REGULAR SEASON
| Cape Breton | 19-1 | 20-7 | Jim Charters | |||||
| Dalhousie | 14-6 | 23-11 | John Campbell | |||||
| St. FX | 15-5 | 27-7 | Steve Konchalski | |||||
| Acadia | 7-13 | 15-20 | Steve Baur | |||||
| New Brunswick | 8-12 | 14-21 | Brent Baker | |||||
| St. Mary’s | 7-13 | 13-19 | Ross Quackenbush | |||||
| UPEI | 7-13 | 9-19 | Matthew Davies | |||||
| Memorial | 3-17 | 4-23 | Peter Benoite | |||||
Playoff non-qualifiers:
Memorial Seahawks: Robbie Habib, Mark Woodland, Jason Shepherd, Will Bradbury, Mike Helsby, Justin Alliman, Justin Grainger, Matt Cleary, Tyree Haley, Theo Staneov, Marcus Dolliver, Ryan Brockerville, Ciaran Curran, Alex Harding, Ryan Brockerville, coach Peter Benoite, assistant Mark English
Prince Edward Island Panthers: Manock Lual, Jonathan Cooper, Terrence Brown, Geoff Doane, Aaron Robbins, Anwar Faza, Anthony McDougald, Mark Lutley, Michael Hardy, Jermaine Duke, Nick Kaminsky, Greg Wright, Nick Kawinsky, Mitchell McQuade, Sean Seviour, coach Matthew Davies
In the quarterfinals, the 4th-seeded Acadia Axemen whipped the 5th-seeded New Brunswick Varsity Reds 81-61. “We went hard early and we got a good lead and then we just finished it off,” said 6-10 Owen Klassen. Acadia coach Steve Baur said “I think one of the advantages is we’ve been here the last two years. Our guys are feeling a little more comfortable. I think we came out with a little bit of composure, which is important for us at the start of the game.” Two early three pointers by Anthony Sears and Alex McLaughlin sparked the team to a six-point lead and they never looked back. The Axemen held the Varsity Reds to nine to 9 second quarter points to stretch the lead to 40-31 at the half. Acadia outscored UNB 25-13 in the third and held their lead through the 4th quarter to post a 20-point victory. Baur said “the key was we were able to stop them defensively. We got off to a little bit of a slow start allowing too many offensive rebounds. Once we started controlling the boards it built our momentum. Owen and Justin did a great job inside for us.” Alex McLaughlin’s three-pointer had the Axemen up 61-44 for their widest lead with just under two minutes left in the third quarter. Anthony Sears scored at the horn to cap a 17-5 Axemen run for a 21-point spread after 30 minutes. Sears fired up the dagger from long range two minutes into the final quarter for a 70-46 Acadia lead. Acadia led 25-22, 40-31 and 65-44 at the quarters. Anthony Sears paced Acadia with 22 on 8-17 from the floor, 2-5 from the arc, 4-6 from the line, 3 boards and 3 steals. Owen Klassen scored 22 on 9-17 from the floor, 0-5 from the arc, 4-7 from the line, 11 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals and 5 blocks. Justin Boutilier notched 12 on 6-12 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 2 assists. Tyler Lutton scored 9 on 4-5 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc, 7 boards and 5 assists. Alex McLaughlin notched 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. Alex Rivers-Bowman added 2, Lauchlan Gale 2, along with 5 boards and 2 assists, Patrick Bush 2 and Eli Prochnau 2, while Thomas Filigiano was scoreless. The Axemen hit 34-66 (.515) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 8-13 (.615) from the line, while garnering 48 boards, including 20 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 11 steals, 8 blocks, 17 turnovers and 18 fouls.
Andrew Wright paced New Brunswick with 14 on 5-13 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 2 boards and 4 assists. Alex Desroches added 13 on 5-13 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 12 boards, 3 assists and 3 steals. Daniel Quirion notched 12 on 5-10 from the floor, 2-3 from the arc, 0-2 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Colton Wilson added 9 on 4-7 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 steals. Lonzel Lowe scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor and 3 blocks. William McFee scored 4 on 2-10 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 6 boards and 3 assists. Jordan Irvine added 3, along with 3 steals, and Robert Linton 2, while Duston Anthony was scoreless. The Varsity Reds hit 25-71 (.352) from the floor, 5-18 (.278) from the arc and 6-9 (.667) from the line, while garnering 39 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 11 steals, 4 blocks, 19 turnovers and 17 fouls. The Varsity Reds (coached by Brent Baker) also included Antwann Parks, Colin Adams, Michael Suffield, Peter Goggin, Jason Rouse and Josiah Marr.
