By John DeCoste
The Acadia Axemen advanced to the semifinal round of the CIS Final Eight with an 89-80 win over the UBC Thunderbirds Friday evening in Ottawa.
Acadia, with Ottawa natives Sean Stoqua and Lauchlan Gale in the lineup - not to mention Anthony Ashe from nearby Stittsville (where Scotiabank Place is actually located) - had more than its share of fans at the game, and they certainly had something to celebrate as Acadia turned in a solid effort.
Sparked by an outstanding performance form second year guard Tyler Scott, the Axemen led 22-14 after one quarter, 39-31 at halftime and 64-57 after three quarters. The T-Birds won the fourth quarter by a narrow 23-22 margin, but Acadia still led by nine at the final buzzer.
Scott had 16 points at halftime and finished with 29 on 10-12 shooting, including seven of eight three-pointers, and was a unanimous choice as Acadia's Player of the Game.
Owen Klassen added 15 points, Anthony Ashe 14 and Anthony Sears 10 for the Axemen.
O'Brian Wallace led UBC with 26 and was his team's Player of the Game. Brylle Kamen added 16 points for the T-Birds.
The Canada West champs came out flying to start the second half, turning an eight-point halftime deficit into a brief one-point advantage, but Acadia responded with a 9-2 run to take back the lead for good.
There was a scary moment in the fourth quarter when UBC's leading scorer Doug Plumb had to be taken from the floor on a stretcher after tripping trying to avoid a collision and hitting his head on the floor.
With the win, the Axemen advance to Saturday evening's second semifinal at 8:15 p.m. Ottawa time. Their opponents will be the #1 ranked Carleton Ravens, 83-46 winners over Victoria in their quarterfinal. The game will be telecast on The Score and also webcast at www.cis-sic.tv.
The AUBC champion Cape Breton Capers were not as fortunate in their quarterfinal, dropping a 74-61 decision to Lakehead. Ottawa won the other quarterfinal 82-70 over McGill.
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Acadia's hoop Axemen have won their first game against UBC in the CIS Final Eight.
Acadia defeated UBC 89-80.
Tyler Scott was the star of the night with 29 points, including five rebounds and seven of his eight three-pointers.
Owen Klassen added 17 points to the effort, while Anthony Ashe picked up 13 and Anthony Sears added 10.
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Acadia remains ahead during the fourth quarter in its first Final Eight game against UBC.
Acadia is just a few points ahead of UBC and is currently leading 70-62.
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Acadia was leading at halftime in their first game at the CIS Final Eight.
The Axemen were leading UBC 39-31. Tyler Scott had 16 points - four threes - to lead the team.
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