Sydney, N.S. – In a nail-biting finish, the visiting Dalhousie Tigers (2-0) defeated the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers (0-2) 70-68 in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) men's basketball action on Saturday night at Sullivan Field House.
In a low-scoring, back-and-forth first quarter, after Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, N.B.) of the Tigers banked in a three-pointer from the corner to give the visitors a 15-9 edge, the Capers answered with a deep three-pointer from Jason Callaghan (Sydney, N.S.), off the fast break, followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from Osman Omar (Mississauga, ON) to knot the contest at 15-15.
On the strength of a buzzer-beating put-back from Diangelo Woodside (New Providence, Bahamas), CBU finished the first quarter with a 20-17 lead.
Keyed by 10 points, including consecutive three-pointers and a spinning fade away jumper, from Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, QC), the Tigers made a 15-2 burst in the first six minutes of the second quarter to take a double-digit lead at 32-22.
In the final three minutes before halftime, the Capers outscored the Tigers 13-0 and headed to the locker room with a 37-36 advantage.
Off the bench, Cooper Ward (Ipswich, Australia) sparked the run with six points, while Omar and Callaghan – with a hoop-and-harm three-point play on a fast break – added important baskets.
Early in the third quarter, the Capers extended their edge to 46-41 on an acrobatic lay-in by Callaghan, while a couple minutes later he muscled up a bank shot, and then finished the three-point play with a free throw to make it 49-43 for the home side.
Christie kept it close for the Tigers with a baseline floater.
The visitors took their first lead of the second half with just more than one-minute remaining in the third quarter – at 51-49 – on a pair of foul shots from Ngala.
Heading to the fourth quarter, the Tigers led 53-51.
In a see-saw fourth quarter, after a Callaghan basket, the Capers led 65-60.
The Tigers answered – tying the contest at 65-65 – on a Shamar Burrows (Nassau, Bahamas) spinning drive to the hoop and a Ngala three-pointer.
CBU bounced back and took a late three-point advantage, but a pair of lefty drives from Burrows helped the Tigers escape with a hard-fought victory in the final seconds.
Burrows, the Subway player of the game, led his team with 19 points, while adding 11 rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Ngala and Samuel Maillet (Moncton, N.B.), with 14 and 10, respectively, also hit double digits for the Tigers.
For the Capers, Callaghan finished with a game-high 22 points, while Omar and C.J. Bennett (Brampton, ON) also scored in double figures, with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Ward chipped in eight points and 11 rebounds
The Tigers will return to the hardwood next weekend, tipping off their home schedule – on Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6 – when they host the defending conference champion UPEI Panthers.
Game time for both matchups is 8 p.m.
The Capers will head to St. John's for matchups versus the host Memorial Sea-Hawks on Saturday, Nov. 6 and Sunday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. (ADT) and 2:30 (AST), respectively.