Source: Jamie Kelly, AUS Communications / Photo courtesy of Nick Pearce (www.123photo.ca)
HALIFAX, N.S. - The top-seeded and CIS No. 2-ranked Cape Breton Capers captured their fourth AUS championship banner and their first since the 2009-10 season Sunday afternoon with an 83-75 victory over the defending champion Acadia Axemen in front of 3,484 fans at the Halifax Metro Centre.
With the win, the Capers advance to next weekend’s CIS Final 8 championship in Ottawa.
Jimmy Dorsey, the two-time defending AUS player of the year, took home a trio of post-tournament awards as he was named the Subway Player of the game, a tournament all-star and the championship most valuable player.
Dorsey finished with a game-high 30 points and was a perfect 16-of-16 from the free-throw line.
Acadia’s Owen Klassen, the AUS defensive player of the year, was excellent in a losing cause as he collected 24 points and 8 rebounds.
Both teams had a tough time generating much offense in the first quarter as team defense played a pivotal role in the low scoring 13-9 Acadia lead after ten minutes.
The Axemen broke away with the lead late in the first frame off two key baskets from second-year guard Sean Stoqua and fourth year forward Owen Klassen.
The second quarter showed why these were two of the best teams in the conference this season as they went basket-for-basket, providing the fans with fast paced action at both ends of the court.
Klassen led all players with 11 points at the half. The score was 35-31 for the Axemen after two quarters.
Though the Axemen held a slim lead at 58-54 through the first three quarters, the Capers saved their best effort for last as they outscored Acadia 29-17 in the final frame en route to capping a perfect championship weekend and punching their ticket to the CIS Final 8 men’s basketball championship.
For the Capers, Kayon Mayers netted 13 points and grabbed five rebounds while Shaquille Keith and Meshack Lufile each added 12 points in the win.
Acadia’s Sean Stoqua scored 12 points and had seven rebounds and Anthony Ashe grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Joining Dorsey on the Subway AUS championship all-star team were Capers second-year guard Meshack Lufile, StFX’s Jeremy Dunn, as well as Acadia’s Anthony Ashe and Owen Klassen.