Hoop X-Men compete at McGill tourney

The StFX X-Men posted a 1-2 record at the McGill Redbird Classic in Montreal over the weekend. They opened with a 77-73 overtime win over the host McGill squad, then dropped games to Ottawa (106-88) and Brock (85-76).

In Sunday's 85-76 to the Brock Badgers tournament all-star Kevin Bercy (Kanata, ON) led StFX with a double-double - 24 points and 10 rebounds - along with two blocked shots.

Guard Jordan Tyrrell (Montreal, QC) contributed eight points, four rebounds, five assists and one steal, while sophomore Julius Antoine (Woodbridge, ON) chipped in nine points and nine rebounds.

Johneil Simpson, with 24 points, Matt Marshall (17), player of the game Kevin Wilson (14), Yusuf Ali (13) and Zach Angelini (10) hit double figures for the Badgers. Brock led 45-43 at halftime.

Saturday, the X-Men dropped a 106-88 decision to the Ottawa GeeGees, the defending CIS silver medallists.

Player of the game Shane Coupland (Brisbane, AUS) led five StFX players in double figures with 20 points. Antoine scored 15 points, while adding six assists, with freshman Alastair Cole (Pickering, ON) chipping in 11 points, on four-for-five shooting from the field.

Tyrrell and Jameel Williamson (Pickering, ON) added 10 points apiece, while the sophomore guard also had six assists. Bercy led the X-Men with six rebounds.

All-Canadian Johnny Berhanemeskel scored a game-high 35 points for Ottawa. Also, for the GeeGees, Caleb Agada and Gabriel Gonthier-Dub scored 20 and 16 points, respectively.

Agada corralled a game-high seven rebounds, while he, Gonthier-Dub and Medhi Tihani dished out four assists apiece. Ottawa led 51-35 in the first half.

StFX outscored the GeeGees 37 to 24 in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 75-72, but Ottawa pulled away by winning the fourth quarter by 15 points (31 to 16).

The X-Men opened the tournament with a 77-73 overtime win over the host McGill Redmen. StFX outscored the hosts 12 to eight in the extra session. McGill rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Bercy, the StFX player of the game, led four players in double figures with 20 points. He added eight rebounds, four steals, blocked shots and one assist. Tyrrell collected 15 points, while Cameron Walker (Dallas, TX) and Cole contributed 12 and 11, respectively.

McGill player of the game Vincent Dufort scored a double-double - 20 points and 10 rebounds, while adding eight assists. Francois Bourque had 17 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

McGill collected 48 rebounds, while StFX had 40. The X-Men shot 44.1 per cent from the field, while connected on 32.9 per cent.

StFX returns to pre-season action Friday, Oct. 24, when they face the MacMaster Marauders at the Cape Breton Invitational in Sydney. The X-Men will also face Cape Breton (Saturday, Oct. 25) and Holland College (Sunday, Oct. 26) in the annual tourney.

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