The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

Shamar Burrows and the Dalhousie Tigers claimed their third consecutive Atlantic University Sport championship and now look ahead to joining the best programmes in Canada at the U Sports Final Eight next month.

Burrows earned Subway Player of the Game honours after he sparked the Tigers’ 84-78 win over the UPEI Panthers Sunday night at the Scotiabank Centre in Toronto, Canada.

The fourth year guard finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds - both team highs.

The Tigers completed a fourth quarter comeback for the second consecutive game en route to the title.

The Panthers got off to a fast start when they took a 24-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and maintained a 49-35 lead at the half. The Tigers began to chip away at the advantage in the third. Burrows scored 12 of his 19 in the second half en route to the comeback. They outscored the Panthers 21-14 in the third and trimmed the deficit 63-56 headed into the fourth.

Dalhousie won the fourth 28-15 to complete the comeback, win their third-straight banner and sixth title in the past seven championship tournaments.

The Tigers have now won eight AUS championships (1996, ‘09, ‘11, ‘15, ‘16, ‘17, ‘19,’20, ‘22).

For the tournament, Burrows averaged 12.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game on 49 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from three-point range.

He opened the tournament with just four points, six rebounds, six stealsand three assists in an 86-69 win over the Acadia Axemen in the quarterfinal. He followed with 14 points (7-12 shooting from the field), seven rebounds and three steals in an 87-85 win over Memorial in the semifinals.

The Dalhousie Tigers were back on the court in Atlantic University Sport play and Shamar Burrows delivered a weekend of career scoring performances to extend their win streak to seven.

Burrows concluded the regular season with his best series in back to back games to open the month of March. Burrows finished with 27 points on an efficient 11-15 shooting night from the field en route to a 100-74 win over the Acadia Axemen. The following night in game two, he finished with 26 points on 10-15 shooting from the field in an 82-67 win over the UNB Red Bombers.

On the season, Burrows was named a second team AUS All-Star, was third in scoring for Dalhousie, averaging 14.8 points per game in his 13 appearances this year, shooting 73 percent. He led the Tigers in rebounding with 6.7 per game.

With the win, the Tigers earned a spot at the 2022 U SPORTS men’s basketball championships, hosted by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, April 1-3.

“This championship provides fans with an unique opportunity to experience university basketball at its highest level by witnessing some of the most talented student-athletes from across the country, Championship Committee Chair, Jon Krywulak, said.

“We look forward to welcoming athletes, coaches, and spectators for what will surely be a competitive and highly entertaining event.”

In their last Final Eight appearance, the Tigers ended just short of their ultimate goal, but finished as the second ranked team in all of Canadian collegiate basketball.They finished with the silver medal at the 2020 U SPORTS Final 8 Basketball Championships, the best finish in programme history.