Tigers begin title defence with 87-48 quarterfinal win over Sea-Hawks

(HALIFAX, N.S.) - The Dalhousie Tigers (3rd seed) opened the 2023 Subway AUS Men's Basketball Championship with a quarterfinal win over the Memorial Sea-Hawks (6th seed). The three-time defending champions started off strong with 44 points in the first half en route to an 87-48 win. 

Subway player of the game Malcolm Christie (Fredericton, N.B.) fired up the hometown Dalhousie crowd with an early slam dunk followed by another layup as the Tigers opened with a six-point run. The second-year guard set the tone early with 12 points in the first quarter and finished the game with 21 points.

With the shot clock winding down, first team all-star Nginyu Ngala (Montreal, Que.) came into the paint from well outside the top of the arch to get a layup, a highlight of a 10-point run by the Tigers to close out the first quarter with a 24-9 lead.

Memorial's first-team all-star Emanuel Ring (St. John's, Nfld.) had six points for the Sea-Hawks in the opening quarter. Ring went on to have six points and six rebounds in the opening half.

Dalhouise's run continued in the second quarter, with 12 unanswered points to start including a three-point shot by Joshua Koulamallah (Gatineu, Que.) as the shot clock buzzer started to blare.

A three-pointer by River Drefers (Auckland, New Zealand) put the Sea-Hawks back on the board to halt the 22-point run. His teammate Nicholas Tuff (St. John's, Nfld.) closed out the scoring in the second half with a three pointer as the Sea-Hawks went to the dressing room behind 18-44.

Memorial struck first in the second half, with a layup from fourth-year forward Boris Ristanovic (Kragujevac, Serbia).

Matthew Smith (Halifax, N.S) had an alley-oop for Dalhousie as the Tigers and Sea-Hawks exchanged baskets in the third quarter. A late six-point run by MUN, including a Ristanovic dunk, ended a quarter where each team scored 18 points.

The Tigers once again took control in the final quarter, highlighted by a Malcolm Christie alley-oop dunk on a pass from Shamar Burrows (Nassau, Bahamas), his team-high fourth assist of the game. 

Memorial's all-rookie team member Jodick Moudiandambu (Hamilton, Ont.) finished the game with six points after being held off the board in the first half. Ristanovic led the Sea-Hawks in scoring with 14 points.

The Tigers take on the UPEI Panthers (2nd seed) in the semifinal Saturday, February 25 at 8:30 p.m. Watch every game of the 2023 Subway AUS Basketball Championships on AUStv.ca.

Source: Jonathan Briggins for Atlantic University Sport