CIS No. 9 Axemen improve to 15-4 with win against Dalhousie

(WOLFVILLE, N.S.) - The Acadia Axemen basketball team celebrated the end of an era with the recognition of four graduating Axemen who played their last game at the Acadia War Memorial Gymnasium.

Two-time all-Canadian Owen Klassen along with Anthony Sears, Anthony Ashe and Lauchlan Gale were honoured before an appreciative crowd who made it priority to attend an odd Thursday night game.

For head coach Steve Baur, it's the end of his first big recruiting class of 2009. Klassen and Sears were both named to the AUS all-rookie team in their first year at Acadia while Anthony Ashe brought leadership from the Carleton Ravens in his transfer to Acadia three years ago.

On this special Seniors' Night, the Axemen posted a lopsided 99-55 win over the visiting Dalhousie Tigers. Anthony Ashe, who was named Subway Player of the Game, grabbed the headlines with a perfect 7-for-7 from the distant arc and a game-high 23 points in less than 20 minutes of play.

Rookie Gianmarco Luciani's 18-point performance was his highest scoring game of the season. Luciani was 4-for-6 from the three-point line and perfect from the charity stripe.

Kyle Arsenault and Shaquille Smith each added 14 points while senior graduating forward Owen Klassen, who saw just over 20 minutes on the court, added 12 points and nine rebounds. Smith had a team-high 11 rebounds that included 10 defensive boards.

Acadia held onto a lead for the entire game and pushed from a 25-19 opening quarter lead to a 48-30 halftime advantage. A lopsided third quarter pushed the lead to an insurmountable 83-45 Acadia lead. The fourth quarter saw an assortment of new faces as both teams unloaded the bench.

The Tigers' John Traboulsi grabbed the honours as Dalhousie's Subway Player of the Game. Traboulsi had a team-high 13 points and added four rebounds in the losing effort.

The Tigers will miss the postseason for the first time since their championship win in 2011 and fall to last place with a 5-14 record. The Axemen improve to 15-4 and could better their record of 15-5 from last season as they travel to Halifax this Saturday to play their last regular season game against Dalhousie.