By Corey LeBlanc  

SYDNEY – After a second consecutive win over the visiting Dalhousie Tigers (10-9), the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (9-9) men's basketball team has climbed into fourth place in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) standings with only a few days remaining in the regular season. 

In a back-and-forth contest on Monday afternoon at Sullivan Fieldhouse, junior forward Tyson Cato (Hamilton, ON), canned a game-high 21 points in leading the Capers to a 90-87 home victory. 

The second-place Tigers, coming off a lopsided setback on Sunday evening, battled the Capers from wire-to-wire, even after their head coach Rick Plato's ejection at halftime. 

After a tightly-played first quarter, CBU led 20-18, with Cato blazing out of the gate with nine points. 

In the second quarter, Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, QC), who scored seven, and the Tigers stayed within striking distance on the road. 

Nevertheless, at halftime, the Capers held a 47-41 advantage. 

In the third quarter, Samuel Maillet (Moncton, NB) – the senior guard who leads the conference in assists per game – flexed his muscles at the rim, scoring eight points and corralling three rebounds. 

Although the Capers had a handful of single-digit leads, the Tigers knotted the contest – 60-60 – on a late three-pointer from Andre Reid (Calgary, AB), his lone basket. 

Heading to the fourth quarter, Dalhousie led 64-62 in a match-up that featured playoff-like intensity. 

In the final stanza, the Capers ramped up their defense, which included key minutes from freshman Domenic Odle (Burlington, ON), who provided a spark while Cato sat on the bench with four fouls. 

On the offensive end, CBU started with a 7-2 spurt in the final quarter, with an exclamation point from Shakael Pryce from three-point range making it 69-66 for the home side. 

Ngala answered, also from downtown, and the sides – once again were deadlocked; this time at 69-69. 

For the next few minutes, the teams went back and forth; by the midway point of the fourth, Stefan Anisko (Caledonia, ON) gave CBU a 79-75 edge, but Tiger sharpshooter Malcolm Christie – from beyond the arc – responded quickly and whittled the deficit to one point – at 79-78. 

Down the stretch, tied 80-80, the Capers rattled off five consecutive points from the combo of sophomore guard Justus Peuser (Geisenheim, Germany), who returned to the line-up over the weekend after missing every AUS regular season game in 2024, and local product Mitchell Mersereau (Sydney, NS). 

Although the Tigers pulled within one – at 86-85 – CBU, led by Anisko and Pryce sealed the deal from the charity stripe. 

Joining Cato, who also contributed six rebounds, in double digits were Pryce, with 20 points, Anisko (16) and Mersereau (15), who fashioned a double-double by chipping in 10 rebounds. Pryce added four steals, four rebounds and three assists, while Anisko collected seven rebounds.  

For the Tigers, Ngala finished with 20 points and four assists, while Christie added 17. Jayden Parker (Milton, ON) and Maillet collected double-double efforts with 17 points and 11 rebounds, 15 points and 11 rebounds, respectively. Maillet also contributed a game-high nine assists, falling one dime short of a triple-double performance.  

Cato (Capers) and Ngala (Tigers) were named Chartwells players of the game.  

Each team will return to action on Friday, Feb. 16, with the Tigers hosting the STFX X-Men, while the Capers will welcome the UPEI Panthers. 

Tip-off for both match-ups is 8 p.m.