(FREDERICTON, NB) The Cape Breton Capers earned a split of a weekend series, beating the UNB Reds 91-80 on Saturday afternoon.
Osman Omar (Mississauga, ON) scored a game-high 32 points to lead the Capers.
"We just came out with more energy," said Omar, named Subway Player of the Game. "We stuck to the game plan that Coach had for us. Everyone trusted each other more. We came out and worked harder than the other team today."
Eugene Kankue (Ottawa, ON) came off the Capers bench to score 20 points, while Paul Watson (Mississauga, ON) collected 11 rebounds.
Chris Spurrell (Quispamsis, NB) led the Reds, scoring 17 points.
Jesse Kendall (Guelph, ON) added 15 and Ibrahima Doumbouya (Calgary, AB) grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Capers raced out to a 7-0 lead over the first 2:38, forcing the Reds to take an early time-out.
Slowly, the Reds chipped away at that lead.
Spurrell scored eight first half points and Daniel Pitcher (Sydney, Australia) added seven as the Reds surged back into the game.
With under a minute to play in the first half, Doumbouya delivered an emphatic slam dunk basket 'and 1' to give UNB a 42-40 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Capers once again raced out of the gate.
They went on a 6-0 run to start the second half, forcing the Reds to again take an early time-out.
A pair of Kendall three-point shots brought the Reds right back, but they couldn't stop Cape Breton's attack, which scored 35 points in the third.
While the Reds pressed in the final quarter, they were unable to come back.
"Their energy and their defence, the intensity, was better than ours," said Reds head coach Brent Baker. "Our 'want to' to come back on defence wasn't there. Our compete level wasn't very high today, especially in that third quarter when it was that big difference maker."
"We gave up 35 points," he said. "I'd say close to half of that was lay-ups, and that means you're not defending the basket."
The Capers win comes on the heels of an 83-70 loss to the Reds on Friday.
"We knew what killed us yesterday," said Omar. "We just came back and made sure it didn't happen again."
The Capers visit St FX on Wednesday, for an 8:00pm start.
The Reds travel to Acadia, on Friday. That four-point game is scheduled to start at 8:00pm.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/UNB Athletics