Axemen Annihilation
Men's basketball | V-Reds fall victim to Acadia onslaught
The Acadia Axemen dropped 60 points in the second half, 36 of which came in the final 10 minutes, en route to a 95-60 rampage over the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in Atlantic University Sport Men's Basketball Confernce action Saturday at the Richard J. Currie Center.
The battered and bruised Varsity Reds defence was lit up by an aggressive Acadia attack. The Axemen penetrated the paint with ease, taking advantage of clear lanes to the bucket and beating the Reds on the transition all night long.
'Whether it was lack of legs from the night before or lack of maturity on our part, this league is about the grind and we weren't ready to grind tonight,' said head coach Brent Baker. The Reds fell to 3-7 in the Atlantic University Sport standings, while Acadia improved to 4-4 and another four-point victory. All four of Acadia's wins this season came from fourpoint matches.
Trailing 35-33, the Axemen came out on fire in the third, outscoring the Reds 24-6 in the quarter. Acadia's quickness and urgency was unparalleled, with Jonathan Tull and Anthony Sears capitalizing for 17 and 14 points, respectively. Then came the 6-foot-10 monster of Owen Klassen tormenting the Reds' defence down low, posting 17 points and seven boards.
Acadia expanded the lead to over 40 points in the third quarter, with Bradley States capping off a 17-2 run with a thundering dunk that had even had one Reds fan standing to say, 'I don't care, even I know that was awesome.' 'Lack of defensive awareness - that's a big one for us,' said Baker. 'You gotta be selfless in team defence and you gotta rotate to the ball and have a weak-side drop. We had none of that today.
'We should still be able make a shot or two and run back in transition. That's the bottom line.' Draining a shot or two was difficult enough, let alone trying to stop the Axemen, who shot 46.5 per cent. The Reds shot a dismal 27.1 per cent from the floor, signaling the need for Will McFee to regain his 2010-11 AUS rookie of the year form and the return of veteran Daniel Quirion. The V-Reds' offensive quarterback averaged 15.8 points per game before injuring his foot in December.
McFee was just 1-for-5 from the floor with six points, while Quirion's replacement, first-year Matthew Daley, picked up six points and went 1-for-8 before fouling out the game early in the fourth quarter.
'We miss (Quirion) a lot; there's not doubt about it,' said Baker. 'Matt's going to have some growing pains. He's a freshman, but I don't expect him to play like a freshman. If you're expectations are less, then you're going to get less. We have higher expectations for him.' According to Baker, however, injuries and fatigue isn't an excuse.
'It's a part of it, but I'm real firm believer in not giving people excuses,' he said. 'All the other teams are nicked up at this time of the year with players that are hurt… you gotta play through, and we didn't play through tonight.' Baker will be looking for a stronger defensive effort when the Reds travel to the Island for a date with the University of Prince Edward Island on Jan. 20.