Winless start for Acadia hoops teams

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

The Acadia men’s and women’s basketball teams are still looking for their first pre-season wins after opening the exhibition schedule Oct. 10-12 at home.

The Axemen lost 81-50 Friday to the Windsor Lancers (who won all three of their weekend games, over Acadia, Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s) as part of the Stu Aberdeen Challenge then dropped an 82-70 decision Sunday to the Toronto Varsity Blues.

Meanwhile, the Axewomen lost 81-72 Saturday to a good University of Saskatchewan team that competed at CIS nationals last spring and has returned most of its roster.

The final scores aside, the weekend was exciting for local fans in that former Horton High stalwarts Jana Spindler and Ellis Ffrench returned home to where they achieved some of their greatest triumphs.

Spindler, a 2006 Horton grad, is now in her third year at Saskatchewan. Ffrench, who graduated from Horton this past June, is in his first year at Windsor.

On Friday, the Axemen, playing without Leo Saintil who is sidelined with a sore back, trailed 19-13 after one quarter and were down 43-30 at halftime. The Lancers then outscored Acadia 22-11 in the third quarter and 16-9 in the fourth to win going away.

Greg Surmacz led the way for Windsor with 25 points and seven rebounds and Monty Hardware added 17 points. As for Ffrench, he had two points, one rebound and one assist (and four fouls) in 15 minutes of playing time and didn’t look out of place.

Acadia missed Saintil’s scoring and inside presence, though the rest of the team did manage to stay even with Windsor at 34 rebounds apiece. The Axemen, however, shot just 30 per cent from the floor and were only two of 10 from three-point range.

Transfer point guard Stephen Jones was the only Acadia player in double figures with 11 points. Veteran Alex Traikov and freshman Justin Boutilier chipped in seven points apiece, with Traikov collecting a team-high eight rebounds.

Axewomen trailed at halftime

On Saturday, the Axewomen trailed 21-16 after one quarter and 38-35 at halftime after winning the second quarter 19-17. Saskatchewan won the third quarter 20-16 and the fourth 23-21 to earn their nine-point victory.

Lindsey Copeland led all scorers with 19 points for the Huskies. Kimberley Tulloch had 14 points and seven rebounds and Spindler also had 14 before fouling out.

Brianne Ozimok led Acadia with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Sam Nuttall with 14 (including four three-pointers), Becky Mutch with 13 and Emma Duinker with 11 also reached double figures. Rookie Stefanie Chapman had eight points.

The Axemen played much better their second time out on Sunday. After a 21-21 first quarter, Toronto won the second quarter 17-13 for a 38-34 halftime lead. The Blues won the third quarter by one and the fourth by seven points.

Rob Paris led four Toronto players in double figures with 21 points. Patrick Sewell added 14, Nick Magalas 13 and Drazen Glisic 11 for the Blues, who shot 47 per cent from the floor to Acadia’s 39 per cent.

Luckern Dieu led Acadia with 16 points and nine rebounds. Player of the game Pat McIver added 14, Traikov 10 (and nine boards) and Boutilier chipped in nine points.

Head coach Steve Baur said, “it’s never nice to lose, especially twice in one weekend,” but “we saw a lot of positives for our first time out.”

Saw a lot of positives

Baur is not that concerned about Saintil long-term, though he is likely to be sidelined until Christmas. “It’s not a major injury, but he is in a lot of pain. The hardest part for him is he has a hard time sitting out a practice, much less a game.”

His absence, particularly at this point in the season, will allow some of the other players, and especially the younger players, invaluable experience in game situations. Baur noted that one beneficiary on the weekend was second-year forward J.D. Howlett.

“The comfort level for all our young players is sure to increase with playing time,” he said, adding that the weekend games “helped us see how our players are progressing.”

As for the Axewomen, head coach Bev Greenlaw was quite pleased on the whole with their performance, especially rookie Chapman, who “continues to exceed expectations.”

Keisha Brown and Chapman, both rookies, split time at point guard. “I’m pleased so far,” Greenlaw said, “and will continue to go with both girls and believe in them.”

Saskatchewan, he pointed out, “is a good team,” and he said the game “was a fairly good representation of where they are and where we are right now. At this point, we aren’t playing to win. We’re playing to earn the right to win.”

The Axemen are next in action Thursday against the Western Mustangs and Friday against the York Yeomen. Both are home games, with the York game to be played at NKEC in Canning. The Axewomen were in Montreal this past weekend for a tournament hosted by McGill University.