Huskies snap losing streak in style with 93-68 win over Axemen

HALIFAX, NS - The Saint Mary's Huskies men's basketball team snapped a five game losing streak in a dominant full team effort, defeating the Acadia Axemen 93-68 in a Friday night matchup at the Homburg Centre in Halifax.

Friday's game was the third matchup of the season between the two rivals, with the Huskies beating the Axemen in the first two games of the regular season in late October.

The Axemen got off to an early start, with Rowan Power and Thomas MacDonald connecting on back-to-back pick-and-roll layups to give Acadia a 4-3 lead just over two minutes into the game. That would be the last lead of the night for the Axemen as the Huskies offense took over the game.

Saint Mary's guard Shae Linton-Brown (Toronto, ON) was the catalyst early, as he converted on a rare four-point play to give him seven points in the game's first seven minutes, and the Huskies led 19-10. Two more tough buckets by Jace Colley (East Preston, NS) and first year guard Jayrell Diggs (East Preston, NS) helped give the Huskies a 23-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, with the home team shooting 50% from both the field (9/18) and behind the arc (3/6).

The Axemen responded well to begin the second, with guard Alex Muise making back-to-back layups, including an and one, and reserve guard Ryan Munro hitting a catch-and-shoot three for an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 23-18. That's when Colley began to take over the game, using his athleticism to make several acrobatic layups around the rim, and score eight of his 11 first half points in the second quarter. When Colley finally slowed down, guard Johneil Johnson (Lake Echo, NS) picked up the Huskies offense, making back-to-back three's to give him a game high 12 points at the half. 

The Huskies took a 44-31 lead into the locker room, shooting 44% (16/36) from the field, and 35% (6/17) from three-point range, compared to 31% (12/39) from the field and 27% (4/15) from three for the Axemen. The Huskies were led by Johnson's 12 points, along with 11 from Colley, while the Axemen were led by Alex Muise, who scored all nine of his first half points in the second quarter, and added six rebounds.

The Huskies kept the pressure up in the third quarter, as Dontae Mitchell (Vaughan, ON) scored on back-to-back layups to extend the lead to 48-31. The third also saw strong play from Jackson Enyinna (Port Harcourt, Nigeria), who scored four points and added six rebounds off the Huskies bench. The third quarter was capped off by a deep three from Diggs, and the Huskies outscored Acadia 25-11 in the quarter to take a 69-42 lead into the fourth.

That's when the Huskies bench took control, led by Diggs who put on a shooting spectacle to remember. Diggs hit four three's in the first four minutes of the quarter, with some coming from deep range, as the Homburg Centre crowd exploded in cheers. The first year guard's fifth and final three gave the Huskies their largest lead of the game, 87-55. The Axemen fans did get a few moments to cheer about in the final minutes, as reserves Daniel O'Brien and Finn Larkin both scored their first career AUS points, and Jack Tilley scored nine of his 14 points on some nice plays, but the Huskies would go on to secure the 93-68 win.

Diggs was named Subway Player of the Game with a game-high 17 points on just seven field goal attempts in 22 minutes played, including a remarkable five of six from three-point land. Johneil Johnson had a season-high 16 points and eight rebounds, while Jace Colley chipped in a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double. It was a true full team effort for Saint Mary's as a season high 10 players scored in the game (Diggs, Colley, Johnson, Mitchell, Linton-Brown, Enyinna, Nikita Kasongo, Aleksa Ristic, Jonah Crowther, Trayvone Clayton).

The Axemen were led by Jack Tilley, who had 14 points and five rebounds, while Alex Muise added 13 points and seven rebounds, and Thomas MacDonald chipped in 12 points.

With the win, Saint Mary's improves to 6-5 on the season. The Axemen loss drops them to 1-10. The two teams will meet again on Sunday, this time in Wolfville, as they tip-off at 3 p.m. at Acadia's Stu Aberdeen Court. 

Recap: Allan April / SMU Huskies Athletics

Photos: Nick Pearce / SMU Huskies Athletics