Second quarter struggles cost Axemen against Tigers

WOLFVILLE – The Dalhousie Tigers picked up a narrow 79-75 victory over the Acadia men's basketball team on Friday night, largely led by their strong second quarter.

Trailing by six after the opening quarter, Dalhousie outscored Acadia by 10 points, holding the Axemen to just 10 points in the second quarter.

Acadia closed the game to two points heading into the final 10 minutes, but Dal opened up as much as a 13-point lead in the fourth to close the game.

Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, NB), the second leading scorer in the AUS, led with a game-high 22 points for the Tigers.

Glen Cox (Scotsburn, NS) continues to lead the conference in scoring, but was held to just 12 points, but did finish with a double-double by pulling in 11 rebounds.

Thomas MacDonald (Rothesay, NB) had a game-high 12 rebounds for Acadia, scoring nine points, while it was Gabe Davignon (Whites Lake, NS) coming off the bench to lead the Axemen in scoring on the night with 15.

Dal had starters Spencer Riar (Montreal, QC) and Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, QC) finish with 14 and 13 points respectively.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night in Halifax at Dalplex, with points being key for the playoff push. Dalhousie is now tied with StFX and Memorial atop the AUS with 14 points.

Tied for fourth with 12 points are UPEI, Acadia, Saint Mary's and Cape Breton. UNB is in last place with 10 points. With only four weeks remaining in the regular season, each game will matter as spots in the championship have yet to be secured.