(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The Dalhousie Tigers put away the Saint Mary's Huskies away with authority with a 72-54 victory on their home court Friday night.
The Tigers held a lead as big as 22 and were in charge all game long. The Tigers improve to 4-1 with the victory as they move into sole possession of second place in the AUS, while the loss drops the Huskies to 1-3 as their losing streak now extends to three games. They're now tied with StFX for sixth in the AUS.
Kashrell Lawrence kicked things off with a thundering jam as the Tigers were hot out of the gate, as they shot 64.3 per cent from the field.
The Huskies struggled in the first quarter, as they shot 3-12 (25 per cent) from the field and had four turnovers.
The Tigers were relentless in the first quarter, and Credric Sanogo's contested layup with 2:31 left gave the Tigers a double-digit lead. They led 22-9 after 10 minutes of play.
It was the Huskies turn to start a quarter off with a jam as Aaron Fisher slammed a two-hand dunk just 13 seconds into the second frame.
Ryan Augustine's jumper, with 5:24 left, trimmed the deficit to single digits and the Tigers held a 32-23 lead going into half.
The Tigers were hot from the field as they connected on 14 of 29 attempts, but they left points at the line as they only managed to convert on two of seven free throws in the half.
The Tigers kept up the pressure in the third quarter, and Sven Stammberger's free throws extended the lead to 19 as the teams went into the final quarter.
The Tigers lead grew to over 20 points when Jarred Reid converted on the tough and-one layup to give Dalhousie a 56-34 lead.
Despite the growing lead, the Huskies kept the intensity high and Ryan Augustine drew a hard offensive foul off Ritchie Kanza Mata. The Tigers kept up the pressure and with the crowd on their feet they improved to 4-1 as they put away their rivals 72-54.
Kashrell Lawrence and Jarred Reid both had 16 points to lead the Tigers offensively and Lawrence added nine boards on the night. Sven Stammberger came up big for the Tigers and had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench.
Osman Barrie had nine points and nine boards to lead the Huskies in the loss, while Achuil Lual had eight points to go along with eight rebounds.
The Huskies next take to the court Saturday night when they host the Cape Breton Capers in a four-point game at 6 p.m.
The Tigers will travel to Acadia to play in their own four-point game at 8 p.m. in Wolfville.
Source: Dalhousie Sports Information