The Tribune

ANOTHER matchup of Bahamian players in Canada’s U Sports basketball produced several career high performances and close finishes.

Qyemah Gibson, Sebastian Gray and the St Mary’s Huskies defeated Azaro Roker and the St Francis Xavier X-Men in a home-and-home series over the weekend as both teams looked to reach the .500 mark on the young season.

Gibson averaged 20 points and 8.5 rebounds per game while Gray averaged 11.5 points and shot 63 per cent from three-point range in the wins.

Roker led the X-Men on both ends of the floor and averaged 17.5 points and 20.5 rebounds per game in the pair of losses.

In game one, the Huskies scored a 95-88 win at home in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Gibson had his top scoring output of the season with 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and two blocks as the Huskies got their second win of the season.

Gray scored 17 points and shot 4-5 from beyond the arc.

Roker led the X-Men with 17 points (8-12 from the field) and added a game high 21 rebounds.

SMU jumped out to a 19-7 lead after 10 minutes and outscored StFX 32-28 in the second quarter. The Huskies led 51-35 at the half. The X-Men outscored SMU 22-17 in the third quarter and trimmed Saint Mary’s lead to 11 (68-57) headed into the fourth. St FX outscored St Mary’s in the fourth but their run fell just short.

Game two was a closely played back-and-forth contest before the Huskies were able to outlast the X-Men down the stretch 66-65.

With the X-Men down two with 1.6 seconds left on the clock, Roker was fouled with an opportunity to tie the game at the line and force overtime. He went on to miss the first and made the second for the game’s final margin.

Roker was the high scorer for the X-Men and finished with 18 points and another monster night on the glass with 20 rebounds.

Gibson finished with 17 points and eight rebounds to earn Subway Player of the Game honours. Gray scored sx points, grabbed eight rebounds and added two steals.

The X-Men took an early 18-14 lead after the opening quarter before the Huskies went ahead 40-38 at the half. StFX took a slim 54-53 lead into the fourth before another low scoring quarter set the stage for an exciting finish down to the game’s final possession.

For the Dalhousie Tigers, Jordan Wilson and Shamarr Burrows also put up career numbers in a two-game sweep over the UPEI Panthers. Wilson went on to earn the programme’s Muscle Milk Male Athlete of the Week Award.

In game one, the Tigers won 82-53.

The versatile forward finished with a double double - 14 points and 10 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive glass and received Subway Player of the Game honours in the win.

Burrows finished with a career high 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. He led a Tigers bench that outscored their counterparts from UPEI 30-9.

In game two, Wilson scored eight points and collected six rebounds in just 16 minutes of play in the Tigers’ 89-44 win. Burrows added eight points and four rebounds.

The Tigers (5-0) were outstanding on both ends of the floor. They shot the ball at a 55.2 per cent clip, while holding their opponent to just 34 per cent — both were improvements from a night ago.

Dalhousie held UPEI to a single field goal and a 26-3 score after the first quarter. It was that keen defensive effort that continues to propel the undefeated Tigers, who improved to 5-0.

“We work on it and we make a commitment to playing hard defence,” said Tigers head coach Rick Plato. “When they start to slack off, that’s when I have to lower the boom. But they understand that that’s the difference maker, especially on the road.”