Veinot, Mower and James return to Nationals with Axemen

Even with the return of Kevin Veinot, the 1989-1990 Acadia Axemen were a relatively young team that would nonetheless enjoy one of Acadia men's basketball's more remarkable seasons.

Buoyed up after Christmas by the return, after a brief absence, of point guard Eric James, as well as the return (for a fifth season) of guard Skeeter Mower who had last played in 1986, the Axemen, with Veinot and Ted Byrne playing leading roles, finished the regular season in third place at 13-7.

In the conference playoffs, Acadia first held the explosive UPEI Panthers, in search of their third straight conference title and fourth in five years, to just 62 points in a 68-62 semifinal win. Byrne continued what had been a breakout season, leading the offense with 27 points, and Veinot added 15.

In the final, Acadia took on the regular-season champion (and CIAU #4 seed) St. F.X. X-men, and won by a 72-62 score to claim their first conference title since 1985. Both Acadia wins were termed upsets, but most agreed the Axemen had been a different team since re-adding James and Mower at Christmas.

At nationals, no one gave Acadia much hope against Alberta in the quarterfinals, but the Axemen had been operating on heart all season, and when the smoke had cleared, they had advanced to the semifinals with a 79-76 overtime victory.

Veinot, for whom every game might be his last in an Acadia uniform, finished with 22 points. Danny Eveleigh added 16, Byrne 15 and Mower 12.

The win advanced the Axemen to a semifinal meeting with the Concordia Stingers, a team that appeared on a collision course with its own destiny after a 78-71 quarterfinal win over St. F.X.

The game was played in treacherous conditions, with condensation from the ice surface underneath the floor resulting in a slick playing surface that proved challenging for both teams.

Plagued by foul trouble from the opening tip-off, Acadia trailed 48-32 at halftime, but with one more valiant effort in a season that had been full of them, stormed back to take a 72-71 lead on a Danny Steele jump shot with 3:32 to play.

With 2:10 on the clock, Veinot fouled out, having scored 30 points in his final game for Acadia. Without their leader, the Axemen finally ran out of magic, and Concordia held on for a 78-75 victory.

The Stingers would go on to fulfill their dream, defeating Guelph 80-62 in the final the following day.