Axemen ride huge first quarter to defeat top-seeded X-Men in men's basketball final

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - Six first-quarter three-pointers propelled the Acadia Axemen to an early lead that they would never relinquish en route to an 82-71 victory over the CIS No. 6-ranked StFX X-Men in the final of the 2012 Subway AUS men's basketball championship Sunday afternoon at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Acadia was six-for-eight from beyond the arc in the opening stanza to jump out to a 26-10 lead. The two teams battled back and forth the rest of the way, with StFX unable to recover from the first quarter deficit. Acadia finished 9-for-24 from three-point range while the X-Men were 0-for-15.

StFX opened the final frame with some big baskets in an effort to overcome Acadia's 14-point advantage after three quarters, but Marquis Clayton's basket with 2:37 left to narrow the gap to five was as close as the top-seeded X-Men would get.

Acadia's Owen Klassen, the AUS defensive player of the year, had an impressive 12 fourth-quarter points and finished with 20 on the day.

Tournament MVP Anthony Sears added 14, Jonathan Tull 13 and Anthony Ashe had 11 in the winning effort. Ashe led Acadia with eight rebounds.

Jeremy Dunn had a monster game for the X-Men, finishing with 27 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter, and 10 rebounds. StFX regular season leading scorer Terry Thomas also had a solid game with 19 points.

Dunn and Thomas were named to the tournament all-star team, as were Acadia's Jonathan Tull and Anthony Ashe also made the team. SMU's Brain Rouse was also selected to round out the five-person team.

Both teams advance to the CIS Final 8 men's basketball championship next weekend, being hosted once again at the Halifax Metro Centre.

Tournament MVP: Anthony Sears, Acadia

Tournament all-stars:
Jonathan Tull, Acadia
Jeremy Dunn, StFX
Anthony Ashe, Acadia
Terry Thomas, StFX
Brian Rouse, Saint Mary's