Men’s basketball split weekend at home
Tim Lingley / The Brunswickan
The UNB men’s basketball team split their weekend at home and are one spot back of the final playoff spot in the AUS.
January 18, 2012 6:00 AM ADT
Coming into the weekend games against the UPEI Panthers and the Acadia Axemen, UNB held a record of 2-6, good for second last in the AUS standings behind Dalhousie, UPEI and Saint Mary’s.
The Panthers started the season at a torrid pace, opening it with six straight wins, but have fallen off of late, with two straight losses coming into the game against UNB.
The Reds were again without leading scorer Daniel Quirion, so it was going to be a team effort in order to win. Filling in during Quirion’s absence is first year point guard Matt Daley.
The game started out as many would have thought, with both teams getting a feel for what the other was going to bring to the table. UPEI held a slight advantage after the opening quarter, 17-14.
The second quarter was a different story. UNB came out on fire and shot the lights out, taking over the lead going into the half holding a 41-30 lead.
In the third quarter UPEI started to chip away at the UNB lead. They cut away five points from the UNB lead, bringing it to within six heading into the fourth and final quarter.
The game was well within reach for the Panthers in the final minutes as they started to foul the Reds, hoping they would fold under the pressure, and miss some free throws in order to sneak back into the game and possibly steal a win.
However, the Reds hit their free throws in the clutch and came away with an 80-77 win. Leading the way for UNB was Alex DesRoches with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
“The guys have improved in that area,” head coach Brent Baker said, referring to his team’s performance from the free throw line. “Our assistant coach, Don MacNeil, has been a stickler for that. He makes them take their free throws and records them.”
A tougher test was in the wings for the Reds as they faced the Acadia Axemen and their star big man Owen Klassen.
During the warm ups it looked as if it was a dunk contest as Acadia was throwing down windmills and 360s. But everyone knows athleticism will only take you so far.
UNB got out of the gate quick and got Klassen into foul trouble early as he got a quick pair of fouls and found himself on the bench. UNB took full advantage and held a 15-13 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter found Klassen on the floor a bit more and Acadia fought back to hold a two-point advantage at half, 35-33.
To say the Reds were cold in the third quarter would be an understatement. As cold as it was outside, the Reds were colder, scoring a total of six points in the quarter, and letting the Axemen take a large lead into the fourth.
“That was not the way we wanted to start the third quarter, whether it was lack of legs from the night before, or lack of maturity on our part,” Baker said. “This league is about the grind, and we weren’t ready to grind tonight.”
Frustration boiled over as veterans Will McFee and DesRoches both received technical fouls in the game as Acadia rolled to a 95-60 win.
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