(Halifax, NS) The annual Rod and Joan Shoveller Memorial tournament has wrapped up and the Ottawa Gee-Gees have been crowned the champions after defeating the host Dalhousie Tigers in the final 82-63. Gee-Gees forward Caleb Agada was named the tournament MVP after an impressive weekend. In other games at the Shoveller on Sunday, the Saint Mary's Huskies edged the Acadia Axemen in dramatic fashion, McGill defeated the StFX X-Men and the UPEI Panthers finished their tournament with a win over the MSVU Mystics.
Tournament all-stars:
#8 Julius Antoine, StFX
#23 Vince Dufort, McGill
#11 Michael L'Africain, Ottawa
#11 Ritchie Kanza Mata, Dalhousie
#5 Jarred Reid, Dalhousie
Ottawa 83 vs Dalhousie 62
The CIS No. 2 ranked Ottawa Gee-Gees powered past the Dalhousie Tigers 83-62 to win the Rod and Joan Shoveller Memorial tournament this afternoon at the Dalplex. The Gee-Gees offense overpowered the Tigers as they shot 50% on the day. Caleb Agada was named the tournament MVP after averaging 15.3 points and ten rebounds over the tournament. Gee-Gees guard Michael L'Africain, along with Tigers guards Ritchie Kanza Mata and Jarred Reid were also named tournament all-stars.
Johnny Berhanemeskel opened the scoring for the Gee-Gees as the teams traded buckets in the opening minutes before the Gee-Gees opened up the scoring and they were up 21-13 after the first quarter of play. Berhanesmeskel led all scorers in the quarter and he scored 11 of his 15 points in the first ten minutes of play.
The Tigers got trimmed the lead to as little as 11 points in the second quarter, but the Gee-Gees ended the quarter on a 5-0 run and they held a commanding 41-25 lead going into halftime.
It was the third quarter where the Gee-Gees really took over. They held the Tigers to just 5-17 from the field, and their offense really went to work registering 27 points in the quarter. They picked apart the Tigers defense with their pinpoint passes as they assisted on six of their eight made field goals of the quarter. They also started to find their stroke from beyond the arc, knocking down 50% of their attempts from deep. The Gee-Gees were rewarded with a 27 point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Kashrell Lawrence's seven straight points in the fourth quarter helped them spring to an 11-2 run but that wasn't enough to erase the deficit as Ottawa became the first team outside the AUS to win the Shoveller since Carleton in 2009.
Player of the game Caleb Agada led the Gee-Gees with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Moe Ismail came off the bench and scored 11 points in just 15 minutes.
Kashrell Lawrence had a team-high 17 points and seven boards in the loss for the Tigers, while Devon Stedman added eight points and eight boards.
McGill 76 vs StFX 57
The McGill Redmen used a strong second half to outlast the StFX X-Men 76-57 Sunday afternoon on the final day at the Rod and Joan Shoveller Memorial tournament. Vincent Dufort, who was named a tournament all-star, led the Redmen with a 13 point, ten rebound and seven assist effort.
Cameron Walker had six points of his ten points in the first quarter and he added three rebounds in the first quarter as the X-Men jumped out to a 21-15 lead after ten minutes of play.
Down 29-24 in the second quarter, the Redmen went on a 7-0 run to give the Redmen a 31-29 lead. Alastair Cole would hit a three and the Redmen hit one of their free-throws, and the teams went into halftime tied at 32.
The X-Men entered the fourth quarter down seven, and the Redmen limited them to just three points in the final 5:42 of the game as they came away with a 76-57 victory.
Dele Ogundokun had a team-high 17 points in the victory for the Redmen, and Francois Bourque narrowly missed out on a double-double with a 10 point, nine rebound performance.
Julius Antoine, who was also named a tournament all-star, led the X-Men with 16 points, while Cameron Walker had ten points and nine boards.
Saint Mary's 83 vs Acadia 82
The Saint Mary's Huskies pulled off a last second victory Sunday morning over the Acadia Axemen to finish fifth at the Rod and Joan Shoveller Memorial tournament. They were led by a 21 point, six assist performance from Marquis Clayton, who hit the deciding free throws with three seconds left which iced the game for the Huskies.
Down 19-18 with 1:18 left in the first quarter, a three-pointer by Gianmarco Luciani spurred a 9-2 Axemen run as they ended the quarter on top 27-21.
With the Axemen up by as many as 11 points in the second quarter, Marquis Clayton scored the last four points of the quarter as the Huskies trimmed the deficit to six points going into halftime.
With the X-Men up 81-80 with 13 seconds left, Jeremy McAvoy fouled Sean Stoqua and sent him to the line. Stoqua hit his first shot, but he missed his second and the Axemen held an 82-80 lead. After McAvoy hit a free-throw to make it a one point game, Clayton nailed two free throws to give the Huskies an 83-82 lead. Stoqua had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer for the Axemen, but his attempt from deep couldn't find the bottom of the net.
Osman Barrie had 17 points and seven rebounds in the win for the Huskies, while Jeremy McAvoy added 16 points after going 4-6 from beyond the arc.
Sean Stoqua had a team-high 17 points in the loss for the Axemen, and Rhys Larry added 16 points and eight boards. Kyle Arseneault had 15 points off the bench after going 3-5 from deep.
UPEI 100 vs MSVU 53
The UPEI Panthers had their way with the MSVU Mystics as they ran away with a 100-53 victory as they finally found themselves in the win column at the Shoveller. The Panthers shot over 50% from the field and had five players finish in double-digits in scoring.
The Panthers opened the game on an 8-2 run and they never looked back. After they were up 25-12 after the first quarter of play, they poured in 35 points in the second quarter to open up a 36 point lead going into halftime. The Mystics held the Panthers to just 14 points in the final quarter, but it was too little too late as the Panthers won 100-53.
Geoff Doane and Michael Karimu led the Panthers with 16 points, while Bathurst, NB native Brad States had 11 points, eight board and six assists.
Dan Fournier had a team-high 12 points and six rebounds to lead the Mystics in the loss, while Alex Harding added 11 points and five boards.