Axemens seventh visit in 10 years

Though there might have been, there was no letdown for the Acadia Axemen after winning the 1971 national title. When the tenth edition of the men's basketball nationals convened in Vancouver in March of 1972, the Axemen, for the seventh time in 10 years, were once again part of the field.

Acadia qualified for nationals following a regular season in which they had lost only once. There had been significant losses, notably the graduated Rick Eaton, but the sustained excellence of Steve Pound and Gary Folker and the addition of a key freshman forward in Joey Wells served the Axemen well.

The 1972 nationals were once again a four-team tournament. Acadia opened against McGill, while host UBC took on Windsor in the other semifinal.

Due to the sheer distance and time differences involved, coverage of the tournament in the Nova Scotia media was scant. The Axemen scored an 84-67 win over McGill, with Steve Pound, for whom every game had the potential to be his last as an Acadia player, leading the way with a 28-point performance.

The victory advanced the Axemen to the final against UBC. The Thunderbirds, the 1970 champs who were playing on their home court, had advanced with a decisive 117-84 win over Windsor.

Acadia gave it their best shot, but could not overcome a rash of fouls and ended up dropping an 87-80 decision. The officials called 43 fouls in the game, 30 of which were whistled against the Axemen.

Had it not been for freshman George Beattie, the final verdict might have been more lopsided. Pressed into service midway through the first half when Jon Beausang was called for his fourth foul, Beattie struck for 14 points to bring Acadia back to within a single point, 48-47 at halftime.

As it turned out, though, it was all for naught. Pound finished off his Axemen career with 29 points, giving him 57 for the tournament. Beattie chipped in 19 and Folker, in his final Acadia game, added 18.

Junior Paul Talbot did a fine job defending UBC's all-Canadian Ron Thorsen, but John Mills finished with 27 for the T-Birds and Stan Caligari added 22.

All in all, it was a disappointing finish to an otherwise successful season for Acadia. And while Pound and Folker would be departing, there was a decent core of players returning for 1972-1973 and beyond.

Contributed by John DeCoste '77. John's book, Living the Dream: The Acadia Axemen at the Nationals can be purchased by contacting John at jadecoste56@gmail.com