The UNB Saint John Seawolves men’s basketball team completed their home and home weekend series against the Holland College Hurricanes late Sunday evening at the G. Forbes Athletic Centre.
The game, not even 24 hours after their first meetup of the season, saw the Hurricanes edge the Wolves 106-84.
“It was a lot better than yesterday,” said head coach Peter Vincent after the game. “We got them down to 20 points or so, and it was kind of nice to have some of the things that we tried work for us.”
The beginning of the first quarter saw the Seawolves keep pace with the number one team in the country. Both teams exchanged shots, and it wasn’t until the last couple of minutes that the Hurricanes were able to pull away from their hosts ending with a 3-point shot from Travis Adams (15) and a score of 22-12 for the visiting Hurricanes.
As the second quarter began, neither team took a break from shots resulting in a few fiery points for both teams.
A beautiful 3-point shot from Will Legere (9) brought the Seawolves back to within 11 points midway through the half. Unfortunately, they were unable to capitalize on the excitement, and a few key shots from Roosevelt Whyley (8) brought the score up to 37-20 for the Hurricanes.
After a full timeout from UNB, Matthew Mitchell (11) came out swinging, and dropped a great hook shot from the key. The Hurricanes pushed back however, and the first half ended with a score of 50-27.
During half-time, the Student Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC) paired with the UNB Saint John Seawolves for the inaugural basketball three-quarter court shot for tuition. The event, which corresponded with the annual Think Pink Fundraiser, was one of many special events happening at UNB Saint John this weekend.
The three contestants were unable to make the shot, but the whole weekend was nonetheless a success, as the SAAC and the Seawolves were able to raise $820 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
The third quarter started with excellent shots from Keegan Gray (10), Liam Sipkema (15) and Legere (9) for the Wolves. The Hurricanes responded with three shots of their own and the quarter continued in such fashion, with the Seawolves constantly trailing by about 20 points.
The end of the third saw a foul committed by one of the Hurricanes, which brought K. Gray (10) to the foul line for three shots, all of which he made.
The fourth quarter saw some substitutions from the Seawolves, including their new pick-up over Christmas, first year Liam Bourque (6).
“It feels good to be playing again,” said Bourque, after his second game in the Seawolves jersey. “I haven’t played in a while, so it feels good to be back on the court.”
Bourque (6), who went 50% from the three-point line, had a few other key points about his teams performance.
“We definitely showed more energy in the third and fourth quarters, so we’ve been a lot better that way. I think that if we get it done this weekend, and the weekend after, we should be in a good spot for playoffs.”
Vincent echoed some of these thoughts after the game.
“We won the second half. Winning the second half makes a difference and that part felt good. It would’ve been nice if we had played 40 minutes that way, but we’ll take it. They’re the number one team in the country, so we expected it to be tough. What we were trying to do is position ourselves for next week.”
The fourth quarter continued the same as the third, with the Wolves keeping pace with their opponents. Shots were traded back and forth, but the Wolves were unable to pull ahead and the game ended 106-84.
Burdine (11) led all scorers with 40 points and seven rebounds. He also leads the league in scoring, with 230 points in 11 games played. Teammate Roosevelt Whyley (8) also chipped in with 24 points and five rebounds.
Legere (9) led the Wolves with 19 points and nine rebounds, while teammate Hunter Gray (5) added another 16 points and five rebounds.
The Seawolves next home game will take place Wednesday, February 1 at 8pm. Games can be streamed online at acaatv.ca.
