(HALIFAX, N.S.) – The Dalhousie Tigers men's basketball team is back atop the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) mountain.
It took a little longer than they anticipated, however, as the Tigers needed overtime to defeat the STFX X-Men 77-67 to win the 2024 AUS Men's Basketball Championship title. In the extra period, Dalhousie outscored the X-Men 12-2 to capture the program's tenth conference title.
Dalhousie had won three straight AUS titles before falling in the semifinals last year and watching on as STFX captured the crown. Their overtime win Sunday night was the first time the AUS men's basketball title has been decided in an extra frame since Acadia defeated Saint Mary's 74-72 in 2006-07.
The Tigers will now go on to the U SPORTS Final 8, hosted by Laval University in Quebec City, Que., from March 8-10. The Tigers best performance on the national stage was a silver medal in the 2019-20 edition of the tournament.
The game started out slow for the Tigers, as STFX went out to a 7-0 lead just a couple of minutes into the contest. However, they rebounded by going on a 14-2 to close out the quarter – holding the X-Men to just two points in the final eight minutes of the quarter.
STFX responded in the second frame when All-Rookie Team selection Koat Thomas (Waterloo, ON) scored 10 of his 14 points to help the X-Men take back the lead. When the halftime buzzer sounded, STFX led the Tigers 33-30.
Dondre Reddick (Antigonish, NS) scored eight points in the third quarter to help extend the STFX lead to seven, but would make another impact later in the game.
Down 52-45 after three quarters, the Tigers started to chip away the lead. Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, NB), who had been held relatively quiet with 14 points in the first three quarters, drew foul after foul and made the X-Men pay by making all five free throws and scoring seven points.
Christie finished the game with 21 points and was named the tournament's MVP and a tournament all-star.
Sam Maillet (Moncton, NB) also got in on the scoring. Usually one to distribute the ball, the 6-foot-7 guard scored 19 points and added eight rebounds to be named Player of the Game. Maillet made a pair of timely threes in the final quarter to get Dalhousie back on top – including one from the corner with 4:46 left in the fourth to give the Tigers a 57-54 lead.
The teams went back and forth with Dalhousie staying just ahead of the X-Men. With just seconds left, the X-Men inbounded the ball to Bennett Grumbach (Toronto, ON), who put up a three-point shot in an effort to tie the game.
When his shot missed, STFX forward Gatluak James (Windsor, ON) raced to keep the ball alive, throwing it to teammate Matt Pennell (St. John's, NL). When the Dalhousie defenders closed in on Pennell, he found an open Reddick who had just enough time to get a shot off before the buzzer.
Reddick made the three to quiet the waiting-to-celebrate Tigers fans sitting courtside and send the game to overtime.
In the ensuing overtime, Dal just seemed to have more gas left in the tank that the X-Men.
Maillet added six more of his points to help cement the win and bring the Tigers fans charging on to the court to help celebrate the victory.
AUS Men's Basketball Championship Awards
Tournament MVP
Malcolm Christie - Dalhousie
Tournament All-Stars
Malcolm Christie – Dalhousie
Nginyu Ngala - Dalhousie
Dondre Reddick - STFX
Bennett Grumbach - STFX
Jayrell Diggs – Saint Mary's