By Ethan Hunt
(Halifax) - The Dalhousie Tigers defeated the STFX X-Men 100-79 at Dalplex on Friday night.
Malcolm Christie (Fredricton, ON) set the single season three-point record for the AUS and topped that with 32 points and player of the game.
Dondre Reddick (Antigonish, NS) started the game out by taking flight for the layup and Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, QC) splashed a three on the Tigers very next possession, but Reddick got the last laugh with an and-one layup.
The Tigers went on a 12-2 run highlighted when Jayden Parker (Milton, ON) attacked the interior with two layups, and both Malcolm Christie (Fredricton, ON) and freshman Caleb Stewart (Stevensville, ON) cashed in three pointers to the crowd's delight. With the three pointer Christie set the AUS record for threes in a season.
Dalhousie continued their scoring onslaught, and with 1:20 left in the quarter Marcus Upshaw (Burlington, ON) did his best to comeback with an and-one bucket, and Bennett Grumbach (Toronto, ON) nailed a three point buzzer beater to make it 32-17.
Out of the break Parker turned away an STFX player's shot, and followed that up by taking flight for an and-one layup, to which Ngala followed when he sliced into the paint for a layup. Maillet then knocked down a three and Dolu Johnson (Caledonia, ON) was rewarded for diving for a loose ball steal, when Christie cashed another triple.
STFX went on a run when Upshaw knocked in a layup, Grumbach made a three plus a layup and the foul, and Koat Thomas (Waterloo, ON) put his body on the line for a layup.
With all momentum in the X-Men's advantage, Ngala erupted the crowd with a transition three.
Christie lost his defender with two seconds remaining and swished the corner triple at the buzzer to put the Tigers up 60-41.
Gatluak James (Windsor, ON) and the X-Men came running out of the break with four players cutting into the paint for layups.
The Tigers battled back when Ngala made another momentum cutting three-point shot, and Parker skied up for another layup. Christie made his seventh three of the night this time falling away in the corner, and then he skied for dunk.
Matt Pennell (St. John's, NL) did his best to come back in the game when he raised above the smaller defender for the layup, and Reddick matched that when he hopped around Ngala and put in the two points.
Ngala hung in the air and scored over the taller defender at the buzzer to head into the fourth up 77-61.
Parker opened the new quarter with an emphatic two handed slam, and Thomas countered with an and one bucket.
Christie followed Parker up by raising up for a two handed slam and added the foul shot. Reddick answered back when he rose above his defender and hung in the air for the tough layup.
Christie with just two minutes remaining flexed to the crowd after he knocked down the three and was fouled from behind the arc.
Ngala ended the blowout win in the best way possible when he recorded the layup plus the foul to finish the night with a 100-79 win.
Both teams will move onto the AUS Championship next weekend at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, but their matchups will depend on other results around the conference Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are available for the championship at AUSHoops.ca