Huskies improve to .500 with road win over X-Men

(ANTIGONISH, N.S.) - The Saint Mary's Huskies improved to 6-6 on the season as they defeated the StFX X-Men 86-75 in AUS basketball action Wednesday night.

Keyed by a 23-14 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter, the visitors earned the victory in front of more than 700 fans at Oland Centre.

Subway player of the game Osman Barrie (Ottawa, Ont.) led the Huskies with a double-double - 22 points and 12 rebounds. He added three assists and one steal, while shooting 11-of-15 from the field.

Sophomore guard Julius Antoine (Woodbridge, Ont.) scored a game-high 33 points to lead the X-Men. He added four rebounds, three steals and one assist in a losing cause.

"We played hard for 40 minutes - guys were diving on the floor, but we need to clean up some mistakes, which cost us tonight," Antoine said after the game.

Second-year forward Cameron Walker (Dallas, TX) notched 19 points and eight rebounds for StFX, while Alastair Cole (Pickering, ON), with 11, also hit double digits for the blue and white.

Sophomore guard Jameel Williamson (Pickering, Ont.) chipped in a game-high 10 assists.

Along with Barrie, four other Huskies scored in double figures, including Marquis Clayton (Halifax, N.S.) and Brian Rouse (Mississauga, Ont.) with 15 points apiece. Ryan Augustine (Toronto, Ont.) added 13 points, while Achuil Lual (Ottawa, Ont.) scored 10.

Lual, with 11 rebounds, joined Barrie with a double-double, while Clayton topped his team with seven assists.

Saint Mary's led 43-40 after a see-saw opening half.

The Huskies won the battle of the boards 41 to 28, while they committed 19 turnovers, compared to 12 by the X-Men.

Saint Mary's (6-6) will to return to action Saturday, Jan. 31, when they face the cross-town rival Dalhousie Tigers (7-5).

The X-Men (4-9) will tip-off next against the Memorial Sea-Hawks (3-9), when they travel to St. John's for a pair of games this weekend (Saturday and Sunday).

Source: StFX Communications