By John DeCoste
KingsCountyNews.ca
It’s not the result they wanted, but it’s already better than last season.
The Axemen were left to play for bronze March 10 at the CIS Final Eight in Ottawa after an 84-69 semi-final loss to the Carleton Ravens.
In front of a noisy pro-Carleton crowd – which nonetheless included a solid contingent of Acadia supporters with Ottawa-area natives Sean Stoqua, Lauchan Gale and Anthony Ashe and Kingston native Owen Klassen on the Axemen roster – Acadia fell behind 11-3 early but came back to trail by just two, 14-12 after one quarter.
The game was scoreless for close to the first three minutes as both teams felt each other out.
The contest remained close in the second quarter, in which Acadia, led six-foot, 10-inch Klassen, stayed with Carleton and on a couple of occasions, held the lead. The back-and-forth quarter ended with the Ravens clinging to a 31-29 lead.
Klassen had 12 points at halftime, while Thomas Scrubb led the Ravens with 14.
After the intermission, Carleton, led by the Scrubb brothers Thomas and Phillip, took control by winning the third quarter 20-12 for a 51-40 lead after 30 minutes.
And despite the best efforts of the Axemen, who finally started hitting some shots, the Ravens won a high-scoring fourth quarter 33-28 to prevail by 15 points.
Playing in his hometown, Stoqua finished with 20 points, 17 in the second half and 14 of them in the fourth quarter. Klassen chipped in 27, including 10 of 12 free throws and six rebounds.
Anthony Ashe contributed 11 points and Tyler Scott 10 points, plus a team-high eight rebounds.
Two-time CIS Player of the Year Phillip Scrubb led Carleton with 26 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Thomas Scrubb finished with 20, Tyson Hinz 15 and Clinton Springer-Williams 11 for the Ravens, who shot 40.9 per cent and were 13-33 from three-point range and 17-21 from the free throw line.
Acadia shot 32.2 per cent, made eight of 24 threes and 23 of 31 foul shots. In a well-played game, Acadia had 12 turnovers to Carleton’s 15.
The Axemen advanced to the semi-finals with an 89-80 win over the UBC Thunderbirds. Acadia led 21-14 after one quarter, 39-31 at halftime and 64-57 after three quarters before winning the fourth quarter 25-23.
Tyler Scott had a huge game with 29 points on 10-12 shooting and 7-8 from three-point range. Klassen added 15 points, Ashe 14 and Anthony Sears 10 for the Axemen, who shot 46.9 per cent from the floor.
O’Brian Wallace finished with 26 for UBC, and Brylle Kamen added 16.
Acadia, which finished fifth in Canada a year ago, went for bronze March 10 against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, 66-62 losers to Lakehead in the other semi-final. For the results, visit www.kingscountynews.ca
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Acadia will meet Ottawa for the consolation game Sunday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. ADT. The Ravens win the CIS semi-final 84-69.
Top scorers for Acadia were Sean Stoqua 20 (17 in the second half, and 14 in the fourth quarter), Owen Klassen 18, Tyler Scott 11 and Anthony Ashe 10 Phillip Scrubb picked up 26 points for Carelton, while Thomas Scrubb had 20.
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At the end of the third, Acadia was trailing by 10.
The Ravens won the quarter 20-12 with a score of 51-41.
Klassen has added 17 points to Acadia's effort so far, while Anthony Ashe has added seven and Sean Stoqua added six.
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Acadia was trailing Carlton by two points at the half in CIS semi-final action March 9 with a score of 31-29.
Owen Klassen was leading the Acadia effort with 12 points, while Anthony Ashe added six and Anthony Sears added five. Sean Stoqua and Thomas Filgiano each added three.
Thomas Scrubb has 14 points for Carleton.
Acadia playing solid defence and rebounding well at the defensive end.
The winner of the Acadia-Carleton semifinal plays Lakehead tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m. ADT. The loser will play Ottawa at 2:15 p.m. ADT.
