy Dunn scored the game winner for StFX at the buzzer to give them the 89-87 overtime victory. Dunn scored nine total points in the game.

Five X-Men were in double scoring figures including Rodrigo Madera who had a double-double game with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Clarke scored 17 points and had 6 rebounds and Tyrell Vernon scored 16. Will Donkoh contributed 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Shane Coupland had 12 points and 7 boards. The X-Men were without the services of All-Canadian guard Terry Thomas. He will be out for the remainder of the season due to academic reasons.

Leading the Voyageurs was Alex Ratte with 28 points and Gerges Serresse with 27.

The victory advanced the X-Men into the semifinals on Sunday where they faced fellow AUS opponent Saint Mary’s. The Huskies earned their way into the semi’s with a 71-65 win over Cape Breton.

Saint Mary’s kept with their winning ways, defeating the X-Men 81-64 and denying them the opportunity to defend their two-time tournament title. The Huskies opened with a 17-12 first quarter lead, and grew their advantage to 45-28 at halftime. The X-Men fell deeper in the hole as the Huskies outscored them 24-16 in the third quarter to take a commanding 25 point lead after thirty minutes of play. The X-Men did out-pace the Huskies 20-12 in the fourth quarter but it was too little too late.

Player of the game Jeremy McAvoy led the Saint Mary’s attack with 24 points, while Riley Halpin scored 17. Harry Ezenibe contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds for the win.

Replying for the X-Men was Jeremy Dunn who scored 19 points. Tyrell Vernon scored 13 for the blue and white and Will Donkoh had 10. Shane Coupland and freshman Jordan Tyrell each scored 8 points apiece.

In their final game of the Halifax tournament on Monday afternoon, the X-Men fell 98-82 to the Laval Rouge et Or from the RSEQ conference.

After opening with a 22-17 lead in the first quarter, the X-Men were outscored 26-14 in the second by the Rouge et Or to fine themselves down by seven points at the half. Laval hung on for a 71-62 lead after the third quarter and the X-Men could not erase the deficit as they were outscored 27-20 in the final quarter.

Rodrigo Madera scored 17 points and had 9 rebounds for the X-Men, while Shane Coupland also scored 17 and had 7 rebounds. Jeremy Dunn scored 16 points and had 6 boards, while Jordan Clarke scored 12 in the losing effort.
Player of the game Karl Demers-Belanger led the Rouge et Or with 21 points, while teammates Thibaud Dezutter and Rene-Pier Mathieu each scored 20.

Following the championship game between the Dalhousie Tigers and Saint Mary’s Huskies, the tournament all-star team was announced and featured Huskies players Kevin Thomas and Jeremy McAvoy, along with Rodrigo Madera of the X-Men, Kashrell Lawrence from Dalhousie and Anthony Ashe from Acadia. Dalhousie’s William Yengue was named the tournament MVP. Complete tournament results follow below.

The X-Men will next hit the court on Saturday, January 5th when they resume AUS regular season action. The blue and white will be back at the Dalplex in Halifax to take on the Shoveller tournament champion Dalhousie Tigers in an 8:00 pm game. They return to the StFX Oland Centre Tuesday, January 8th to host the Cape Breton Capers.

December 29
Game 1:  Saint Mary's 71, Cape Breton 65
Game 2:  StFX 89, Laurentian 87 (OT)
Game 3:  Dalhousie 82, Algoma 69
Game 4:  Acadia 68, Laval 51

December 30
Consolation semifinal1:  Cape Breton 71, Laurentian 64
Consolation semifinal 2:  Laval 77, Algoma 73
Semifinal 1:  Saint Mary's 81, StFX 64
Semifinal 2:  Dalhousie 73, Acadia 59

December 31
Consolation final:  Cape Breton 79, Algoma 75
Bronze Medal:  Laval 98, StFX 82
Championship:  Dalhousie 79, Saint Mary's 75 (OT)