It wasn't the best night for either team in this match. The game started with the Huskies taking an 8-0 lead while the X-Men struggled to get a basket. After 5 minutes Coach K called a time out to make adjustments. Whatever he said to his team worked, as Terry Thomas quickly collected a couple of free throws and a jumper, followed by Coupland and Dunn 3 pointers and another Thomas jumper. With 4 of 19 shooting, the X-Men finished the 1st quarter behind 16-12. In the second quarter X recovered, with some good defense and better shooting. The Huskies, on the other hand, began to fall apart, making only 3 of 14 attempted shots. The score at the half was 30-26 in favor of the X-Men. Early in the second half the X-Men went a 14 and 0 run and took control of the game. The Final score was 84-54. Terry Thomas turned out to play with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Bol Kong put in a strong performance with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. The remaining X-Men all contributed with 33 of the 84 point total coming from the bench. It was a notable game for rookie Kohlin Rasenberg, who scored 8 points, on 3 for 3 shooting, in the last 4 minutes of the game. His first trey got a huge rise from the bench and the bleachers. He clearly wants Coach K to know he's ready to play. Top scorers for the Huskies were Tory Fassett (15,7), Brian Rouse (10,5), and Miguel Pink (9,5). In a classy move, StFX athletics presented Huskies coach Ross Quackenbush with a gift at the beginning of the game to mark his retirement after 23 years as the Huskies coach. And, to show their appreciation for all the great games provided by the long rivalry between these two teams, the StFX fans gave coach Quackenbush a standing ovation. The box score is available here. X travels to Halifax at the end of the week to the AUS Championship, where they will have a bye to the semi-final round. At 6:00pm on Saturday they will play the winner of Friday Night's game between Cape Breton (4) and Dalhousie (5). Acadia has the 2nd place bye and, at 8:15pm on Saturday, will play the winner of Friday night's UPEI (3), Saint Mary's (6) matchup.

The X-Men held a large lead for most of the game, going to the bench early. The SeaHawks tied the game in the second at 28 with solid 3-point shooting and then went cold for 5 minutes, allowing the X-Men to lead by 19 at the half. The SeaHawks displayed streaky 3-point shooting thoughout the game game, but in the end shooting less than 40% from the field. Terry Thomas had an outstanding game with 29 points on 11 of 12 shooting, including 3 of 3 from outside the arc. Combine that with 7 boards and 4 assists in just 26 minutes on the floor. Bol Kong had 16 points, shooting 7 for 12. Dunn had 11 points and 5 rebounds. Clayton had 10, Donkoh had 9, Vernon had 8, Clarke and Madera had 4 each. Ffrench, Coupland, Kadray, and Rasenberg each chipped in 3. Will Donkoh played just 11 minutes in his first game back from an unspecified injury. Jason Shepherd and Mike Helsby were the big scorers for MUN, with 19 and 17 respectively. The final score was 103-64 for the X-Men. You can find the box score here. These teams play again tomorrow. The webcast should be here at 12:30pm Atlantic Time.

