Capers fall to Sea-Hawks 98-83

St. John's, NL - The Memorial Sea-Hawks defeated the Cape Breton Capers 98-83 on Saturday, November 25 at the MUN fieldhouse in AUS Men's basketball action.

The Capers won the jump ball and were fouled off an immediate fast break where #2 Tyson Cato netted both free throws. Sea-Hawks #13 Nicholas Tuff gained the first points of the game for his team with a layup. The Capers found their speed right out of the gate leading 9-4 only 2 minutes in. The Sea-Hawks struggled from the start and with the Capers continuing to be consistent, they found themselves an early 15-6 lead. After a few Memorial turnovers followed by some strong Memorial blocks, #9 Josh Reimer gained the team's first points in about 2 minutes off of a layup. A 3-pointer from Capers #7 Shaquai Manswell forced the Sea-Hawks into a timeout as they found themselves trailing by 10 only 6 minutes in. Sea-Hawks #13 netted both of his free throws only to be counteracted by a layup from Capers The Capers extended their 10-point lead during the final minutes of the quarter off a steal and layup from the Capers #1 Stefan Anisko. The Sea-Hawks ended the quarter on a high with an and-one drive and a quarter-ending layup to reduce the Capers' lead to 28-20 going into the second quarter. The leading scorer in the opening quarter was tied between the Capers #0 Aaron Cunningham and the Sea-Hawks #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet with 7 points each.

The Capers opened the scoring in the second quarter with #0 Aaron Cunningham scoring 2 successful free throws to regain the Capers' double-digit lead. The Sea-Hawks looked to get back in the game as #13 Emanuel Ring took the ball coast to coast for an and-one drive to bring the Sea-Hawks within 7 but was quickly canceled out by an alley-oop dunk from the Capers' #1 Stefan Anisko. The Capers called a timeout as #2 Tyson Cato prepared to step up to the free throw line halfway through the second quarter holding a comfortable 9-point lead. The Sea-Hawks' offensive struggles continued from the first quarter as they failed to score more than 1 basket in the middle part of the quarter until #24 Jodick Moudiandambu successfully made two free throws to get the Sea-Hawks within 10. The score could not turn the game around for the Sea-Hawks as the Capers #5 Justus Peuser and #7 Shaquai Manswell quickly responded to keep the Capers up by 14. A huge quarter-ending three from the Sea-Hawks #13 Emanuel Ring got the Sea-Hawks back within 9 points at the half.

The leading scorer for the Sea-Hawks in the first half was #13 Emanuel Ring, who went 5-13 from the field, scoring 16 points. Ring was followed by #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet who went 3-8 from the field, scoring 9 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist, and #14 Nicholas Tuff who went 2-4 from the field, scoring 5 points, and 1 rebound. The Capers' leading scorer was #2 Tyson Cato who went 5-8 from the field, scoring 13 points, and 4 rebounds. Cato was followed by #0 Aaron Cunningham who went 3-5 from the field, scoring 9 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist, and #7 Shaquai Manswell who went 3-3 from the field, scoring 7 points, and 3 rebounds.

The Sea-Hawks opened the scoring in the third quarter with a wide-open 3 from #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet but was quickly canceled out by a three from the Capers' #4 Shakael Pryce. The teams continued to trade baskets back and forth as the Capers #1 Stefan Anisko made a three-pointer to increase the Capers's lead to 16 before the halfway point of the quarter. As tension between the teams rose throughout the quarter, the Sea-Hawks found their offensive groove as baskets from #24 Jodick Moudiandambu and #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet got the Sea-Hawks within 11. A three-pointer from #13 Emanuel Ring reduced the Capers' lead to single digits for the first time since the start of the quarter, but the Sea-Hawks quickly found themselves back down by 13. As the third quarter came to a close, the Capers failed to score from open play for the final three minutes and the Sea-Hawks #24 Jodick Moudiandambu and #9 Josh Reimer scored a layup each to bring the game back within three points as the Capers went into the fourth quarter leading 70-67. The Capers opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a layup from #12 Mitchell Mersereau. A great pass from #13 Emanuel Ring to #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet got the Sea-Hawks back within 1. The Capers #1 Stefan Anisko drew a foul on a three-pointer, making all three of his free throws before the Sea-Hawks #14 Nicholas Tuff made his own three-pointer on the other end to keep the Sea-Hawks within 3. Two successful free throws from #24 Jodick Moudiandambu and a layup from #13 Emanuel Ring gave the Sea-Hawks their first lead of the game up 80-79 on the Capers. The Sea-Hawks continued rolling as #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet made a layup, followed by a steal by #23 Miles Fryett leading to a layup from #14 Nicholas Tuff to give the Sea-Hawks a 5-point lead. Another great steal from #24 Jodick Moudiandambu to a layup from #13 Emanuel Ring put the Sea-Hawks in a great position up by 7 with less than two minutes to go. The Sea-Hawks continued to dominate the fourth quarter as they found themselves up by 10 with 52 seconds remaining on the clock. A massive dunk by #13 Emanuel Ring solidified the win for the Sea-Hawks as he increased the Sea-Hawks lead to 13. The Sea-Hawks finished the game 98-83, overcoming an 18-point deficit to win the game.

The Sea-Hawks' leading scorer was #13 Emanuel Ring, going 14-30 from the field, scoring 38 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Ring was followed by #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet who went 9-17 from the field, scoring 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists, and #24 Jodick Moudiandambu who went 4-4 from the field, scoring 16 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist. The leading scorer for the Capers was #12 Mitchell Mesereau who went 8-9 from the field, scoring 17 points, 8 rebounds, and an assist. Mesereau was followed by #1 Stefan Anisko who went 4-8 from the field, scoring 14 points, 3 rebounds, and an assist, and #2 Tyson Cato who went 5-12 from the field, scoring 13 points, and 4 rebounds.

The Sea-Hawks return to action after the winter break, where they will be on the road to face the STFX X-Men on Friday, January 5 at 8:00 AST. The game can be watched online at https://austv.ca/ .