Final 8 returns to Halifax at the Forum & so do Axemen

The CIAU men's basketball nationals returned to Halifax in 1976 for the first time in 11 years, with the Saint Mary's Huskies hosting the tournament at the venerable Halifax Forum.

With the potential of two AIBC teams in the Final Eight, both Saint Mary's, the defending conference champs, and Acadia entered the season with a sense of optimism. Saint Mary's won the regular season, with Acadia placing second with a 10-3 record.

When it came time for the 1976 conference final to be played, to no-one's surprise, the combatants, for a fourth straight season, were the Axemen and Huskies. Led by 22 points from Erroyl Bing, Saint Mary's scored a 76-70 victory. Sophomore Ray Mapp matched Bing's total to lead the Acadia offense.

When the field for the nationals was finalized, Acadia had again secured a wildcard berth for what would be their tenth appearance at the national tournament.

The Axemen would be led by AIBC scoring champ Alvin Jessamy (22.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game) and 6'7” Ed Shannon (11.5 rebounds per game), both in their first season with Acadia.

The Axemen opened against Waterloo, and for a third straight nationals, ended up on the short end of a heartbreaking defeat, this time by a 62-60 score. Jamie Russell provided the winning margin with a pair of free throws with two seconds left on the clock.

Jessamy led Acadia with 14 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out, and Shannon had a game-high 22 rebounds to go along with 12 points. Steve Johnson chipped in eight points and six rebounds in relief of Jessamy, including scoring off his own rebound to tie the score at 60.

Relegated to the consolation round, Acadia squared off with an old rival, the Windsor Lancers, and won 78-68 in a chippy contest. Ricks led all scorers with 24 points and Jessamy added 13 before again fouling out. Freshman Al Oliver had six points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

In the consolation final against Concordia, Mapp finished with an Acadia career-high 29 points as the Axemen eked out an 80-79 win to finish fifth in the country. Jessamy added 18 points, Shannon 14 and Ricks 12.

Third-year head coach Dick Hunt predicted in a post-game interview that with another good recruiting year, the Axemen could well be on the verge of bringing a third national championship to Acadia.

 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