The X-Men moved into a tie for first place in the AUS with a win over UPEI. It was a tense afternoon at the OC, with a somewhat weather reduced crowd treated to an edge-of-your-seat stand-off. Both the X-Men and Panthers played their second game of the weekend, and the result was a physical and defensive outing. With Coach Kendrick coming off a loss to CBU last night, the tension was palpable as he tried every trick in the book to take a lead, but neither team could maintain a lead for long as each quarter ended either tied or 1-up. The Panthers showed a strong inside game, and the tough defense that brought them to first place in the AUS. They played the bench sparingly, with starters Manock Lual and Jonathan Cooper playing the entire game. Cooper led the team with 22 points and Lual racked 16. The X-Men had plenty of attempts but shot only 27% from the floor. Bol Kong was awarded "Player of the Game", and continued to show proof that he is back from surgery. Although, probably not the production he is used to, he kicked in 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 steals, including a couple of fast break dunks. Jeremy Dunn played 39 minutes, accumulating 14 points and 9 boards. As always, he gave a strong performance, taking on the difficult job of matching up against big men on defense and double-teams on offense. Terry Thomas may not have scored as many points as he normally does, with 14, but he gave the fans a thrill with several dunks, steals and fast break points. Shane Coupland played for the second night with a cast on his left hand, providing valuable minutes to rest his teammates but adding only 2 points to the team total. His offensive contribution is missed for sure. The bench chipped in 27 points from Clayton, Ffrench, Kong and Madera. Madera used his size well, standing his ground on defense and taking the low post position where he grabbed 6 rebounds (total) to go with 6 points and a block. Clayton displayed explosive speed and agility, getting around much bigger players for a couple of acrobatic layups. What he lacks in size, he more than makes up for with court smarts: he pulled down 9 boards by reading the play. The X-Men travel to Cape Breton on Wednesday for their final meeting of the regular season. It stands to be an exciting affair as the X-Men have won both home games again the Capers and lost their previous outing in the Sullivan Fieldhouse. The Capers will be trying to make sure that balance in maintained. The game will be webcast here at 8pm.

5th year post Robert Nortmann's 21 points and 14 rebounds led the Dal Tigers to a 79-68 win over a listless X-Men squad tonight at Dalplex. Since starting the season 17-0, the X-Men have posted a 2-3 record. Dal built a 5 point lead at the half (40-35), which they extended to double digits in the 3rd. X made a run in the 4th, taking a brief lead, but Dal pulled away down the stretch for the win. Terry Thomas led X with 17 points. X next plays Feb 3 and 4 at UNB.

The X-Men downed the Dal Tigers 79-66 at the OC to improve their record to 8-2 on the season. The win also puts X in a tie for first place with the CBU Capers (7-3, 20 points). This sets up a big game with CBU on Saturday which will determine first place in the AUS. X came out firing and built an early 14-6 lead behind the offence of Jeremy Dunn and Will Donkoh. Donkoh has emerged as one of the biggest surprises for the X-Men this year. Coach K knew he could rely on hard work and great D from Donkoh, but he has also provided a lot of unexpected and welcome offence (14 points tonight, 22 vs. UPEI last Sunday). Dal fought back with some excellent outside shooting from Stephen Lopez (14 points) and took a 23-22 lead after a quarter. The Blue and White caused some turnovers and got running in the second quarter, resulting in a 43-35 half time lead. In the second half, the teams traded baskets for the most part. Dal was able to get within 4 points early in the third and within 6 in the fourth, but no closer. Jemery Dunn led X with 22 points, while 3 other X-Men scored in double figures (Donkoh, Thomas (13) and Coupland (12). Terry Thomas was in foul trouble for most of the game, so Bol Kong saw a good deal of action (25 minutes). Kong is still figuring things out offensively (6 points), but made his presence felt on the glass (team leading 7 boards) and contributed 3 assists and 2 blocks. Dal was led by Lopez and Casey Fox (14 points).

It was not as easy as the final score would indicate, but the X-Men rode a 3rd quarter surge and a strong 4th quarter to a 87-68 victory over the Varsity Reds. The X-Men held a margin of 8-12 points for much of the game, but a 3 point barrage from V Red's guard Matthew Daley in the 3rd quarter got the visitors within 5 points late in the third. The blue and white cranked up the intensity at both ends of the court and pushed the lead to 64-53 after three. The short handed Reds (playing without leading scorer Daniel Quirion) showed tired legs in the 4th and X put them away. Terry Thomas led the way with 21 points (7-12 FG; 2-4 3PT) 9 rebounds 3 assists 3 steals and 2 blocks. Jeremy Dunn added 16, Tyrell Vernon 13 and 7 assists Will Donkoh 10. First year point Marquis Clayton continued his strong weekend play with 14 points. Shane Coupland, perhaps one of the smartest rebounders X has seen in some time, contributed 10 boards and 7 points. Alex Desroches paced the Reds with 21 and 14 boards.

On behalf of the Blue and White X-Press booster club, I'd like to congratulate Coach Konchalski on his 800th win.

