Axemen title hopes fall short in 64-61 loss to Brock

BY JOHN DECOSTE

NovaNewsNow.com

For the second straight weekend, the Acadia basketball Axemen championship train ground to a halt one stop short of its final destination.

The Brock Badgers captured their second-ever national title, and first since 1992, with a come-from-behind 64-61 win over the Axemen Sunday at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.

Physically and emotionally drained from their 82-80 double-overtime semifinal win over top-ranked Carleton the previous evening, the Axemen put forth a valiant effort, winning the second quarter 24-7 to take a 31-21 lead into the dressing room at halftime.

Brock, however, had a bit more in the tank in the second half, winning the third quarter 29-19 to pull into a 50-50 tie after 30 minutes, then prevailing 14-11 in a low-scoring fourth quarter for a hard-fought three-point win.

Mike Kemp led all scorers with 23 points for Brock, including six three-pointers. Tournament MVP Owen White added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Badgers, who won the ‘battle of the boards’ fairly handily 40-29.

As was the case all weekend, Acadia was inconsistent from the foul line, making just 13 of 22 free throw attempts.

Paulo Santana led the Axemen with 18 points, including a pair of three-pointers, in 20 minutes, and also had five rebounds. Shawn Berry finished with 14 points and five rebounds, and Leo Saintil contributed 12 points and seven boards.

Achuil Lual, who along with Berry and James Burke completed their Axemen careers with the loss, played his third consecutive outstanding game on defense, limiting White, Brock’s best player in the tournament, to just 12 points in 37 minutes. Both Lual and Saintil were named to the tournament all-star team.

There is a local connection to the victorious Badgers' squad in the person of 2007 Horton grad Joe Kendrick, a first-year student-athlete at Brock.