Mounties Drop ACAA Semi-Final to Tommies
The Mount Allison Mounties men's basketball team were in action Saturday afternoon at Holland College for ACAA semi-final action against the #1 seeded St. Thomas Tommies.
The Tommies would get off to a hot start thanks to a familiar face to Mount Allison fans as former Mountie Noah McCarthy had 7 points in the opening frame. Gayo Isaya led the way early for the Mounties with 4 in the opening quarter and St. Thomas would take a 19-13 lead into the second.
From there, the Mountie offense would explode for 30 points in the second quarter thanks in large part to Jonas Munroe and Ryan Norris who combined for 22 points on 8/10 shooting and 6/7 from three in the quarter. Evan Valanne would add 5 points for the Tommies, but it would be the underdog Mounties taking a 43-32 lead into the halftime break.
St. Thomas would not go away quietly however as they put up a strong offensive third quarter led by Rees Hasson and Evan Valanne who had 8 points each. Gayo Isaya helped to keep the Mounties afloat with 6 points in the quarter, but the onslaught from the Tommies would be enough to help them regain the lead, heading to the fourth ahead by a score of 58-56.
What ensued was a classic fourth quarter with both teams trading clutch buckets down the stretch. Tim Ellison led the way for the Mounties with 10 points on 5/6 shooting in the fourth, and Noah McCarthy had 11 for the Tommies in the final frame. Vincent Lyttleton would be the hero for St. Thomas as his 3-pointer with 23 seconds left on the clock would end up being the game-winner, as the Tommies would hang on for an 81-80 victory. Jonas Munroe led all scorers with 25 for Mount Allison, and Noah McCarthy led the way for St. Thomas with 21.
St. Thomas would go on to lose in the ACAA Championship game Sunday to Mount Saint Vincent, while the Mounties now shift their focus to the CCAA Men's Basketball national championship being hosted in Sackville from March 13th-16th.
Recap courtesy of Mounties Athletics