Hoop Axemen open with weekend sweep at UNB

BY JOHN DECOSTE

Kings County Register

The Acadia basketball Axemen started off the AUBC regular season with a bang, sweeping a weekend series at UNB by scores of 99-67 Nov. 8 and 76-57 Nov. 9.

The Axemen came out flying in Saturday’s opener, shooting 56.8 per cent in the first half (and 52.1 per cent overall) and leading 51-34 at halftime. UNB won a low-scoring third quarter 16-12, but Acadia, clicking on all cylinders, put the V-Reds away with a 36-17 advantage over the final 10 minutes.

Alex Traikov had another huge game, finishing with a game-high 28 points and 11 rebounds in 29 minutes. Peter Leighton added 16 points for the Axemen, Luckern Dieu 13, Casey Fox eight and Stephen Jones, Justin Boutilier and J.D. Howlett seven apiece.

The following afternoon, the Axemen overcame a poor opening quarter to lead 33-27 at halftime, then outscored UNB 23-11 in the third quarter to lead 56-38. Acadia narrowly won the fourth quarter 20-19 to win by 19.

Leighton led five Axemen in double figures with 16 points, matching his total from the evening before. Boutiler chipped in 12 points, Traikov and James Burke 11 and Fox 10. The Axemen total included nine three-pointers – three by Leighton and Burke, two by Fox and one by Boutilier.

Horton grad Patrick Riley, in his first year at UNB, played in both games for the V-Reds, scoring seven points over the weekend.

Axewomen open with double loss

The Axewomen were not as fortunate on their season-opening weekend, dropping both games to UNB 70-67 and 81-59.

Saturday, the Varsity Reds sprinted out to an 18-9 lead after one quarter, and though Acadia won the second quarter 17-15 and the fourth quarter 23-18, they couldn’t overcome their slow start and ended up behind by three at the final buzzer.

Acadia played without last year’s team MVP Becky Mutch, sidelined with a knee injury, but Emma Duinker stepped up with 22 points along with six rebounds. Keisha Brown added 17 points, Brianne Ozimok nine points and 10 rebounds and Sondra Medley also had nine points.

Sunday, UNB again jummped out to an early lead (23-14 after one quarter) but, this time, ended up winning all four quarters in their 22-point victory.

For Acadia, which shot 37.7 per cent from the floor, Brown had 16 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Duinker was the only other Acadia player in double figures with 12 points, and Jacklyn Kruzik had eight. (Kruzik and Duinker each had five rebounds).

Horton grad Robyn Fleckenstein made her Acadia debut in Sunday’s game, going 2-2 from the foul line and collecting three rebounds in nine minutes of play.

This week

Both Acadia teams are back in action this weekend, travelling to Saint Mary’s for games at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14 against the Huskies before returning home to host the Cape Breton Capers in a pair of four-point games at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday.