Tigers defeat Huskies 90-75 in AUS Semifinal
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Mary's (11-11, 11-10) | 15 | 17 | 18 | 25 | 75 |
|
Dalhousie (13-9, 12-9) | 21 | 28 | 20 | 21 | 90 |
HALIFAX, NS - Dalhousie guard scored Nginyu Ngala scored 37 points, as the Tigers defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies 90-75 in the Atlantic University Sport men's basketball semifinal on Saturday at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
The Huskies scored the first two of the night as guard Shae Linton-Brown (Toronto, ON) drew defenders on the drive and dished to forward Jackson Enyinna (Port Harcourt, Nigeria) for an open lay-in.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 25, 2024
Shae Linton-Brown drops a dime to Jackson Enyinna for the first two of the night! pic.twitter.com/vYHKRz3V8X
But the Tigers offence quickly opened up a 14-4 lead, led by eight points from forward Spencer Riar (Montreal, QC).
Huskies guard Devawn White (Montreal, QC) came off the bench to provide a spark with four first quarter points, and a big three-pointer by guard Jayrell Diggs (East Preston, NS) moments before the first quarter buzzer cut the Tigers lead to 21-15 after 10 minutes of action.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 25, 2024
Jayrell Diggs hits for three just before the buzzer! Huskies trail 21-15 after the first quarter. pic.twitter.com/PFVAxnmT3x
The Tigers continued to rack up their lead early in the second quarter, with a three-pointer from league MVP Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, NB) extending their lead to 32-19, but Huskies guard Marc-Denault Gabriel (Montreal, QC) answered with a tough and-one.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 25, 2024
Marc-Denault Gabriel gets a tough and-one to drop, forcing the Tigers timeout. Huskies trail 32-22. pic.twitter.com/4a6RcuG7Qs
The Tigers backcourt of Christie and Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, QC) continued causing problems for the Huskies defence, as Christie made a four-point play to extend the lead to 41-23, but Diggs responded with a personal 5-0 scoring run to cut into the lead.
Christie's fourth three of the first half gave the Tigers their largest lead of the night at 49-30, but Jayrell Diggs answered once again with an acrobatic lay-in and the Tigers took a 49-32 lead into the half.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 25, 2024
Jayrell Diggs with an acrobatic lay-in to end the half! Huskies trail 49-32 after 20 minutes. pic.twitter.com/PABfUQIh1Z
The Huskies were led in the first half by Jayrell Diggs who scored 12 points. The Tigers backcourt of Nginyu Ngala (19 points) and Malcolm Christie (15 points) lit up the Scotiabank Centre court, combining for 34 first half points including six three-pointers.
The Huskies found some momenteum in the third quarter with Marc-Denault Gabriel hit a tough lay-in – two of his six third quarter points – to cut the lead to 63-50, but Ngala hit back-to-back threes to extend the Tigers lead back up to 69-50 after three quarters.
HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��
— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 25, 2024
Marc-Denault Gabriel with a tough lay-in, two of his six third quarter points, but the Tigers lead 69-50 after 30 minutes of play. pic.twitter.com/TDOQPM04WR
The Tigers were led by Player of the Game Nginyu Ngala who poured in a career-high 37 points, and Malcolm Christie who added 27. The Huskies were led by 17 points off the bench from Devawn White, 16 points from Jayrell Diggs and 13 points from Marc-Denault Gabriel.
The loss ends the Huskies season, while the Tigers advance to Sunday's AUS Championship final, where they'll meet the #1 seed STFX X-Men, Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Scotiabank Centre.
Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Nick Pearce / Atlantic University Sport
