Axemen slip past Tigers 85-83

Source: Acadia Athletics

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Acadia Axemen handed the CIS No. 8 ranked Dalhousie Tigers their second loss of the regular season in an 85-83 loss worth four points in the AUS standings.

A fast break layup in the closing seconds of the game by Shaquille Smith (North Preston, N.S.) caught the Tigers asleep at the wheel as Axemen pulled off the two point win with just over a second remaining in the game.

Kashrell Lawrence's (Brampton, Ont.) layup with six seconds remaining to tie the game at 83 wasn't enough to stop the Axemen from toppling the AUS's reigning champions.

A tight game from the opening jump ball, the Tigers edged Acadia 21-16 after one quarter of play. The second quarter score was in favour of the Axemen but after two quarters of play both teams were deadlocked at 42 points apiece.

The largest lead held by the Tigers was seven points early in the second frame, whereas Acadia's largest lead came at the most important time as the fourth quarter wound down. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Axemen had a 12 point advantage to work with.

Dalhousie worked away at Acadia's 12 point lead in the closing quarter. Kyle Arseneault's (Fredericton, N.B.) jump shot with 2:15 remaining in the game was followed by a 12 point Tiger run that concluded with a layup by Lawrence with six seconds remaining in the final quarter.

Smith's last second heroics on the fast break with seconds remaining earned him the Subway Player of the Game honours while Lawrence was rewarded with the player of the game accolade.

Smith scored a team high 19 points, while first year post Erik Nissen (Quispamsis, N.B.) added 16 points. Ben Miller (Winnipeg, Man.), Nick De Palma (Bedford, N.S.) and Kyle Arseneault had 15, 14 and 13 respectively.

On the losing side of the court, Tiger's Kashrell Lawrence posted a game high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Ritchie Kanza Mata (Toronto, Ont.) and Jordan Aquino-Serjie (Montreal, Que.) had 12 points each, while off the bench Sean Dodds (Ottawa, Ont.) added 13 points.

In most shooting categories, the Axemen bettered the Tigers including 60% from the floor, 55.6% from the distant arc and 64.3% from the charity strip. Out-rebounding the Tigers 41-30, the Axemen fell short in turnovers, giving up 18 compared to Dalhousie's nine. The Tigers had 29 points off the bench compared to eight for the Axemen.

The Axemen host the first place and undefeated UPEI Panthers next weekend for two home games to conclude the first half of the season before the Exam Break. The Tigers head to StFX next Saturday to face the 1-4 X-Men.