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X-Men rout Cape Breton to end regular season

The X-Men made a statement with a big 85-57 win over Cape Breton University (new name). Those of us who grew up in Antigonish watching X basketball in the late 1970s felt a strong sense of deja vu at the Oland Centre last night.  Instead of Acadia or St Mary's, the opponent was the Cape Breton Capers but the atmosphere was exactly the same.  The house was packed 20 minutes before tip off.  People stood in the door ways because seats were scarce (the crowd was estimated to be about 1600).  The football team (instead of the Zoo Crew) arrived as a group and immediately started to harass the opposition with some creative props and cheers.  As well, X's terrific cheerleading squad added a dimension we did not have back in the day.  In a word the atmosphere was electric.

It was senior night and the seniors led the way in this contest.  Jon Bell got the festivities started by dropping two three-pointers and a lay up to help get X off to a 10-0 lead.  Neil MacDonald set the defensive tone with 3 huge blocks in the first 15 minutes of the half.  The Capers crept to within 5 points of the X-Men on several occasions in the half, but X hit a couple of big shot at the end of the half to take a 40-30 lead to the locker room. 

In the second half, the X-Men were in complete control.  Much of the offensive damage was done by senior Alex Stephen, who scored in bunches on a number of impressive inside moves.  The Capers were able to get within 9, but no closer and X pulled away in the final minutes. 

Jon Bell played one of his finest games in an X uniform.  He played great D and led the team in scoring with 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting (3 of 5 three pointers).  Alex Stephen, who's played great in the latter stages of the season added 15 points.  Zach Russell contributed 13 points.  Seniors Mark MacKenzie and John Bustin got probably the biggest crowd reaction of the night starting with a nifty 3 quarter-court pass from MacKenzie leading to a layin.  Next, Bustin coolly drained a 3 pointer.  Finally, MacKenzie made a steal and a full-court dash for his own bucket. 

All and all, a great night of basketball at the Oland Centre.  With the win, X goes to 18-2 on the regular season, the second best record in Coach K's tenure.  X plays next on Friday March 11th at 6PM in the AUS semi-finals an the Metro Centre. 

                                   Box Score (Final)
                          2004-05 AUS Men's Basketball
                    UCCB Capers vs StFX X-Men (Mar 05, 2005)

VISITORS: UCCB Capers
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 Corey Hargrove...... *  5 14   0  1   2  2   1  2  3   2  12  0  5  0  4  29
23 Anthony Breland..... *  3  6   1  1   0  0   0  3  3   3   7  3  5  0  1  28
24 Eric Breland........ *  5 18   0  3   4  6   3  3  6   1  14  0  1  0  1  32
34 Paul Blake.......... *  0  8   0  3   0  0   0  1  1   2   0  0  1  0  0  29
35 Will Fagan.......... *  1  3   0  0   5  6   5  7 12   4   7  0  3  0  0  30
03 Jarrett Timmons.....    2  2   0  0   1  2   2  1  3   2   5  1  1  0  0  18
10 Liam Shaw...........    0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
13 Kyle Hickey.........    0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   2
33 Kenneth MacQueen....    2  3   1  2   0  0   0  3  3   1   5  0  2  0  0  11
42 Kerwin Liverpool....    2  3   1  1   2  2   2  3  5   0   7  0  3  0  1  16
50 John Sylliboy.......    0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   1   0  0  1  0  0   1
52 Jamie Williams......    0  1   0  0   0  0   0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
TM TEAM................                                             1
   Totals..............   20 58   3 11  14 18  13 24 37  17  57  4 23  0  7 200

TOTAL FG%:  .345   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%:  .273   REBOUNDS
F Throw %:  .778      5,3

HOME TEAM: StFX X-Men
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 Alex Stephen........ *  7 11   0  0   1  2   0  1  1   1  15  1  0  0  1  27
11 Zach Russell........ *  5  9   3  5   0  0   1  5  6   2  13  3  4  0  2  31
15 Neil MacDonald...... *  2  6   0  0   4  4   2  5  7   4   8  2  6  3  0  36
20 Jonathan Bell....... *  8 12   3  5   5  6   0  0  0   3  24  2  1  0  2  26
32 Garry Gallimore..... *  4 10   0  2   0  0   1  4  5   1   8  2  2  0  2  29
05 Mark MacKenzie......    1  1   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   2  1  0  0  1   1
21 Michael Baxter......    1  2   1  2   1  2   4  2  6   1   4  2  0  0  0  15
22 John Bustin.........    2  4   1  2   0  1   0  1  1   0   5  0  0  0  0   5
23 Tyler Richards......    1  7   0  2   2  2   0  0  0   2   4  1  1  1  1  16
30 Edwin Reynolds......    0  1   0  0   0  0   0  3  3   1   0  0  0  0  0  12
55 Devin Bennett.......    0  0   0  0   2  2   0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   1
TM TEAM................
   Totals..............   31 63   8 18  15 19   8 21 29  15  85 14 14  4  9 199

TOTAL FG%:  .492   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%:  .444   REBOUNDS
F Throw %:  .789      1,3

Date: Mar 05, 2005  Site: Antigonish, NS  (Oland Gym)  Attendance: 0
Officials:
Technical fouls: UCCB Capers-None. StFX X-Men-None.
Score by Periods      1  2   Total
UCCB Capers......... 30 27  - 57
StFX X-Men.......... 40 45  - 85
Imported from MAR05SFX.BXP
Game ID: MAR05SFX