X downed the UPEI Panthers to win a berth in the final of the rod Shoveller tournament behind 25 points from Jeremy Dunn. The final score is not indicative of how close this game was. PEI actually led mid way through the the 4th quarter. Dunn got help from Terry Thomas (10 points and 9 boards) and Rod Medara who had one of his stronger games as an X Man contributing 10 points and 8 boards. Perhaps the difference in this game was Will Donkoh who had 10 points, 6 boards and 5 steals. After scoring 20 points in the first half, Jonathan Cooper was held to a single point in the second half due to Donkoh's tough D. With the win, X will face the Concordia Stingers (ranked 10th in the CIS) in tomorrow's final game.

A huge night from veteran Jeremy Dunn resulted in a 93-90 victory over the SMU Huskies. In a very close contest, Dunn had 35 points (10-18, 5-10 from 3 point range, 10-10 FTs) and 7 rebounds to will a short staffed X squad to a W. X played without the services of Rod Madera and Jordan Clark, both sidelined by leg injuries. Terry Thomas added 22 points and 8 rebounds. SMU was led by Harry Ezenibe's 23 points and 11 rebounds. Miguel Pink added 18.

Shane Coupland hit 3 deep threes in OT to lead X to a 90-89 victory over the Acadia Axemen in Wolfeville. X and Acadia appear to be the class of the AUS and they demonstrated why tonight. In a classic battle, X and Acadia traded leads all night. Acadia lead by three 20-17 after one and by one at half time. The second half was much the same. Jeremy Dunn missed the second of two free throws with a few ticks left in the fourth which left X up by 2. Justin Boutlier scored on a broken play to tie the game at 72 and send it to OT.

It was was the Shane Coupland show in OT as he scored 9 points to seal the win for X. After Jeremy Dunn scored to put X up by 2 with 50 seconds to play, Coupland hit a three to put the blue and white up 90-85 with 35 seconds to play. Acadia scored the last 4 points, hitting a 2 at the buzzer to reduce the margin to 1.

Terry Thomas led X with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas is making a case right now to be the league MVP. Jeremy Dunn added 20 points while Shane Coupland contributed 18 points (5-6 from three point range). Will Donkoh added 14 points and Tyrell Vernon had 10 assists. Owen Klassen led Acadia with 26 points and 19 rebounds. Anthony Sears added 14 points.

Tournament MVP Terry Thomas had 30 points, 10 rebounds and at least four dunks that brought the home crowd to their feet as the X-Men thumped the visiting CBU Capers 107-78 in the final of the X invitational. X led wire to wire in this one and the outcome was never in doubt as the home team built a 34-13 edge after 1 quarter. Five X-Men were in double figures (Thomas, Jeremy Dunn 16, Ellis Ffrench 13, Marquis Clayton 11 and Shane Coupland 10). Tyrell Vernon dished out 10 assists. Al Alilovic had 23 for the Capers while Julian Smith chipped in 18. It is important to note that CBU played without their best player - James Dorsey - who is nursing an injury.

X dominated every aspect of this contest. They held a 34-26 rebounding edge and forced 16 TOs (vs. 11). X held the Capers to 39% shooting while shooting 53% (59% from 3 point range). Tournament All Stars were Tory Fassett (SMU), Manock Lual (PEI), Julian Smith (CBU) and Jeremy Dunn and Shane Coupland from X.

X opens the regular season at home vs. CBU on Nov 9.

Those of us who have some gray hair will remember the folks in the photo below. While in town for the Redbird classic, X coaches had the opportunity to dine with a number of X basketball standouts from the late 1970s. Pictured from left to right are: former assistant coach Owen Cameron, Henry Blumenfeld, Coach K, Eddie Pomykala, Varouj Gurunlian, Wayne Smith, Doc Ryan and Pat (Superfly) Adrien. Who could forget former X announcer Ed McHugh's call after a Varouj bucket (Vaaaarrrrrrrrooooojjjj Gurunlian!), Pat Adrien's gravity defying dunks, Doc's post moves and those packed houses for SMU and Acadia games? It was a great time to be a blue and white fan (as it continues to be).