In the other quarterfinal, the 3rd-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Men clocked the 6th-seeded Saint Mary’s Huskies 111-93. X-Men guard Christian Upshaw hit four consecutive treys in the fourth quarter to ice the win. St. FX led 84-78 and took control on a three-pointer from Charlie Spurr and a monster dunk from rookie Terry Thomas. Upshaw then re-entered the game after sitting out for a few minutes with a cramp and exploded to put his team up 102-80. “Fifth year, you’ve got to give everything you’ve got,” said Upshaw. “When you leave that court, you want to leave everything on it. You want to walk off that court naked with nothing left.” Upshaw finished 5-for-9 from three-point range. He added five assists and five steals. X-Men coach Steve Konchalski said Upshaw wasn’t ready to be done at St. F.X. “I think he was just bound and determined he wasn’t going out. This was not going to be his last game. He’s a great player and he showed it today.” St. F.X. was down 26-19 after the first quarter but led 50-46 at the half and 78-75 after three quarters. Christian Upshaw paced St. FX with 43 on 17-27 from the floor, 5-9 from the arc, 4-5 from the line, 3 boards, 5 assists and 5 steals. Dwayne Johnston added 15 on 4-9 from the floor, 7-12 from the line and 10 boards. Will Silver scored 14 on 6-12 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 11 boards, 9 assists and 4 steals. Jeremy Dunn added 12 on 5-9 from the floor, 2-4 from the arc, 2 boards and 2 assists. Charlie Spurr notched 12 on 4-5 from the arc. Terry Thomas added 6 on 3-7 from the floor, 9 boards, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Chad Warren added 5 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 1-2 from the line, 7 boards and 3 assists. Rodrigo Madera added 2 and Jordan Clarke 2, while Riiny Ngot, Ellis Ffrench and Shane Coupland were scoreless. The X-Men hit 43-80 (.538) from the floor, 12-22 (.545) from the arc and 13-22 (.591) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass, 20 assists, 14 steals, 2 blocks, 19 turnovers and 19 fouls. Joey Haywood led Saint Mary’s with 32 on 13-27 from the floor, 2-9 from the arc, 4-7 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Tory Fassett added 20 on 7-15 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 6-10 from the line, 10 boards, 7 assists and 4 steals. Harry Ezenibe notched 17 on 7-10 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 13 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Jerome Smith scored 14 on 4-9 from the floor, 4-6 from the arc, 3 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Ronald Vanel added 6 on 2-5 from the arc, 3 boards and 3 blocks. Miguel Pink scored 4 on 1-5 from the floor, 1-3 from the arc and 1-2 from the line. Simon Marr, Korey Cobb, Riley Halpin and Iain Robertson were scoreless. The Huskies hit 35-77 (.455) from the floor, 9-27 (.333) from the arc and 14-23 (.609) from the line, while garnering 47 boards, including 23 on the offensive glass, 18 assists, 10 steals, 6 blocks, 21 turnovers and 17 fouls. The Huskies (coached by Ross Quackenbush, assisted by Augy Jones, managed by John Landry and Al Brooks, therapists Mikey Tengco and Dex Arnold) also included Demetri Harris, Jack Gallinaugh and Doyle Anthony.
