Halifax, NS (CIAU) – Sunday’s Championship Final of the CIAU Men’s Final Eight was another classic, as the St. Francis Xavier X-Men dueled with the Brandon Bobcats. In an overtime thriller, StFX outlasted the Bobcats 83-76, to win it’s second straight National Championship. StFX started strong, led by All Canadian Fred Perry. Perry’s back to back 3-point field goals gave the Atlantic champs an early 9-4 lead. However, by the midway point of the opening 20 minutes, the Bobcats had rallied to tie the game 16-16. But X showed why they’ve only lost once so far this season to CIAU competition, taking over the game with their trademark fine shooting, entering the locker room up 45-34. In the half, the X-Men shot 64.5% overall, compared to 44.8% by Brandon. Perry led the way with 14 points. Brandon All Canadian Earnest Bell hit a long range bomb to bring the ‘Cats to within 6, but when StFX’s All Canadian Randy Nohr hit a “3” and lay-up on consecutive possessions to restore the 11 point advantage, it looked like the dagger was edging close to Brandon’s heart.

However, the team known for it’s offensive runs strung together eight consecutive points, to close to within three, 56-53, with 10:27 to play in the game. With eight minutes left, Perry picked up his fourth personal foul, and was forced to the bench, with the X-Men leading 61-59. Bell’s two free throws tied the score 61-61 with 6:35 on the clock. The X-Men led 64-63 with 4:20 to go, when Perry was whistled for his fifth foul. 1:29 remained, when Nohr fouled Tyrone Smith attempting a 3-pointer and X up 68-67. Following a time-out, Smith calmly drained all three foul shots to give the Bobcats a 70-68 advantage. Brandon had a chance to win it, with the score tied 72-72, but Bell couldn’t connect.