Tigers sweep home-and-home series with X-Men

Antigonish, NS – The Dalhousie Tigers (4-2) defeated the StFX X-Men (2-3) by an 89-70 score Saturday afternoon at the Oland Centre, completing a home-and-home sweep this week, having previously beaten the same X-Men squad Wednesday night in Halifax.

The Tigers, on the strength of four Alex Carson (Lower Sackville, NS) three-pointers took a 23-13 first quarter lead. The lead was a result of excellent teamwork by the Tigers as every player - starter and sub - worked equally hard on both sides of the court. Tigers starting point guard, Keevan Veinot (Port Williams, NS) got into early foul trouble and Jordan Brathwaite (Milton, ON) was forced to come on to run the show for the Tigers.

For StFX, Tristen Ross (Truro, NS) and Justin Andrew (Hamilton, ON) were unable to find their feet from distance. DAL's big men used great positioning to ensure that there were also few points to be had under the basket.

The second quarter was more of the same by both teams. The Tigers worked efficiently through their sets and the X-Men were unable to match the speed and skill of the visitors. Carson continued his hot shooting from distance and, using his 6'5'' frame, made some nice drives to the basket. 

With a 17-10 second quarter, the Tigers took a 40-23 lead into the halftime break.

Carson picked right up where he left off and scored 10 third quarter points. Key to his and the Tigers' success was their movement off the ball in offensive sets. In contrast, X were forced to drive along the baseline with the shot clock ticking down. Dawson Bungay (Alder Point, NS) contributed six points and did well competing against the experienced Dalhousie forwards. The Tigers team effort came through on a nice play that saw Carson corral a tough rebound and make a pass to Veinot, who made sure it was Carson on the receiving end of a pass for an open look for three. Carson drained the shot assuredly.

The third quarter was closer as the X-Men scored 23 points to Dalhousie's 28.

The fourth quarter saw some new faces for the X-Men with Nick McKee (Newmarket, ON) scoring nine points with some effective shooting and Justin Andrew (Hamilton, ON) driving to the basket a number of times and in the process scoring eight points in the quarter. For the Tigers, Veinot led the way with nine points. He organized his charges well from the point position and the Tigers kept their shape on both sides of the floor.

The X-Men outpaced the Tigers 24-21 in the final frame though the first half lead was too much to overcome as the Tigers closed out the 89-70 victory.

Carson finished with 29 points on the night including seven buckets from beyond the arc as he garnered Subway Player of the Game honours.

Keevan Veinot (Port Williams, NS) scored 19 for the Tigers, while Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, ON) had 13 with six rebounds. Sascha Kappos (Miami, FL) contributed 11 points and seven boards.

The Tigers shot 45.6% from field goal range compared to the X-Men's 31.3%.

Justin Andrew (Hamilton, ON) was the top scorer for the X-Men with 18 points. StFX player of the game Daniel Passley (Mississauga, ON) had a double-double night with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick McKee (Newmarket, ON) scored nine off the X-Men bench.

The X-Men are back in action on Saturday, November 24th when they travel to Acadia. The Tigers will host cross-town rivals Saint Mary's on Friday night, November 23rd in an 8:00 pm game at Dalplex.

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