In the semis, the 4th-seeded Acadia Axemen stunned the top-seeded Cape Breton Capers 83-81 in overtime. “That’s the biggest thing about this, no one believed in us,” said Axemen guard Anthony Sears, whose two foul shots with four seconds left in overtime to pull out the win. “We’ve been working hard all year. We knew this was in each. We’ve been playing with the best teams all year. We’ve got another game tomorrow, so it’s not over.” Justin Boutilier’s marksmanship held Acadia erase a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. “We believe in ourselves,” said Boutilier. “We’ve had a lot of come-from-behind wins this year, so I think we feel really comfortable in that situation. We knew we could beat these guys; we just had to come out and play hard. … All that matters is the playoffs. The regular season means nothing. I think we’re the youngest team in the AUS, so this is the best feeling ever. I’m so happy right now.” Cape Breton coach Jim Charters said “it was a great game and we just couldn’t execute well enough when we had to. We just didn’t get it done. They deserved the win. They gutted it out. They had foul trouble and we had foul trouble. We had lots of chances.” Alex McLaughlin’s transition bucket with 38 seconds left erased the double-digit lead for Cape Breton and gave the Axemen a 70-68 lead. Paris Carter scored 10 seconds later and had a block in the final seconds to force overtime. Acadia went ahead by four in the final 29 seconds on Lauchlan Gale’s two free throws. Cape Breton came back to tie on Tavon Nelson’s bucket with five seconds on the clock, but Carter promptly got called for a foul on Sears on a play the Capers thought was a clean steal. Jimmy’s Dorsey’s last-gasp shot for Cape Breton didn’t drop. A 12-3 run in the third quarter stretched Cape Breton’s lead to 11 points, but the Axemen clawed back to send the game into overtime tied 70-70. All-star Owen Klassen fouled out with 3:34 left in OT with Acadia trailing 72-20, but with three starters fouled out, Boutilier stepped up. Acadia coach Steve Baur said “Justin made some big shots for us down the stretch and the guys continued to battle. We wouldn’t go away and stuck in it until we made a few shots, it was a gutsy effort by our guys and we are excited to play for a title.” Sears scored the winning points after being fouled in the front court about 85 feet away from the Acadia basket by 6’3” Paris Carter who had just tied the game on a driving layup. Cape Breton led 20-14 after one quarter, 38-36 at the half and 60-51 after three quarters. Justin Boutilier paced Acadia with 24 on 7-16 from the floor, 3-6 from the arc, 7-7 from the line, 8 boards and 2 steals. Owen Klassen scored 17 on 7-14 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 5 boards, 4 assists and 5 blocks. Anthony Sears notched 14 on 4-12 from the floor, 1-5 from the arc, 5-11 from the line, 7 boards and 6 assists. Lauchlan Gale scored 9 on 2-2 from the floor, 1-1 from the line, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 steals. Tyler Lutton scored 9 on 3-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-3 from the line and 7 boards. Thomas Filigiano scored 5 on 2-3 from the floor, 1-1 from the arc and 7 boards. Alex McLaughlin added 4 on 2-7 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 7 boards and 2 assists. Patrick Bush added 1, while Dustin Poirier and Alan Rivers-Bowman were scoreless. The Axemen hit 27-62 (.435) from the floor, 9-23 (.391) from the arc and 20-27 (.741) from the line, while garnering 50 boards, including 15 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 5 steals, 6 blocks, 22 turnovers and 23 fouls. Paris Carter paced Cape Breton with 24 on 8-19 from the floor, 4-13 from the arc, 4-6 from the line and 5 boards. Jimmy Dorsey added 19 on 7-24 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 5 boards, 4 assists and 4 steals. Phillip Nkrumah scored 15 on 5-17 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 5-6 from the line, 18 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Tavon Nelson added 9 on 3-6 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 7 boards. Tremaine Fraser scored 8 on 2-8 from the floor, 0-4 from the arc, 4-8 from the line, 7 boards and 4 assists. Scott Jaspers-Fayer added 6 on 3-6 from the floor and 4 boards. Aljosa Alilovic and Julien Smith were scoreless. The Capers hit 28-63 (.337) from the floor, 6-33 (.182) from the arc and 19-28 (.679) from the line, while garnering 58 boards, including 31 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 10 steals, 4 blocks, 15 turnovers and 23 fouls. The Capers (coached by Jim Charters) also included Lee MacQuarrie, Jamie Glasgow, Justin Roper, Jonathan MacDonald, Stephane Goosen and Kelson Devereaux.
In the other semi, the 2nd-seeded Dalhousie Tigers dumped the 3rd-seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Men 79-68. The Tigers dominated inside, especially on the glass at both ends, and held Christian Upshaw scoreless for the first 19 1/2 minutes of the second half. St. FX had no answers for 6-9 Joe Schow and 6-8 Sandy Viet inside as both Tiger bigs finished with double doubles while defensively the Tigers, mainly 6-2 Stephen Lopez, locked up Upshaw in his final game of his career. Dalhousie built as large as 20 early in the third quarter, leading 49-29 before 5-9 Will Silver knocked down a three and then followed that with a layup to start an 18-8 run that got the game back to 10 by the end of the third. Viet shook off four consecutive free throw misses with a seven-point fourth quarter including a couple of clutch elbow jumpers that restored a double-digit lead. Simon Farine’s trey gave Dalhousie a 19-7 lead in the first quarter. The Tigers, commanding the boards, led by as many as 14 points late in the quarter and took a 38-27 lead to the half. An 11-2 run to open the second half gave Dalhousie a 49-29 lead. Jeremy Dunn’s basket at the end of the third quarter kept the X-Men in sight at 57-47. Joseph Schow paced Dalhousie with 23 on 10-20 from the floor, 3-4 from the line, 15 boards and 2 blocks. Simon Farine added 22 on 6-15 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc, 9-12 from the line, 8 boards, 7 assists and 2 steals. Sandy Veit notched 13 on 5-11 from the floor, 3-8 from the line and 13 boards. Juleous Grant scored 7 on 2-6 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals. Peter Leighton notched 6 on 1-4 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 3-4 from the line. Robert Nortmann added 4 on 2-2 from the floor and 3 boards. William Yengue scored 2 on 0-5 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Stephen Lopez scored 2 on 0-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 2-2 from the line, 3 boards and 3 assists. Alexander Arthur was scoreless. The Tigers hit 26-67 (.388) from the floor, 2-10 from the arc and 25-36 (.694) from the line, while garnering 61 boards, including 29 on the offensive glass, 15 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks, 18 turnovers and 15 fouls.
