Tigers use dominant third quarter to earn 94-60 win over Huskies

By: Jack Longo

The Dalhousie Tigers Men's Basketball team defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies at Dalplex on Saturday night. The win for the Tigers moved them to 3-1 this season and snapped the Huskies' two game win streak.

After trading buckets to start the game, the Tigers went on a quick 12-0 run to open up a 14-4 lead and force Saint Mary's into an early timeout. Dalhousie's early scoring push was led by Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, QC).

Saint Mary's responded by going on a 12-3 run of their own that necessitated a timeout from the Tigers with just under two minutes to go. The first quarter ended 19-17 in favour of the visitors, with Jayrell Diggs' (East Preston, NS) six points leading the way for Saint Mary's in the quarter.

The second quarter was more of a back-and-forth affair to start with as open shots and opportunities to run in transition came less frequently than in the first.

One of those transition opportunities, however, produced a moment of excitement when Ngala's fast-break alley-oop to Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, NB) resulted in a tough and-one finish from the guard.

Ultimately, it was Dalhousie's ability to take care of the basketball and punish their opponents turnovers that proved the difference and built their halftime lead. After two quarters the Tigers had just three turnovers to Saint Mary's 12, as well as 18 points off turnovers compared to 1 for the visitors. That, along with the Tigers all-around attack, saw Dalhousie lead 46-36 at the half. 

Individually, both teams had a balance offensive workload in the first half. For Saint Mary's, it was Jonas Maerz's (Rosenheim, Germany) hot shooting (3/3 on three-pointers) as well as Diggs and Dontae Mitchell's (Vaughan, ON) pressure on the rim that kept the Huskies offence moving. The hosts were led by Ngala with 13 points, Christie with nine and Samule Wade (Wallace, NS) with eight.

The Tigers built their lead up to 21 points halfway through the third quarter, forcing a timeout from Saint Mary's to try and halt the momentum. Unfortunately for the visitors, it did no such things. Dalhousie's defensive intensity could not be slowed in the third quarter, nor could their shot-making inside and outside the arc.

The game was ultimately blown open in the third quarter and saw the Tigers lead 78-48 going into the fourth.

Dalhousie's large lead made the fourth quarter largely immaterial. Although they still fought to the end, Saint Mary's couldn't cut into the deficit, and the Tigers won 94-60.

Dalhousie's Nginyu Ngala was named the Subway Player of the Game with a game-high 21 points to go along with three rebounds and five assists.

Dontae Mitchell had 12 points, four rebounds and an assist to lead the way for Saint Mary's.

Dalhousie's next game comes next Saturday when the Tigers travel to Memorial for a game at 8pm.

The next test for Huskies is on Friday at 8pm when they play UNB REDS at home.