Nissen leads Axemen to road win over X-Men

Antigonish, NS – The Acadia Axemen (7-2) earned an 82-66 road victory over the StFX X-Men (4-5) in Atlantic University Sport basketball action Wednesday on Coach K Court at Oland Centre.

Off the bench, Subway player of the game Erik Nissen (Quispamsis, NB) recorded a double-double, including a game-high 20 points, along with 10 rebounds. With six dishes, the 6'9" forward also led all players in assists.

On the strength of a trio of three-pointers from sophomore guard Justin Andrew (Hamilton, ON), the X-Men took a 16-8 advantage early in the first quarter.

The visitors responded with a 15-3 run, spearheaded by three consecutive shots from downtown from point guard Ben Miller (Winnipeg, MB), to take the lead at 23-19 after 10 minutes.

Highlighted by a pair of three-point shots from Nissen, Acadia made a 16-4 spurt to take a 39-23 edge, midway through the second quarter.

The Axemen led 47-32 at halftime.

In a back-and-forth third quarter, Acadia was spurred by Miller's shooting, while a couple of Daniel Passley (Mississauga, ON) baskets and a thunderous slam dunk from Kevin Bercy (Kanata, ON) sparked the StFX attack.

The X-Men outscored the Axemen 20-17 in the third quarter, but still trailed 64-52 heading to the fourth quarter.

After a three-pointer from shooting guard Tristen Ross (Truro, NS), along with an offensive rebound and put back from Bercy, for the X-Men, Acadia was ahead 70-60.

The Axemen responded, putting the game away behind the power up-front of Nissen and Rhys Larry (Brockville, ON), who collected 18 points and seven rebounds.

Along with that front court duo, Miller finished in double figures, with 16 points, while chipping in five assists and four rebounds.

For the X-Men, Bercy finished with a double-double – 17 points and 12 rebounds – while adding three assists.

Cameron Walker (Dallas, TX), the X-Men player of the game, added in 14 points, six rebounds and two assists.    

The teams return to the court Saturday, Jan. 13, in a return match-up at War Memorial Gymnasium in Wolfville. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

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