The host Dalhousie Tigers came out victorious in the 30th annual Rod & Joan Shoveller Memorial Basketball Tournament.
After some travel troubles and the withdrawal of Brock from the tournament a modified schedule was played which saw Calgary, Acadia, Cape Breton, St. Clair and the Tigers hit the court Dec. 28-31, 2023.
Calgary vs Cape Breton, Dec. 28
Opening the tournament the Capers defeated the Dinos 95-89, with Tyson Cato (St Catherines, ON) leading the way with 28 points.
The Capers had two other players hit the 20-point mark, Shakael Pryce (Pickering, ON) and Mitchell Mersereau (Sydney, NS). Mersereau almost had a triple-double in the victory, notching nine assists and rebounds.
Calgary’s Nate Petrone (Calgary, AB) scored 28 points in the loss. Noah Wharton (Brampton, ON) scored 21 points and dished out seven assists.
Cape Breton vs St. Clair, Dec. 29
The outcome was different for the Capers on Friday, losing to the St. Clair Saints 90-86.
Galdo Tutu (Windsor, ON) led the way for the Saints off the bench, scoring 23 points. Chad Vincent-Simon (Scarborough, ON) added 22 points to help the Saints defeat the Capers.
Pryce was excellent for the Capers again, scoring 31 points in the loss. Cato tallied 22 points.
Dalhousie vs Calgary, Dec. 29
The first quarter saw the Tigers get to a 12-7 lead with 6:18 left off an and-one layup and the made free throw from Maillet.
The first quarter ended 22-20 in favour of the Dinos. Spencer Roberts (Lethbridge, AB) scored a layup with 45 seconds left of the quarter for the lead.
In the second quarter, Christie hit two 3-pointers in under a minute, tying the game 26-26.
Toward the end of the quarter, Beckett Johnson (Salmon Arm, BC) scored a left-handed scoop layup to help build a 49-44 lead for the Dinos.
Petrone was unstoppable in the third quarter, scoring 13 points. Petrone, the player of the game for the Dinos, hit three 3-pointers in the quarter.
With just under six minutes left, the Dinos led by 15 points. Christie hit a 3-pointer with 5:08 left of the game, and another with 4:51 left, cutting the Dinos lead to six points. He would go in to score 16 points in just over three minutes to tie the game 94-94.
Maillet followed Christie's scoring outburst with a vicious dunk over a Dinos player. This tied the game 96-96 after Dylan Lutes' (Calgary, AB) jumper for the Dinos.
Dolu Johnson (Caledonia, ON) gave the Tigers a 99-96 lead with 46 seconds left off a layup assisted by Maillet.
Christie would ice the game at the free throw line, giving the Tigers a five-point lead.
Maillet won player of the game for the Tigers, posting 18 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Christie finished with 41 points for the Tigers, making six 3-pointers and hitting all 11 of his free throws.
Petrone was unstoppable all night for the Dinos, finishing with 28 points while missing just four shots.
Calgary vs Acadia, Dec. 30
A close opening quarter saw the Axemen hold an early 25-20 lead over the Dinos. Nate Petrone play all 10 minutes of the opening in his third game in three days.
Another close quarter saw Petrone add seven more points to his first quarter tally of 4. Going shot for shot, Acadia’s Robbie Grant also saw seven points drain in the second quarter. The teams would head to the locker rooms with Acadia holding a tight four-point lead.
Petrone would continue to find his groove in the second half, scoring 12 of his total 30 points in the third quarter. Fellow Dino Spencer Roberts helped his team out dropping 20 points and pulling in 5 rebounds.
Tied at 81 as the final buzzer sounded, it always felt like this game was going to OT. Despite playing three games in three days, the Dinos had enough left in the tank to see out this game, beting Acadia 92-88.
Acadia’s Glen Cox had a team-high 25 points and 6 rebounds in the contest. For the third day in a row, Calgary’s Nate Petrone led the Dinos with 30 points.
Dalhousie vs St. Clair, Dec. 30
Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, NB) picked up where he left off from his 41-point outburst Friday night against the Calgary Dinos, picking up Dal's first basket of the game with a layup.
Galdo Tutu (Windsor, ON) put the Saints up by three points with a minute left of the first quarter, giving the Saints a 21-18 lead.
Samuel Maillet (Moncton, NB) threw down a monster dunk again tonight, bringing the Tigers within three points to start the second quarter.
The Saints began to score relentlessly in the second quarter, as Vincent-Simon put the Saints up by 11 points with 7:19 left of the half.
Christie cut the lead to five points with just under five minutes left of the half with a 3-pointer. Maillet assisted the play, finishing with four assists in the half. Maillet was sensational last night against the Dinos, finishing with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists.
However, the Saints continued to score and regained a 13-point lead going into the half, thanks to Jesiah Deerr's (Whitby, ON) 3-pointer.
In the third quarter, Dal began to find some footing, bringing the game within 10 points with 4:41 left of the frame. The Saints were up as many as 17 with 7:11 left of the quarter.
With 27 seconds left of the quarter, Christie pulled the Tigers within six points with a 3-pointer.
It was a tight quarter throughout, with Dal clawing back and taking the lead with 4:36 left of the game from a Riley Stewart (Stevensville, ON) layup.
In the fourth quarter, Vincent-Simon had the Dalplex speechless with a viscous posterizing dunk minutes in.
It looked bleak for the Tigers again as the Saints led by five points with two minutes left.
With 30 seconds left, Lydell Husbands-Browne (Halifax, NS) scored an and-one layup to bring the Tigers within one point. Off the missed free throw attempt from the and-one, Maillet grabbed the rebound and scored an and-one of his own. Maillet missed the free throw, but the Tigers secured the rebound again, eventually leading to Christie receiving free throws.
Christie converted his second free throw to put the Tigers up two points with 18 seconds left.
Dolu Johnson (Caledonia, ON) put the Tigers up by three points at the free-throw line with six seconds left. The Saints had a final chance of tying the game but failed to do so.
The player of the game for the Saints was Darnelle Peddie (Pickering, ON), scoring 14 points in the loss. The player of the game for the Tigers was Christie, who poured in 30 points in the victory.
Acadia vs St. Clair, Dec. 31
Close games were the story of the tournament and the finale stayed true to the theme.
St. Clair continued to show they could play with the U SPORTS teams, with Jesiah Deerr dropping 8 points in the opening quarter on Sunday. Acadia was able to keep it tied at the end of the first with points coming from all over the floor in the first quarter.
The teams would head into the locker rooms at half with the Saints holding a slight lead over the Axemen. Deerr continued his consistent play and teammate Char Vincent-Simon adding his name to the score sheet.
The Saints were able to hold on to their lead to win the game 81-79. Vincent-Simon would end his day with 20 points while Deerr and Andrew Loyuk would add 17 each.
Glen Cox continued to lead the Axemen in their second game of the tournament, recording a team-high 19 points in the contest.
Tournament Awards
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All-Stars: Malcolm Christie, Dalhousie MVP: Sam Maillet, Dalhousie |
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