Capers fall to X-Men in AUS play

Capers fall to X-Men in AUS play
February 15, 2012
A slow start cost the Cape Breton University Capers men’s basketball team a victory against St. FX and a shot at a share of first place in the Atlantic conference standings.

The host Capers fell behind 28-11 after the first quarter and 55-28 at the half on their way to an 87-68 loss in Atlantic University Sport men’s basketball action on Wednesday at the Sullivan Field House.

“We were in the neighbourhood early, probably the first four or five minutes, and then certainly lost our composure and didn’t take care of the basketball,” said Capers head coach Thom Gillespie.

“That’s their game style. They want to get out and create turnovers and attack and credit to them. They came into our building and forced the style of play that they wanted.”

The loss left CBU in third place overall with a 10-7 record. A win would have given them a first-place tie with the University of Prince Edward Island.

Instead, it was the X-Men who moved to the top of the league standings by improving their record to 13-4, just ahead of the second place UPEI squad.

Statistically, Julian Smith led the Capers offence with 15 points, followed by Jimmy Dorsey’s 12.

Before the game Dorsey was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s athlete of the week, following his 49-point effort on Sunday.

The Capers guard is also this week’s AUS player of the week.

Leading the nation’s No. 8-ranked X-Men was Bol Kong who scored a game-high 32 points.

The other St. FX scorers to hit for double digits were Terry Thomas (17), Jordan Clarke (12) and Jeremy Dunn (10).

Scoring by quarters saw the Capers outgunned 28-11 in the first and 27-17 in the second. On a positive note, they were able to finish strong with a 19-17 scoring margin in the third quarter and a 21-15 advantage in the fourth.

“It was nice that we competed throughout the game and tried to give ourselves a chance to claw back into the game, but when you are down 27 at the half against one of the top teams in the country your chances are pretty remote.”

The game was the last on the home schedule for the Capers who will finish their regular season on the road against Dalhousie, Saturday and Sunday and then the University of Prince Edward Island, Feb. 25.