Men hang on for victory over X

Men hang on for victory over X

Natasha White, Staff Contributor

You missed a good one if you weren’t in Antigonish last Saturday night. It was seriously enjoyable for Tiger fans to watch coach Campbell’s ballers silence the packed X crowd. Dal’s narrow 59 – 56 victory over St. FX will raise more than a few eyebrows across CIS. Undoubtedly, the X-Men can wave good-bye to their number two national ranking. The victory also has to put Campbell’s crew in the national conversation of ones-to-watch. And here’s the kicker: Dal didn’t even play their best game.

“Relief,” Campbell said of the win. “You can’t expect to win with 29 turn-overs.” Both teams racked up the turn-overs, in fact; X had 23 of their own. The game was frenetic with bodies hitting the floor fighting for the perpetual loose ball. End-to-end action, fast-breaks, presses, slam dunks, you name it — this game had it.

The notoriously rowdy home crowd had nothing to cheer about in the first quarter. The Tigers held the lead from the get-go, doubling up an unproductive St. FX offence 16 – 8 after 10. Tiger big Sandy Veit had a solid first half going three for three from the line and adding six points from the floor.

“It was his break-out game,” teammate Joe Schow said. Schow and Veit led the Tiger offence contributing 13 and 14 points respectively to Dal’s total.

X did come out of their slump in the second quarter, posting a more respectable 14 points. But it was Dal who walked off the court at half-time with a swagger in their step and a 32 – 22 lead. The crowd was stunned. Going into half down 10, scoring a mere 22 points was not a familiar sight for these fans. It was, admittedly, fun for the Black and Gold faithful.

Both Tiger coach Campbell and X-Men coach Steve Konchalski felt the pressure of a low-scoring defensive game. Campbell summed his concerns up best on a Dalhousie time-out:

“Box out. Five guys. Box out,” he yelled. St. FX out-rebounded Dal 16 – 11 on the offensive boards. Konchalski released his tension by way of a technical foul for  expressing his displeasure with the referees.

The second half saw X step up an already tight defence, forcing missed jump shots and repeated cough-ups by a pressured Tiger offence. An X come-back was in the making as numerable Dal turn-overs led to more than one uncontested fast-break slam dunk. The home crowd livened amidst the steady fourth quarter climb. Dal would be outscored 15 to nine in the final 10 minutes.

In the end, three points were all that separated two battle-scarred teams. Without point guard Christian Upshaw, a healthy scratch, X just didn’t have enough to push past a gritty effort put up by the Tigers.

Dal’s huge four-point road victory puts them second in AUS standings with 10 points — three wins, zero loses. Cape Breton University sits first, playing six games already with no losses, garnering 16 points as of Nov. 22.

To get to the top and stay at the top of the AUS heap this season will take an appreciation for more than just weekly standings. Every possession, every loose ball, every defensive stop is critical. The team who wants it the most, the team that finds its chemistry and executes game in game out, quarter by quarter, will represent come Nationals.