Dal third in AUS Men’s Basketball rankings

By Dylan Matthias, Staff Contributor

The Dalhousie Tigers may have beaten the Acadia Axemen last Friday by a score of 78-59, but they’ll need to put a more solid game together to compete with top teams such as Cape Breton and St. Francis Xavier in the coming weeks. The Tigers open 2010 ranked ninth in national standings behind the X-men (third) and Capers (fifth). Dalhousie rode a strong first quarter from guard Simon Farine and capitalized on a weak Acadia offence late in the game for a win that looked easier than it was.
“That’s been as issue for us all year,” said Tigers coach John Campbell of his team’s inconsistent performance throughout the game. “We focus on the idea that we’re going to play every possession as well as we can. If we focus on the moment, then that’s how we have our most success.”
Campbell’s team led 20-16 after the first quarter, largely thanks to Farine, who had 17 first half points, mainly in the first quarter.
“We shot the ball a little bit better than we had shot the ball over the past week,” said Campbell.
Farine hit about 75 per cent of his shots, and the team hovered around 50 per cent most of the game. Acadia kept things close through the first half, going into half-time trailing 39-29.
A forgettable third quarter from the Tigers gave Acadia some hope; within five minutes, the Tigers had taken 10 fouls. Farine had to be withdrawn after a string of three fouls in just over a minute that saw him risk fouling out. The Axemen took advantage of the withdrawal of Dalhousie’s top player and had their best quarter, notching 19 points. They could have had more but for a lacklustre performance on free throws. They scored only 58 per cent in the second half.
Campbell put Farine back in for the final 10 minutes. Still, Acadia had opportunities to narrow the 55-48 Tigers lead. The Axemen didn’t really play with any urgency until the last few minutes, however, and were frustrated by the Tigers, who played three guards in the fourth quarter. Axemen forward Owen Klassen had to be withdrawn with four fouls. By the time Acadia did start a rally, the Tigers had pulled ahead 61-48. Farine re-emerged in the last two minutes, scoring five points late to secure Dalhousie’s win.
“Defensively, we had some breakdowns,” said Campbell of the third quarter.
The team has been dealing with key losses this year, including Josh Beattie and Germain Bendegue. Although Mari Peoples-Wong was acquired to replace some of the Beattie and Bendengue’s scoring, he is currently out of the line-up with a separated shoulder.
“We try and get the people who are playing to execute,” said Campbell. “We try to play to their strengths. We have some people who are ready to step up. William Yengue is a great example.”
Yengue, a first-year arts student from Nkongsamba, Cameroon had a solid game, playing 29 minutes and scoring 13 points. This is an encouraging sign from a rookie who hasn’t seen a lot of court time this season. The Tigers also got a decent performance from Cole Taylor, who has stepped in to fill the void left by Peoples-Wong.
“We’re in the mix,” said Campbell. Our goal is to get back into the playoffs and be playing our best basketball at playoff time. If we do that, we have a chance to repeat.”
The Tigers currently sit four points out of first place in the AUS, although they have played more games than fifth-place St. Mary’s and the leaders, Cape Breton and St. Francis Xavier, whom they face this weekend at home.