Badgers repel Axemen 74-59 in RBC Brock Men's Basketball Classic

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's basketball team beat the Acadia Axemen 74-59 Friday night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium in both team's opening game of the 2011 RBC Brock Men's Basketball Classic.

Brock jumped out to 27-8 lead after one quarter thanks to a 12-point contribution from junior guard Didi Mukendi (St. Catharines, Ont.), and six three-point shot completions from the team.

Acadia displayed a strong inside presence in the second quarter and, with 12 points from sophomore forward Lauchlan Gale (Ottawa, Ont.), they outscored Brock 22-11 and narrowed the lead to 38-30 at the half.

The visitors from Wolfville, NS, outscored Brock 6-2 to start the third quarter, but Badgers freshman guard Jay Fast (St. Catharines, Ont.) hit two-straight three pointers to end the Acadia run while sparking his teammates and re-energizing the packed gymnasium. Badgers senior forward Mark Gibson (Toronto, Ont.) scored the last nine third-quarter points for Brock as they took a 12-point lead they never relinquished in their 74-59 victory.

Gibson finished with a double-double night after grabbing 10 rebounds and netting a game-high 20 points. The 6-foot-6 big man also swatted three blocks. Mukendi was 3-for-4 from downtown and ended up with 19 points. Senior guard Andrew Kraus (Markham, Ont.) scored five points and dished out seven assists.

Acadia was led by Gale with 16 points and seven rebounds. Niagara Falls native Justin Boutilier registered 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Anthony Ashe (Stittsville, Ont.) added 10 points.

Brock was 10-for-25 (40%) from the three-point line and 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the field. Acadia went 3-for-9 (33.3%) from the three-point line and were 21-for-55 (38.2%) overall. Acadia had a 33-31 edge in the rebound department.

The Badgers will play the Saskatchewan Huskies (1-0) on Saturday at 4 p.m. during the second day of action in the 2011 RBC Brock Men's Basketball Classic at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.
 

Day One Recap

Final score: Saskatchewan 86 Laurentian 61

Saskatchewan leading scorers:

Chris Unsworth 14 points, 10 rebounds

Nolan Brudehl 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals

Duncan Jones 13 points

Patrick Burns 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals

Andrew Henry 10 points, 5 rebounds

Laurentian leading scorers:

Alex Ratte 17 points

Georges Serresse 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals

Isiah Pasquale 9 points.

Game MVPs: Saskatchewan - Unsworth; Laurentian - Serresse

Summary: Laurentian led 24-22 after first quarter, and game went back and forth at start of second. Then, Huskies started sinking three-point shots (five of them in second quarter) and took 44-38 lead forcing Laurentian timeout with 1:42 left. Sask went on 7-0 run to end quarter, took 51-38 lead, and never looked back. In third they dominated inside paint with Brudehl and Unsworth to extend lead to 24 points. Status quo in forth in 25 point win for Huskies.

Final score: Brock 74 Acadia 59

Brock leading scorers:

Mark Gibson 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks

Didi Mukendi 19 points

Andrew Kraus 5 points, 7 assists.

Acadia leading scorers:

Lauchlan Gale 16 points, 7 rebounds

Justin Boutilier 14 points, 11 rebounds

Anthony Ashe 10 points

Game MVPs: Brock - Gibson; Acadia - Boutilier

Summary: Brock jumped out to 27-8 lead after one quarter with six three-point completions in quarter (Didi Mukendi 12 points). Acadia showed inside presence in second and narrowed lead to 38-30 at half. Acadia outscored Brock 6-2 to start third quarter but Jay Fast hit two straight three pointers and Gibson scored the last nine points for Brock as they led 56-44 after three. Brock extended lead at start of fourth and rolled to a 74-59 win.