Huskies down Varsity Reds 102-93, advance to semifinal vs. Dalhousie

(HALIFAX, N.S.) – The Saint Mary's Huskies downed the UNB Varsity Reds 102-93 in Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinal action Friday night at the Scotiabank Centre.

The Huskies were fueled by the strong play of starting centre Osman Barrie and hot shooting of Marquis Clayton off the bench.

Barrie shot 10-13 from the field for 22 points along with 13 rebounds and two steals.

Clayton, who got hot from outside in the second quarter, finished 8-16 from the field, 4-9 from downtown for 25 points with nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

Matt Daley of UNB scored 18 of his game-high 28 points in the third quarter while collecting six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

AUS regular season MVP, Javon Masters, scored 24 points on just 7-24 shooting from the field while picking up nine assists and seven rebounds.

Saint Mary's was able to establish themselves early with the long ball thanks to Kemar Alleyne and Ryan Augustine who knocked down three triples between them in the first four minutes.

Masters opened the game 0-4 but started to find his stroke toward the end of the first quarter as UNB rallied to finish the first quarter down two, 21-19.

In the second quarter Barrie and Clayton made their presence felt, combining for 16 points on 7-10 combined shooting from the field.

However, it was the Huskies' stingy defence that helped them push their lead to double-digits, leading the V-Reds 47-33 after two.

UNB came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, led by Matt Daley who scored 18 in the frame on 7-11 shooting.

The Huskies were able to weather the storm, exploiting their size and strong play in the paint (outscoring the V-Reds by 16 down low) to take an 86-67 advantage into the fourth quarter.

UNB was able to make a late push in the fourth, bringing the score to within 11 but it was too little too late as the Huskies were able to hold on for the 102-93 win.

Saint Mary's moves on to play the top-seeded Dalhousie Tigers in the first of Saturday's men's semifinal games at 6:30 p.m. at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.

AUS communications, Photo Nick Pearce