Will Silver led St. FX with 20 on 8-15 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc, 3-4 from the line, 4 boards and 3 assists. Jeremy Dunn added 19 on 6-13 from the floor, 3-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 4 boards and 2 assists. Christian Upshaw scored 10 on 4-15 from the floor, 2-11 from the arc, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Charlie Spurr scored 5 on 1-9 from the floor, 1-7 from the arc, 2-2 from the line and 3 boards. Terry Thomas scored 5 on 1-2 from the floor, 3-4 from the line and 6 boards. Dwayne Johnston scored 4 on 1-4 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 2 boards. Chad Warren scored 3, Riiny Ngot 2, along with 3 boards and 6 blocks, while Ellis Ffrench, Jordan Clarke and Rodrigo Madera were scoreless. The X-Men hit 23-66 (.348) from the floor, 8-29 (.276) from the arc and 14-16 (.875) from the line, while garnering 36 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 8 assists, 8 steals, 7 blocks, 17 turnovers and 31 fouls. The X-Men also included Albert Rodriquez, Shane Coupland and Vicrum Kailey.
In the final, the 2nd-seeded Dalhousie Tigers stomped the 4th-seeded Acadia Axemen 78-46. Dalhousie led by as many as 30. The Tigers ripped off a 24-6 opening quarter and a 9-0 run to start the second. “It’s huge for the program,” said tournament MVP Simon Farine. “I think the last time we went (to nationals) we were content and happy being there, almost surprised we made it, and this time at the beginning of the year our goal was to win the AUS championship and a national championship. We plan to make a point this time around.” Dalhousie coach John Campbell expected the Axemen to be physically and emotionally drained after their upset of top-seeded Cape Breton. “I thought we defended pretty well for the most part over the course of the 40 minutes. I think fatigue played a factor against them and I think probably the nature of their win last night played a bit of a factor. But I was pleased we came out and really got off to a great start.” The Tigers were determined to avenge a late regular season 73-71 loss which had allowed Acadia to make the playoffs, Campbell added. “The last time we played them we lost. We’ve played them five times now and I don’t think there’s been a substantial gap in any of the wins until today. They played three games in three days and they have some people who play a lot of minutes for them. This was one of those occasions where the bye was a real advantage.” Acadian guard Anthony Sears said “our first goal was to win the AUS, and the nationals was a bonus. So, we’re really happy. We ran out of gas and Dalhousie played an excellent game. They beat us in every aspect of the game. They definitely earned it.” Farine’s three-pointer gave the Tigers a 33-6 lead in the second quarter. It was 44-22 at the half. Shortly after tip-off, the Tigers went on a dominating 22-0 run over a 10-minute stretch. From there, it was little more than a countdown to trophy time. “They had an amazing tournament, but we were ready for them,” said Farine. “I think we were the better team and we showed it.” The Tigers’ stingy defence allowed only six points in the first quarter — which Farine called “our best 10 minutes of defence this year” — and nine in the third. “We’re known as a strong defensive team, and that’s the way we want to be known,” said Tigers centre Joseph Schow, who had 34 points and 25 rebounds in two Final 6 games. “We’re a team that grinds out wins and clearly it worked today.” Farine added that “when you’re playing in a championship game, if your adrenaline’s not running, I’m not sure what’s wrong with you. We came out and played great.” Acadia guard Alex McLaughlin said “we were still emotional from our last game. I think all of us were a little tired. Myself, I had no legs when I was trying to shoot the ball.” Simon Farine paced Dalhousie with 24 on 9-16 from the floor, 2-7 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 5 boards, 6 assists and 8 steals. Juleous Grant added 14 on 7-12 