Losing weekend for Acadia hoops squads

BY JOHN DECOSTE

Kings County Register

The Acadia basketball Axemen ended up losing both their games last weekend, though not by much.

Despite leading after three quarters in both games, the Axemen both times fell victim to fourth-quarter comebacks, losing 78-76 Nov. 14 at Saint Mary’s and 76-67 to Cape Breton in their regular season home opener Nov. 15.

In Wolfville, Acadia led 16-13 after one quarter. The Capers fought back to tie the score at 34 apiece at halftime, but the Axemen led 58-55 after three quarters.

The final 10 minutes, however, saw Cape Breton outscore the Axemen 21-9, led by clutch perimeter shooting from Mark McGarrigle and Ali Alilovic. Once the Capers got rolling, there was - unfortunately - little Acadia could do to stop them.

Acadia played a decent game, but could only shoot 35.8 per cent from the floor, even with hitting 7-15 from three-point range. The Axemen also committed 21 turnovers.

Alex Traikov had another huge game for Acadia, scoring 19 of his game-high 22 points and grabbing seven of his 12 rebounds in the second half. He was the only Acadia player to score in double figures.

The Capers, on the other hand, had all five starters score at least 11 points, led by 19 from Tremaine Fraser.

November 14 in Halifax, Acadia led 13-11 after one quarter, 32-28 at halftime and 55-51 after three quarters before once again giving up the lead down the stretch.

The Axemen fell victim to some hot shooting from the Huskies’ backcourt, in particular rookie Jack Gallinaugh, whose 21 points included five three-pointers.

Mark McLaughlin led all scorers with 26 points and Joey Haywood also finished with 21. McLaughlin, Gallinaugh and Haywood combined for 68 of the Huskies’ 78 points.

Luckern Dieu and Traikov each had 22 points to lead Acadia, and also combined for 18 rebounds, 11 by Dieu and seven by Traikov. Acadia shot 44.8 per cent from the floor and had a 42-39 edge in rebounding, but went just 3-11 from the perimeter.

Axewomen now at 0-4

The Axewomen, meanwhile, dropped to 0-4 on the season, losing 74-68 Nov. 14 at SMU, then being blown out 89-45 by Cape Breton Nov. 15 in Wolfville.

In Halifax, Acadia trailed 56-45 after three quarters and, despite winning the fourth quarter 23-18, were six points in arrears at the final buzzer.

The Huskies shot only 40 per cent from the floor, but made up for it by making 10 of 20 three-pointers. Angela Fifield had 19 points (including five threes) and Kelsey Daley 17. Hayley Fox had a trio of three-pointers among her 13 points.

Emma Duinker led five Axewomen in double figures with 15 points. Sondra Medley added 13, Jackie Krucik and Brianne Ozimok 11 and Keisha Brown 10. Medley and Ozimok had eight rebounds and Krucik and Brown six apiece as Acadia won the “battle of the boards” by a 42-30 margin. The Axewomen shot 49 per cent from the floor, but were hurt by 23 turnovers.

Saturday turned out to be a very long evening for the Axewomen, who trailed 23-11 after one quarter, 47-23 at halftime and 67-33 after three quarters.

Cape Breton shot 56.5 per cent from the floor and was good on nine of 16 three-pointers. The Capers ended up with five players in double figures. Medley led Acadia with 10 points and seven rebounds.

This week

Things aren’t likely to get much easier for the Axewomen this weekend, as they travel to Memorial for a pair of games against the 4-0 SeaHawks, tied (with Cape Breton) for top spot in the standings.

The Axemen may have a better chance of success against the Memorial men, 1-3 so far this season to Acadia’s 2-2.