Tigers tame V-Reds in OT
February 13, 2012
AUS men's basketball | UNB tied for final playoff spot with Saint Mary's
Alexander Arthur finished 3-for-3 from downtown, including a final dagger late in overtime, clinching a 77-69 win for the Dalhousie Tigers over the University of New Brunswick men's basketball team on Saturday.
The big three-pointer from Arthur expanded the Tigers' lead to 71-67 with less than two minutes to go in the extra frame at the Richard J. Currie Center. Despite some earlier dramatics from Daniel Quirion, who drained a fade-away jump shot before sinking a three-pointer to draw even at 64-64 with 14.6 second left in regulation, the Reds failed to mount a second comeback and split the weekend set with the Tigers.
Dalhousie (7-9) managed to keep their four-point advantage over UNB (6-11) in the Atlantic University Sport standings. The V-Reds currently sit on the fringe of the postseason in the Atlantic University Sport Men's Basketball Conference, tied with the Saint Mary's Huskies of Halifax (7-9), who hold the sixth and final spot with 18 points and a game in hand on the V-Reds .
UNB starters Michael Fosu, Jordan Irvine and Matthew Daley got into foul trouble early on, yet coach Brent Baker elected to keep them on the floor and all three fouled out of the match midway through the fourth quarter.
The missing players eventually proved to be the V-Reds' demise in overtime. The Tigers outscored the Reds 13-5 in the extra period.
'That would be the major crux of the problem there - we didn't have enough defensive discipline to keep guys in the game,' said Baker.
'I'm not a big proponent of saving guys. They're no use to you on the bench. They gotta play with those fouls and at some point in their career they have to learn to play with those fouls and they didn't.' The Reds bench boss is still content with his club's progress in the final stretch of the season, especially on the defensive end. First-year players Daley and Seth Amoah are emerging as well-rounded players, upping their defensive presence in recent games alongside the likes of veteran Alex DesRoches, who picked six steals to accompany his double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds.
'We're playing a better brand of basketball. We're playing better defence, but our offensive execution isn't where it's supposed to be,' said Baker. In their last four games, UNB has averaged 69.5 points against.
Amoah scored 16 points in the loss, while Irvine scored 12 points before fouling out.
The Reds now look ahead to the vital four-point matchup with the Huskies this Saturday at the Currie Center. Baker said there's no more room for mistakes.
'We can't wait to have another (team) win a game for us (to get into) the playoffs,' he said. 'We have to win every game - that's the bottom line.'
Alexander Arthur finished 3-for-3 from downtown, including a final dagger late in overtime, clinching a 77-69 win for the Dalhousie Tigers over the University of New Brunswick men's basketball team on Saturday.
The big three-pointer from Arthur expanded the Tigers' lead to 71-67 with less than two minutes to go in the extra frame at the Richard J. Currie Center. Despite some earlier dramatics from Daniel Quirion, who drained a fade-away jump shot before sinking a three-pointer to draw even at 64-64 with 14.6 second left in regulation, the Reds failed to mount a second comeback and split the weekend set with the Tigers.
Dalhousie (7-9) managed to keep their four-point advantage over UNB (6-11) in the Atlantic University Sport standings. The V-Reds currently sit on the fringe of the postseason in the Atlantic University Sport Men's Basketball Conference, tied with the Saint Mary's Huskies of Halifax (7-9), who hold the sixth and final spot with 18 points and a game in hand on the V-Reds .
UNB starters Michael Fosu, Jordan Irvine and Matthew Daley got into foul trouble early on, yet coach Brent Baker elected to keep them on the floor and all three fouled out of the match midway through the fourth quarter.
The missing players eventually proved to be the V-Reds' demise in overtime. The Tigers outscored the Reds 13-5 in the extra period.
'That would be the major crux of the problem there - we didn't have enough defensive discipline to keep guys in the game,' said Baker.
'I'm not a big proponent of saving guys. They're no use to you on the bench. They gotta play with those fouls and at some point in their career they have to learn to play with those fouls and they didn't.' The Reds bench boss is still content with his club's progress in the final stretch of the season, especially on the defensive end. First-year players Daley and Seth Amoah are emerging as well-rounded players, upping their defensive presence in recent games alongside the likes of veteran Alex DesRoches, who picked six steals to accompany his double-double of 14 points and 16 rebounds.
'We're playing a better brand of basketball. We're playing better defence, but our offensive execution isn't where it's supposed to be,' said Baker. In their last four games, UNB has averaged 69.5 points against.
Amoah scored 16 points in the loss, while Irvine scored 12 points before fouling out.
The Reds now look ahead to the vital four-point matchup with the Huskies this Saturday at the Currie Center. Baker said there's no more room for mistakes.
'We can't wait to have another (team) win a game for us (to get into) the playoffs,' he said. 'We have to win every game - that's the bottom line.'