Tigers, Huskies, Panthers and Stingers win first day of Shoveller

by Duncan Forbes

Saint Mary's 85 UQAM 63

The Huskies came out with a victory in the opening game of the 2016 Rod and Joan Shoveller Memorial Tournament as they beat UQAM 85-63 in authoritative fashion. The Huskies jumped out to an early 22-11 lead in the first quarter, but UQAM kept it respectable in the second quarter and they trailed 43-29 at the half.

Chris Miller was hot off the bench for UQAM in the first half, connected on four of his first five shots in the game and he finished with a team-high 14 points off the bench in the loss.

The Huskies kept the pressure up in the second half as they cruised to a 85-63 win. Marquis Clayton had 23 points in just 21 minutes of action in the game to lead the Huskies, while Osman Barrie was big on both ends of the court with 19 points and 11 boards.

The Huskies will go on to face the UPEI Panthers in the first semifinal on Saturday at 6:00pm, while the loss means that UQAM will face the StFX X-Men at 1:00pm.

UPEI 93 StFX 70

The AUS-leading UPEI Panthers showed why they're on top of the league standings with a commanding 93-70 victory over the StFX X-Men, who currently sit in last place in the AUS.

The 23 point victory was not indicative of how most of the game was played however, as the X-Men kept it close in a highly contested first half. The X-Men led 17-15 after the first quarter, but the Panthers clawed back in the second quarter and they led by five at the half.

Tyler Scott got into some foul trouble early in the third quarter, but the Panthers made it a double-digit lead as they led by ten points going into the fourth quarter.

It was an entirely different story in the fourth quarter, as Scott came back and combined with Brad States for 25 points in the final frame as the Panthers pulled away for the big win.

States had a game-high 22 points in the win for the Panthers on 9-13 shooting from the field, while Scott finished with 19. Zachary Underwood added 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and four steals.

Kevin Bercy had a team-high 13 points in the loss for the X-Men and he pulled down eight rebounds. Davonte Provo and Julius Antoine each had ten points in the loss.

The win means that the Panthers will face off against the Saint Mary's Huskies in the semifinals at 6:00pm on Saturday, while the X-Men will take on UQAM at 1:00pm.

Concordia 73 vs Acadia 61

Concordia booked their ticket to the semifinals against Dalhousie as they came away with a scrappy 73-61 victory over the Acadia Axemen. Both teams got off to incredibly cold starts from the field, and the game got off to a sluggish start as Acadia led 26-24 at halftime.

First-year forward Schneiders Suffrard had a game-high 23 points in the victory for Concordia, while big man Michael Fosu added nine points and 11 boards. Shaq Smith had a team-high 19 points on 8-17 shooting in the loss for Acadia, while Erik Nissen finished just short of a double-double with ten points and nine rebounds.

With the loss, Acadia will now square off against the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics at 3:00pm on Saturday, while the win means that Concordia will meet the Dalhousie Tigers in the semifinal.

Dalhousie 81 vs MSVU 53

The Tigers got their first win of 2016 as they defeated the MSVU Mystics 81-53 in the final game of the first day of the Shoveller. The Mystics kept it close for the majority of the first half, but the defending AUS champions pulled away in the second half as they came away with 28 point victory.

The Tigers opened the game on a 10-0 run but the Mystics came right back with an 8-0 run of their own to keep it close. Truro, NS native Emad Khalek was on fire from deep for the Mystics, and he finished with a team-high 19 points after he made his first four attempts from beyond the arc. Derek Norris, a former Tiger who spent three seasons with the black and gold, finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Although neither team put up especially high field goal percentages, both teams did damage from beyond the arc, with the Mystics connecting on 45.0% of their attempts while the Tigers hit 47.5% of theirs.

The Tigers only led by 12 points at the half, but they pulled away in the second half and they held the Mystics to just eight points in the final frame as they came away with the 81-58 victory.

Jordan Aquino-Serjue, who was named the player of the game, was a perfect 5-5 from the field as he had a team-high 14 points off the bench in the win. Sven Stammberger posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The win means that the Tigers will take on Concordia in the semifinals tomorrow at 8:00pm, while the loss pits the Mystics against the StFX X-Men at 3:00pm.