X-Men claim road victory over Axemen

WOLFVILLE N.S. - The Acadia Axemen looked to earn their first win of the season during their home opener against the StFX X-Men at War Memorial Gymnasium but fell short by one possession. The game would go down to the wire, with the visiting X-Men would coming out on top with a 75-70 victory. 

StFX was first out of the gate, scoring 25 points in the opening frame and holding Acadia to just 15 points. The Axemen defense was a step behind their rotations and the X-Men capitalized scoring on several open looks.

In the second, Acadia made the defensive adjustments and went on a 7-0 run to start the quarter. Sean Stoqua had eight of his 13 points in the first half and dished out four assists. Second year forward Kevin Bercy had 11 first half points for StFX and 16 on the night to go with ten rebounds.

Both teams were evenly matched in the third with Acadia holding onto a slim 61-57 advantage. However, neither team was able to pull away for long as three balls, layups and turnovers were all exchanged.

In the fourth quarter, the X-Men led 68-65 with 1:30 minutes remaining. Axemen rookie guard Ben Miller hit the corner trey with 1:13 to go to tie the game. However, StFX guard Julius Antoine would be the difference maker in the game.

Antoine used his size to gain the advantage in his matchup with Stoqua scoring two buckets under the net and finishing the game with a trey with one second remaining on the shot clock.

Third year centre Rhys Larry scored 14 points to go with 17 rebounds and four steals for the Axemen to earn Subway Player of the Game honors.

Antoine was named the X-Men Subway Player of the Game for his efforts after netting 22 points, seven rebounds and four steals on the night.

Acadia (0-3) and StFX (1-1) will meet other again on Saturday night in Antigonish. Tip-off is set for 8:00 pm at StFX Oland Centre for the X-Men's home opener.  

Courtesy Acadia Athletics Communications