Reds outlast Huskies down the stretch, win 76-72

HALIFAX, N.S. – Johneil Johnson (Lake Echo, NS) poured in 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Qyemah Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) notched a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds of his own, but the SMU men's basketball team fell to UNB, 76-72, Saturday night at the Homburg Centre.

SMU trailed 66-56 after thirty minutes and opened the fourth with a long two-pointer, cutting down UNB's lead to single-digits. A Reds' jump shot and a SMU three-pointer saw Saint Mary's trail 68-61. The Huskies used a quick 4-2 run to pull with in five, 70-65 with 4:23 left in the fourth.

Another 5-1 run saw SMU trail 71-70 with 2:31 remaining. UNB answered back with a jump shot and led 73-70 with 2:07 left. Saint Mary's last attempt came up short and were forced to foul the Reds. UNB held on for the 76-72 win.

UNB led 27-16 after 10 minutes and 48-30 at half.

Point guard Daniel Pitcher (Sydney, Australia) paced the Reds with 22 points and six assists while Matur Maluach (Sydney, Australia) added 14 points.

UNB's Ibrahima Doumbouya (Calgary, AB) had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds while Markus Masters (Kitchener, ON) also had 13.

SMU's Sebastian Gray (Nassau, Bahamas) chipped in 12 points while Nevell Provo (North Preston, NS) and Travis Adams (Halifax, NS) each had six points apiece off the Huskies' bench.

UNB improves to 7-5 in Atlantic University Sport action while SMU drops to 5-6 in conference play.

The Reds return to the road Jan. 24 for an 8 p.m. matchup against Acadia while the Huskies return to action Wednesday, Jan. 22 to host the Dal Tigers at 8 p.m.

Dominico Nolasco, SMU
Photo Nick Pearce