Capers put run to the Reds

The University of New Brunswick's Robert Linton scored the first bucket of Saturday's men's basketball match against the Cape Breton University Capers. Then he watched the Capers score 19 straight points before Aaron O'Brien responded for the Varsity Reds.

The Capers ended the first quarter with a 21-5 lead. The Reds never recovered, losing 82-54 in their second consecutive loss to CBU at the Richard J. Currie Center and lengthening their winless streak to four games. UNB lost 76-71 to the Capers on Friday.

It's far from the high note the Reds, who were without offensive star Dan Quirion, were looking for before heading into the break.

"It's just disappointing," said head coach Brent Baker. "You can make excuses with Dan Quirion and stuff like that, but that's why it's called a team. It goes in the record book as the score it is, whether we have a player on the floor or not."

Quirion sat out the match as a precautionary measure to avoid further damage to a joint in his foot. Baker expects his leading scorer to be ready when their AUS play begins again in January.

Thanks to a pair of four-point victories over Memorial University to kick off the 2011-12 Atlantic University Sport season, the Reds (2-4) are two points out of first in fourth spot. However, the club has the worst points-per-game average, posting 73 points per game. UNB, however, allows an average of 86.5 points per game.

The Reds have been outscored 344-254 during the four-game losing skid.

The Capers (3-2) exploited UNB's poor transition defence and coverage, shooting 40 per cent from the floor and draining eight three-pointers. All-star shooter Jimmy Dorsey led the way with 19 points and racked up 12 rebounds to complete the double-double. Julian Smith chipped in with 15 points of his own, sinking three daggers from beyond the arc in the second half to seal the deal.

CBU did have the luxury to play a youthful, inexperienced UNB squad that is still learning. Three first-year players saw over 20 minutes of floor time on Saturday, including Matt Daley who replaced Quirion at point guard.

"Matt Daley is still in a learning process," Baker said. "Our transition slowed down when we had him in the game. Those guys are all freshmen - they're first-year guys and that's good for the future, but it doesn't really help us right now."

Daley couldn't keep the normal pace set by Quirion and was 2-for-12 from the floor and 1-for-6 from downtown, but did show flashes of brilliance with some aggressive drives to the basket. However, his immaturity got the best of him as he committed a couple careless fouls and was handed a technical for use of profanity, which ended his game early in the fourth.

"It's part of the learning curve, it's part of the maturity aspect," Baker said. "He's gotta grow up. He's frustrated, but he's can't let his frustration affect what's happening to the group."

Baker did see O'Brien step up for the Red in a big way, showing his two-way versatility. In 25 minutes of action, the first-year from Pasadena, NL, posted 16 points and 14 boards for the double-double.

"He's an energy guy," Baker said. "If you ever see him in practice, he runs as good as any guard. You do the beep test and he's one of the three top guys. The guy's a horse."

Linton was the only Red, besides O'Brien, to crack double digits in points with 12. The Reds shot a dismal 21.8 per cent for the game.

The Reds return to action Jan. 6 in Antigonish, N.S., for a showdown with the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men.