Tyrell Vernon (21 points) led the X-Men to a 90-71 victory over the McGill Redmen in the second round of the Redbird classic. X led wire to wire in this contest and held a 42-33 edge at half time. Terry Thomas chipped in with a 16 point 10 rebound double double while Jeremy Dunn contributed 13 points. Rookie Marquis Clayton impressed with 14 points in 14 minutes of play. Rod Madera added 10 points.

Newcomer Tyrell Vernon was almost flawless in leading the X-Men to a 61-52 win vs. Mount St. Vincent in the opening round of the Mickey Place tournament in Charlottetown on Friday. The fourth year player, a three-year starter at McMaster prior to joining the blue and white, led a depleted X squad with 22 points in 38 minutes of action. Vernon, the starting point guard, had 0 turnovers in the contest. In a game Coach K described as ugly, veteran forward Jeremy Dunn chipped in with 16 points.

Game two on Saturday pitted the X-Men against the host Panther squad and the blue and white came away with a 97-88 win. The Panthers are a talented, veteran team returning the majority of their rotation players from last season and are led by first-year coach Tim Kendrick, formerly of Horton High in the Annapolis valley, and high school coach of two X-Men - Jeremy Dunn and Ellis French. Terry Thomas (player of the game) returned for this contest and put on a terrific offensive display. Thomas scored 32 points (on 13-15 shooting), had 7 boards, 6 steals and 5 thunderous dunks. Jeremy Dunn added 15 points and Tyrell Vernon was steady at the helm with 10 points and 7 assists.

X plays Laval today at noon for the championship.

There will be a changing of the guard this season as the 2011-12 X-Men are challenged with replacing six graduating seniors off a team that won 27 games and captured four tournament titles. Those seniors included six of the team’s top eight scorers and four of the top six rebounders.

Leading the way for the X-Men will be fourth year senior Jeremy Dunn (6’5”, 245), a versatile forward who averaged 12.7 ppg and 4.9 rebounds. AUS All-Rookie team member Terry Thomas (6’4”) returns for his sophomore year and is an explosive athlete who averaged 10.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Thomas can play positions two through four.

Returnees at the guard position include juniors Jordan Clarke ((6’2”), who scored at a 4.7 ppg clip last season, 5’10” Ellis Ffrench (2.7 ppg), as well as 6’1” Will Donkoh, an athletic swingman returning after a year’s absence. Donkoh gives the squad a tough physical presence in the backcourt.

Patrolling the paint will be twin towers Riiny Ngot (7’2”) and Rod Madera (6’10”, 255). Ngot is a senior who averaged 3.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game last year, while Madera , a soph, averaged 4.6 and 2.3 boards. Six-five sophomore Shane Coupland, injured most of last year, will add depth to the frontcourt.

The new additions to the Blue and White are highlighted by two outstanding transfer students, 6’1” senior guard Tyrell Vernon, a three year starter at McMaster, and 6’7” Bol Kong, a CCAA All-Canadian at NAIT in Edmonton last season. Bol also played a year at D-1 Gonzaga University. Vernon will lead the X-Men from the point guard position.

Freshman Marquis Clayton, a 5’10” point from Citadel HS in Halifax and Next Level Prep in Ontario, along with 6’6” forward Jacob Simmons from Charlottetown Rural HS and the PEI Provincial Team, will add depth and ensure the future of the program.

Two more additions that have impressed in training camp are 6’3” Kohlin Rasenberg from St. Joseph’s HS in Cornwall, ON, and 5’10” speedy guard Omar Kadray, who has two years CIS experience at Brock University.

Veteran coach Steve Konchalski, the dean of CIS coaches in his 37th year with the X-Men, feels that this team will be a work in progress considering all the new additions as well as some early season injuries to key players Bol Kong (foot surgery) and Riiny Ngot (concussion). However, he feels that as things progress fans can expect a team that will compete for an AUS title in March.