REDS Hold Off Huskies In OT Thriller

(FREDERICTON, NB) Ibrahima Doumbouya (Calgary, AB) had 25 points and 22 rebounds to lead the UNB REDS to a gutsy 91-83 overtime win against the Saint Mary's Huskies, on Friday.

Doumbouya's incredible performance earned him Subway Player of the Game.

"This is my last year and I just want to give everything," Doumbouya said. "Whether it's going hard to the boards to get rebounds as much as I can, boxing people out and just giving everything I can to help the team win, and that's what I did tonight."

"He played like an All-Canadian tonight," said REDS head coach Joe Salerno.

Thomas LeGallais (Cornwall, ON) was also impressive for UNB with 16 points and 10 rebounds while going a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. 

Nikita Kasongo (Montreal, QC) had a game-high 31 points and went 9-for-12 on free throws while Shae Linton-Brown (Vaughn, ON) had 22 points and went five-for-seven from the stripe.

The Huskies would control the opening five minutes for an early 9-5 lead.

The REDS would answer in the back half of the first quarter to tie it at 11-11 and 13-13, trailing only 17-13 after the opening frame.

SMU would open a six-point gap, going up 21-15 in the first three minutes of the second.

UNB then pushed back in a big way, dropping 12 straight points to go up 27-21 and carried that momentum through the rest of the quarter for a 38-31 halftime lead.

The REDS stayed hungry through the third quarter, building a double-digit lead, 58-47, heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.

SMU would come out aggressive in the fourth, cutting UNB's lead to five, 63-58, just three minutes in.

With just over three minutes left, Jayrell Diggs (East Preston, NS) hit a trio of free throws to tie the game 70-70.

Linton-Brown hit a free throw of his own and Kasongo would follow with a bucket and one to make it 74-70 with just 2:07 left. 

With 1:50 to go, Chris Spurrell (Quispamsis, NB) hit a three-point jumper to bring the REDS within one, 74-73, and Norm Burry (Grafton, NB) powered through multiple Huskies for a lay-up to put the Reds ahead 75-74.

Kasongo drew a foul on Doumbouya with 32 seconds left and hit another two free-throws to make it 76-75 SMU, to which Reese Zorogole (Halifax, NS) answered immediately with a lay-up on the following possession to make it 76-75 REDS with 24.7 to play.

Off the ensuing inbound, Linton-Brown drew an offensive foul, sending the Huskies back to the free throw line where he hit one of two to tie the game 77-77 and force overtime.

In the extra frame, Zorogole would hit another clutch layup with two and a half minutes left to put the REDS up 82-79

Linton-Brown and Doumbouya would trade pairs of free throws before Doumbouya gathered the offensive board off the ensuing Huskies possession, worked the ball to Spurrell at the top of the arc who hit another huge three-point shot to put UNB ahead 87-81 with 57.1 second left in overtime.

The REDS would not look back, putting away the Huskies with the 91-83 final.

The win snaps the REDS four-game losing streak and improves them to 6-8. The Huskies dropped to 9-6 with the loss.

Both teams meet again Saturday at UNB's Richard J. Currie Center, in the Atlantic University Sport regular season finale for both sides.

Game time is 8:00pm.

RECAP BY: Jonathon James/for UNB Athletics

PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics