Source: Memorial Athletics
Memorial dropped their second game of their two game series this weekend, ending their winning spree against the Dalhousie Tigers in a tough, 101-63 loss.
After such a strong series of games, Memorial was tested on their home court during Sunday's matchup. In the first quarter, the Dalhousie defense was harassing every decision Memorial made, leading to an early pile of turnovers that the Tigers exploited to create an early lead. This defensive pressure led to early struggles on offense for the Hawks having missed every shot from deep within the first twenty minutes, a key part of their offensive strategy. Despite the early struggle, Memorial was able to stick with the tigers at the end of the first half, only trailing by 12 with a score of 30-28. Cole Long was once again leading his team with 10 points at the half; the scoring for Dalhousie was spread across the team, with no major standouts in the first two quarters.
In the third quarter, the Dalhousie Tigers blew their lead wide open. They continued to exploit the uncharacteristically poor performances from the Sea-Hawks. The turnovers were one of the key factors in Memorial's loss, having over double the turnovers than the Tigers. Another major factor in their loss today was their poor shooting from beyond the arc, shooting below 25% for the game; their overall field goal percentage was 35%. For Dalhousie, however, it was a textbook display, finishing the game with 50/40/90 shooting percentages, a rare and impressive feat. The only bright spot for the Hawks was Cole Long's consistent scoring effort, posting another 18 points in the loss. For the Tigers, they had four players in double digits (Keevan Veinot – 15; Alex Carson – 13; Shamar Burrows – 11; Nginyu Ngala – 19). Nginyu Ngala earned player of the game commendations for his game high 19 points.
Despite their tough loss against the Tigers, Memorial was able to come away with a split series against the defending champions. They will be travelling to UNB for a four-point game weekend series while the tigers host Saint Mary's this Wednesday. All home and away games are available on austv.ca.