Axemen stay in playoff hunt with 101-88 win over Capers

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Axemen moved one step closer to securing a playoff spot with a 101-88 win over the eighth-place Capers Friday night.

Acadia came out the gate hard, with three back-to back three pointers within the first three minutes of play.

Subway Player of the Game Kyle Arsenault (Fredericton, N.B.) contributed 10 of Acadia's 29 points in the first quarter. Arsenault led his team with 27 total game points.

Fouls by Acadia in the last minutes of the opening period gave Cape Breton an opportunity to catch up, and three successful free throws from Jack MacAulay (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) brought the score to a 29-23 Caper lead to end the first quarter.

Acadia's lead faltered in the second period. Back-to-back jump shots from Kyle Hankins (Burlington, Ont.) helped Cape Breton overtake the Axemen and push into a 48-43 lead going into the second half of the game.

Acadia redeemed themselves in the third period. A dunk from senior center Erik Nissen (Quispamsis, N.B.) halfway into the third quarter allowed Acadia to take back their lead and regain momentum.

Kyle Hankins fired back with a dunk of his own to bring the score to 60-59 Capers, but it was not enough to overcome the Axemen's strong 60% shooting. Nissen added nine points to the score in the third frame and Kyle Arsenault added another 10, shooting 5-5 from the floor, extending Acadia's lead to 61-75 to end the third quarter.

The Axemen maintained a 20-point lead the majority of the fourth quarter, with Nick de Palma (Bedford, N.S.) taking the lead, contributing 10 of the 18 points.

Caper Jack MacAulay led charge with 22 points off of the bench, while teammates Kenny Jean-Louis and Kyle Hankins added 21 and 20 points respectively.

Arseneault's 27 points were matched by Nick De Palma's 23 and Erik Nissen's 20. Trevon Grant (Nassau, Bahamas) had only eight points but posted a team high nine rebounds in 22 minutes of play.

The Capers battled back, but Acadia was quick to the rebounds and continued to drive the ball up the court, handing Cape Breton their 15^th straight loss.

Axemen head coach Kevin Duffie was pleased with the team's second half. "I think our effort on the defensive end was the key to the third quarter. Full credit to Cape Breton in the first half, they ran good stuff and got great shots and made a lot of them." 

The Axemen improve to 7-7 and remain ahead of UPEI by eight points in the AUS standings for the last of six playoff positions. Acadia takes on the Capers again Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in Wolfville.

Source: Laura Jeha, Acadia Athletics Communications Office