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 2 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Joseph Schow scored 11 on 5-10 from the floor, 1-2 from the line, 10 boards and 3 blocks. Sandy Veit notched 8 on 3-7 from the floor, 2-2 from the line and 6 boards. Peter Leighton scored 8 on 3-9 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc and 3 boards. Alexander Arthur scored 5 on 2-4 from the floor, 1-2 from the arc and 3 boards. Stephen Lopez scored 4 on 2-5 from the floor, 0-2 from the arc, 5 boards and 3 assists. William Yengue added 2, along with 3 boards, and Robert Nortmann 2, along with 3 boards, while Jumol Mullings, Nathan Smith and Tim Coote were scoreless. The Tigers hit 32-66 (.485) from the floor, 5-19 (.263) from the arc and 9-10 from the line, while garnering 46 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 14 assists, 15 steals, 4 blocks, 19 turnovers and 14 fouls. Owen Klassen paced Acadia with 15 on 4-8 from the floor, 0-1 from the arc, 7-10 from the line, 3 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Anthony Sears added 14 on 4-15 from the floor, 2-6 from the arc, 4-4 from the line, 6 boards, 2 assists and 4 steals. Justin Boutilier added 7 on 3-11 from the floor, 1-4 from the arc and 5 boards. Dustin Poirier scored 5 on 2-2 from the floor and 1-1 from the arc. Thomas Filigiano added 2, Lauchlan Gale 2, along with 2 boards and Patrick Bush 2, along with 5 boards and 4 steals. Alex McLaughlin was scoreless on 0-4 from the floor, 0-3 from the arc, 3 boards and 2 steals. Alan Rivers-Bowman, Tyler Lutton, Sinclair Brown and Eli Prochnau were also scoreless. The Axemen hit 16-52 (.308) from the floor, 4-17 (.235) from the arc and 11-17 (.647) from the line, while garnering 32 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass, 10 assists, 13 steals, 1 block, 22 turnovers and 16 fouls.
After the season, Matthew Davies announces he is resigning at UPEI after five seasons for “personal reasons.” Davies is replaced by Tim Kendrick, long-time coach Nova Scotia high school power Horton. UPEI director of athletics Ron Annear said “we are definitely excited to have Tim join us at UPEI. His coaching record speaks for itself, but after seeing him in action at the 2009 Canada Games, meeting with him during the selection process, and now getting to know him better in the last few weeks, I know he will be the right leader and motivator to take the Panthers to new heights in both the AUS and CIS, and in our community.” Kendrick coached the Nova Scotia men’s team to a silver medal finish at the Canada Games in Summerside in August 2009. The certified NCCP level III coach was the 2010 recipient of Basketball Nova Scotia’s Coach of the Year Award, and in 2009, the Frank Baldwin Award. His overall record at Horton was 707-189. His playing career in the eighties included a stint with the University College of Cape Breton where he was named ‘all-Conference,’ but his highest accolades came when playing for the Nova Scotia Teachers College. In both 1984 and 1985 seasons, Kendrick won Nova Scotia College conference championships, was conference MVP, was named an all-Canadian and was the leading scorer in the Canadian College Athletic Association.
The runner-up Acadia Axemen: Owen Klassen; Anthony Sears; Justin Boutilier; Dustin Poirier; Thomas Filigiano; Lauchlan Gale; Patrick Bush; Alex McLaughlin; Alan Rivers-Bowerman; Tyler Lutton; Sinclair Brown; Eli Prochnau; Jonathan Tull; Bojan Dodik; coach Stephen Baur; assistant Kevin Duffie; assistant Kevin Veinot; assistant Nick Jordan; therapist Dr. Jim MacLeod; SID Eric Cederberg
The champion Dalhousie Tigers: Simone Farine; Joseph Schow; Sandy Viet; Stephen Lopez; Juleous Grant; Peter Leighton; Robert Nortmann; Alexander Arthur; William Yengue; Jumol Mullings; Nathan Smith; Tim Coote; Hayden Galbraith; Sam Williams; Nick Flynn; Jeremy McAvoy; Chris Hunt; Jason Wang; Casey Fox; coach John Campbell; associate Dave Nutbrown; assistant Thom Gillespie; assistant Seby Joseph; mental skills trainer Dr. John McCabe; trainer Jessica Nichols