Tigers win Shoveller tournament opener over Mystics

Game recap by Kirk Jessome

(Halifax, NS) – In the primetime matchup of the Rod and Joan Shoveller Memorial Tournament, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics. The Tigers had a strong start to the game, and continued to grow their lead throughout as they came away with the 84-42 win.

Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, ON) opened the scoring for the Tigers in the tournament named after his grandparents with a shot from deep.

Brody Blakeny (Riverview, NB) got the scoring going for the Mystics, picking up six quick points in the early minutes of the quarter, but the Tigers were able to get inside and use their size advantage to slowly build a lead.

Blakeny dropped in a layup on one end that was immediately answered by Jordan Wilson (Nassau, Bahamas) on the opposite as the quarter ended with the Tigers leading 24-15 over the Mystics.

It was a slow quarter for both sides with the shooting going cold, taking 9 minutes for the first team to reach double digits in the quarter.

For the Mystics, Tyrese Paul (Fredericton, NB) got in on the scoring, as well as Drew Jacklin (Shelburne, NS) knocking down a shot from deep. The Tigers were able to spread the ball, as their 10 points came from five different scorers.

At the end of a cold second quarter, the Tigers still held the lead at 34-23.

The Tigers continued to slowly build their lead in the third quarter, with Keevan Veinot (Port Williams, NS) hitting a pair of shots from deep.

The Mystics once again were held to tough shots on the inside for most of the third quarter and were getting out rebounded on both ends of the floor.

Joel McCrossin (Amherst, NS) was able to spark the Mystics with some great moves in the paint to get to the rim for a few easy lay-ins, but the Tigers lead was a tough as to come back from.

Continuing to pound the ball inside with Marley Blommers (Chatham, ON) getting to the rim on back to back possessions and earning trips to the line, and as the buzzer rang on the third quarter, the Tigers were up 63-37.

The teams slowed down the fourth quarter even more, content to get set plays on each possession and not worry about transition offense as the lead was out of reach of the Mystics. 

As time ran down in the fourth, the Tigers were able to move on and secure the win by a score of 84-42.

Drew Jacklin led the scoring for the Mystics, picking up 13 points in this one, while the Tigers were able to spread the ball throughout the roster with Xavier Ochu (Milton, ON) leading the way with 13 points and 7 rebounds.

The Tigers will move on to the winner's bracket to face Cape Breton at 8:00pm, while the Mystics will take on Laval at 3:00.