Capers beat Tigers 83-58

Written by Wells Mayes

The Cape Breton Capers clinched their fourth win of the season by a score of 83 to 58 over the Dalhousie Tigers on Friday evening in Halifax.

Tonight's game began with a tightly contested first quarter, with the score tied at 10 at the midway point. Then, the Capers grabbed the lead and held it until the end of the period, ultimately leading by five (21-16). Forward Tyson Cato (Ajax, ON) and guard Sacade Kasamba (St Catharines, ON) each had five points for Cape Breton. Meanwhile, Dal leaned on fourth-year Lydell Husbands-Browne (Halifax, NS) who poured in six points.

Dalhousie had their best period of the night in the second quarter. The Tigers shot 47% from the field and scored 17 points, but the Capers still eked out the quarter by a singular point. Starting guard Gabe Damey (Ypsilanti, Michigan) racked up 8 points, 3 rebounds and even an assist to shoulder the load for the Tigers. However, Cape Breton's Liai Tong (St. John's, NFLD) embodied a 'next man up' mentality and came off the bench for the Capers to tally eight points to ensure the lead remained intact. This meant that the Capers led by six points at the intermission.

Following an encouraging second quarter, the Tigers' shooting luck plummeted in the third. The team went a combined 1-17 from the field and could only muster a total of six points over the span of 10 minutes. Meanwhile, the Capers didn't fare much better but relied on a great few minutes of play from wing Aaron Cunningham (Orangeville, ON) as he put up four points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks to leave his mark on this section of the match.

With the game all but out of reach by the start of the fourth quarter, the Capers and the Tigers combined for the highest-scoring ten minutes of the night to close out the contest. Dalhousie garnered eight bench points from reserves Riley Stewart (Stevensville, ON) and Drake Kucharik (Hamilton, Bermuda), while the Capers Tafarian Black (Scarborough, ON) came alive in the final period with three field goals and seven points. Despite the high scoring, Dal never really came close to finding a way back into the game, as they closed to a 14-point deficit following an Austin Thomson (Newmarket, ON) layup before being outscored 21-10 the rest of the way.

Leaders from tonight's clash for the Capers were Kasamba in points (18), Cato in boards (9), and a tie between Cunningham and Cato in assists (4). The Tigers relied most heavily on Damey and Husbands-Browne for points (11), while Caleb Stewart (Stevensville, ON) led in rebounds with 7, and Dolu Johnson (Caledonia, ON) in assists with 5.

Dalhousie stays on one win from five games this season, while the Capers improve to 4-1.

The Capers and the Tigers will play again at Dalplex tomorrow night at 8 PM AST.