Capers upset the Sea-Hawks
St. John's, NL - The Cape Breton Capers defeated the Memorial Sea-Hawks 90-86 on Friday, November 24 at the MUN fieldhouse in AUS Men's basketball action.
#2 Tyson Cato opened the scoring in the first quarter for the Capers with a lay-up, quickly followed by a lay-up from #14 Nicholas Tuff for the Sea-Hawks' first points of the game. The Sea-Hawks took an early 8-5 lead with #13 Emanuel Ring scoring a mid-range jump shot and a lay-up and #7 Jason Thompson scoring a jump shot of his own. The Capers did not take long to tie the game with a three from #12 Mitchell Mersereau. An and-one drive from Shakael Pryce regained the Capers' lead but was quickly lost with a dunk from #14 Nicholas Tuff to give the Sea-Hawks a 15-13 lead. The teams traded baskets throughout the remainder of the quarter, but a three from #6 River Drefers gave the Sea-Hawks a 23-21 lead going into the second quarter. The leading scorer after the first quarter was #2 Tyson Cato for the Capers, going 3-6 from the field, scoring 8 points, and 2 rebounds. The Sea-Hawks' leading scorer after the first quarter was #6 River Drefers, going 2-2 from the field, scoring 6 points.
#2 Tyson Cato opened the scoring again in the second quarter to level the game 23-23. The teams were evenly matched to start the quarter, as it stayed a two-point contest for the first 3 minutes of the quarter, leading to the Capers calling the first timeout of the game trailing 29-27. A huge dunk from #13 Emanuel Ring gave the Sea-Hawks their first lead greater than two points since midway through the first quarter. The Capers quickly tied the game with layups from #2 Tyson Cato and #12 Mitchell Mesereau. A layup and three from #14 Nicholas Tuff gave the Sea-Hawks a 5-point lead, but was quickly cut back to a tie game with a three and layup from #5 Justus Peuser. The Capers finally found a little breathing room as #4 Shakel Pryce scored two threes and a layup to give the Capers a 46-42 lead, forcing the Sea-Hawks into a timeout with two minutes remaining in the quarter. Two free throws and a layup from #13 Emanuel Ring and #8 Cameron Stanford tied the game for the Sea-Hawks, but a score from #9 Domenic Odle in the dying seconds of the quarter gave the Capers a 48-46 lead heading into halftime.
The leading scorer for the Capers was #4 Shakael Pryce, going 4-7 from the field, scoring 13 points, and 5 rebounds. Pryce was followed by #2 Tyson Cato, who went 5-9 from the field, scoring 12 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist, and #3 Jahnian Simmonds who went 3-3 from the field, scoring 7 points. The leading scorer for the Sea-Hawks was Emanuel Ring, going 4-9 from the field, scoring 12 points, and 5 rebounds. Ring was followed by #14 Nicholas Tuff, who went 4-7 from the field, scoring 10 points, and 3 rebounds, and #6 River Drefers who went 2-3 from the field, scoring 6 points.
The third quarter scoring was opened by #14 Nicholas Tuff for the Sea-Hawks with a layup, followed up with a 3-pointer not long after. The first basket of the quarter for the Capers was a layup by #2 Tyson Cato. The Sea-Hawks continued consistency to gain a 57-50 lead early into the third quarter. Baskets from Sea-Hawks #14 Nicholas Tuff and #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet helped them find some energy which continued throughout the quarter. The Capers found a few layups but ultimately struggled to find the basket. A few quick fouls for Memorial gave the Capers 4 points from free throws by #12 Mitchell Mesereau and #4 Shakael Pryce. Both teams gained their 5th team foul in the last minute of the quarter resulting in bonus throws for both sides. The quarter ended with a layup from Capers #1 Stefan Anisko to cut the Sea-Hawks lead to 7.
The fourth quarter scoring was opened by the Capers #5 Justus Peuser, followed by a layup from the Sea-Hawks #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet. The teams traded layups in the opening minutes of the quarter to keep the Sea-Hawks up 80-73. The Capers scored 4 successive free throws to bring the game within 3. Multiple fast break opportunities from both sides went astray as the score remained unchanged. After two minutes of no scoring, #14 Nicholas Tuff broke the drought to give the Sea-Hawks a 6-point lead with 5 minutes remaining. Another three from #14 Nicholas Tuff gave the Sea-Hawks a 9-point lead and forced the Capers into a timeout to try and end their three-and-a-half-minute scoring drought. The Capers' drought was ended after four minutes by #7 Shaquai Manswell with a layup, followed by an and-one drive from #5 Justus Peuser to make it a 5-point game. The Capers #3 Jahnian Simmonds fouled out of the game with his fifth foul as he also made it 5 team fouls for the Capers. The Sea-Hawks failed to score off two offensive rebounds from #6 River Drefers as their own scoring drought reached three and a half minutes. The Capers, down by three, called a timeout with 58 seconds remaining to try and find a way to take the game for the visitors. An and-one score from #4 Shakael Pryce tied the game 86-86 with 50 seconds remaining to the game. The Sea-Hawks called a timeout with 33 seconds remaining as the Capers #4 Shakael Pryce scored one of two free throws to give his team a one-point lead. A wayward pass from the Sea-Hawks during possession forced them into fouling the Capers #5 Justus Peuser, who made one of two free throws to make it a 2-point game with 23 seconds remaining. The Sea-Hawks failed to capitalize as they fell 90-86.
The leading scorer for the Capers was #4 Shakael Pryce, who went 9-14 from the field, scoring 29 points, 9 rebounds, and an assist. Pryce was followed by #2 Tyson Cato, who went 6-18 from the field, scoring 18 points, 7 rebounds, and an assist, and #5 Justus Peuser who went 5-12 from the field, scoring 12 points, and 3 assists. The leading scorer for the Sea-Hawks was #14 Nicholas Tuff, who went 9-15 from the field, scoring 23 points, 6 rebounds, and an assist. Tuff was followed by #13 Emanuel Ring, who went 6-13 from the field, scoring 19 points, and 9 rebounds, and #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet who went 5-11 from the field, scoring 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 assist. The Sea-Hawks and Capers return to action tomorrow night, November 25 at 8:00 NST. The game can be watched at the MUN fieldhouse or online at https://austv.ca/ .