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X-Men grind out win over VReds

The X-Men pushed their regular season record to 13-1 with a 68-55 win over the UNB Varsity Reds at the Oland Centre last night.  As has been the case with all home games this year, the home crowd was large and vocal, led by the St FX cheerleaders (who's routines seem to be getting better every game) and a large contingent of Coach Bloomfield's football X-Men. 

X got off to a hot start and sprinted out to a 9 - 3 lead.  The VReds proceeded to go on a 22 - 3 run to take a 25-12 lead, fueled by several 3s by the UNB's perimeter players.  During this stretch, X had some difficulty executing its offence and was held to a single shot on most possessions.  As time wound down in the half, the X-Men chipped away at the lead and were down by 5 with a few ticks left on the clock.  As time expired, Gary Gallimore raced the length of the court and made an emphatic dunk that brought the crowd to its feet and cut UNB's lead to 3 points.

Gallimore's bucket seemed to shift the momentum in X' favor in the second half.  X took the lead early in the half and never relinquished it.  UNB continued to battle, but were eventually worn down by the deeper X team. 

Jon Bell was the offensive leader for X. Bell went 4 for 6 from 3 point range and finished with 20 points.  Bell also brought the crowd to its feet on several occasions with steals and lightning fast slashes to the basket.  Neil MacDonald contributed 15 points, mainly from the interior, even though he was battered all night by the Reds.  MacDonald's biggest contribution on this night was on the defensive end.  He corralled 9 rebounds, altered shots and blocked a minimum of 5 UNB attempts (even though the game scorer only credited him with 2).  Mike Baxter, who started the game was very solid with 14 points and 6 boards. Zach Russell, playing on a bad leg, contributed a game-high 6 assists. Crowd favorite Mark MacKenzie made the most of his 2 minutes of PT with a bucket, a offensive rebound and an assist.  Doug Thompson led UNB with 24 points and Tom Spink added 14. 

For the game, the X-Men shot 41% (well below their season average) and held the Reds to 31%.  A big story for the Varsity Reds in this game was foul shooting.  For the game, they shot only 48% (11 for 23).  Top scorers Thompson and Spink went a combined 4 for 13.

The X-Men have a tough week ahead.  On Wednesday the 16th, they travel to UCCB to play a Caper team hungry for a W over X after 3 losses this season.  Next Saturday the 19th, the team travels to Fredericton to finish up the season series with UNB.  Both games are 8PM starts.

                               Box Score (Final)
                          2004-05 AUS Men's Basketball
                 UNB Varsity Reds vs StFX X-Men (Feb 12, 2005)

VISITORS: UNB Varsity Reds
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player                 FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 Ben MacLeod......... *  0  1   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  13
32 Dan Goggin.......... *  0  8   0  6   3  4   0  2  2   1   3  2  3  0  1  35
34 Doug Thompson....... *  9 17   4  8   2  6   2  5  7   3  24  0  4  0  0  34
35 Tom Spink........... *  4 12   4  6   2  7   1  6  7   3  14  2  1  0  0  35
44 Adam Parent......... *  4  6   0  0   0  0   3  1  4   5   8  0  1  2  0  18
11 Dylan Lisson........    0  2   0  0   2  2   0  6  6   3   2  0  1  0  1  19
12 Thor Jensen.........    0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   0
22 Oliver Glencross....    0  3   0  1   2  2   0  2  2   2   2  3  2  0  2  24
23 Colin Swift.........    0  1   0  1   0  1   0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   0
30 Kris Gibbons........    0  1   0  1   0  0   0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   0
42 Joel Little.........    0  0   0  0   0  0   1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   0
43 Nathan Bokma........    1  4   0  0   0  1   3  3  6   5   2  1  1  0  0  19
TM TEAM................
   Totals..............   18 55   8 23  11 23  10 25 35  22  55  8 13  2  4 197

TOTAL FG%:  .327   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%:  .348   REBOUNDS
F Throw %:  .478      7,4

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
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 Zach Russell........ *  1  8   0  6   3  5   2  2  4   2   5  6  2  0  1  34
15 Neil MacDonald...... *  5 12   0  1   5  6   3  6  9   2  15  1  3  2  2  31
20 Jonathan Bell....... *  8 14   4  6   0  2   0  3  3   4  20  1  1  0  1  35
21 Michael Baxter...... *  4  6   0  0   6  7   3  3  6   4  14  1  1  0  2  26
32 Garry Gallimore..... *  2  6   0  2   4  6   0  2  2   4   8  2  0  0  1  32
05 Mark MacKenzie......    1  1   0  0   0  0   1  0  1   1   2  1  1  0  0   2
10 Alex Stephen........    0  1   0  0   0  0   1  3  4   1   0  0  2  0  0  11
22 John Bustin.........    0  2   0  1   0  0   0  3  3   2   0  1  0  0  0  16
30 Edwin Reynolds......    2  6   0  0   0  0   0  6  6   2   4  0  1  0  0  15
TM TEAM................
   Totals..............   23 56   4 16  18 26  10 28 38  22  68 13 11  2  7 202

TOTAL FG%:  .411   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG%:  .250   REBOUNDS
F Throw %:  .692      3,3

Date: Feb 12, 2005  Site: Antigonish, NS  (Oland Gym)  Attendance: 0
Officials:
Technical fouls: UNB Varsity Reds-None. StFX X-Men-Jonathan Bell, Neil
MacDonald.
Score by Periods      1  2   Total
UNB Varsity Reds.... 33 22  - 55
StFX X-Men.......... 30 38  - 68
Imported from FEB12SFX.BXP
Game ID: FEB12SFX