Tigers edge X-Men 69-66

Antigonish, NS – The StFX X-Men mounted a late fourth quarter comeback but it was too little, too late as the Dalhousie Tigers hung on for a 69-66 victory Wednesday night on Coach K Court at the StFX Oland Centre. 

After being down by eight points, 53-45 to start the fourth quarter, the X-Men mounted a comeback late in the fourth quarter. The Tigers had built up a 14-point lead with just under four minutes to play and the X-Men started to chip away at the lead.  

They got down to a six-point deficit at 66-60 with 1:32 left to play, but the Tigers again pulled away. With some defensive miscues by the visitors in the final seconds, the X-Men were down by three points with only three seconds left on the clock. Jaydan Smith (Halifax, NS) launched a shot from well behind half that bounced off the back board and rim and almost sent the home crowd into a frenzy but the shot did not fall and the Tigers took the win. 

Dalhousie held leads of 17-15 after the first quarter and 39-28 at halftime, thanks to well-rounded shooting from both the starters and the bench. The X-Men came back in the third and outscored the Tigers 17-14. They also held the advantage in the final quarter at 21-16 but the first half lead could not be overcome. 

Veteran Tigers forward Jordan Wilson (Nassau, Bahamas) took home Subway player of the game honours as he scored 13 points on the night and had five rebounds and dished eight assists. Sascha Kappos (Miami, FL) and Mike Shoveller (Arnprior, ON) also scored 13 points apiece. 

For the X-Men, Justin Andrew (Hamilton, ON) scored a game-high 24 points and had four assists and a pair of steals. Nick McKee (Newmarket, ON) was named the StFX player of the game, providing a spark off the bench with eight points. Azaro Roker (Nassau, Bahamas) also scored eight and pulled in 11 rebounds.  

Both teams will be back in action on Friday night for a home-and-home series as they tip-off at 8:00 pm in Halifax at the Dalplex.