Mounties Win First Home Matchup with Blue Devils

The Mount Allison Mounties, 2-7 entering this contest, took on the UKC Blue Devils (0-8) on Sunday, January 14, in a matchup between the 6th and 7th seeds in the ACAA Conference. This affair will be one of many the Mounties will need to take advantage of to prepare for the upcoming 2024 CCAA National Basketball Championships, to be held at Mount Allison University from March 13-16.

A red-hot 10-2 run, driven by the tenacious defence of Edmond Surur and Gayo Isaya, would start this contest off well for the home side. While Surur orchestrated much of the offence through set plays, the Mounties had no concerns running offensive fast breaks through any of their core five players, including the 6'10 Tim Ellison.

Within 60 seconds of checking into the game, Keith Rowen drained a momentous 3-pointer, bringing McCormack Gymnasium to their feet and forcing UKC to call an early timeout, down 18-8 with 3:35 to go in the first quarter. Soon after that, Gaya Isaya, the newly recruited guard from Fredericton, NB, hit a wide-open three of his own, creating an 11-point lead for the Mounties. Isaya remained a highlight of this affair, engaging in a constant back-and-forth battle with Tariq Armstrong of the Blue Devils.

The end of the first quarter saw a Blue Devils surge, bringing the game to within 4 points. Only a grouping of questionable shots from the visitors prevented a completed comeback early on.

Armstrong and Rowen exchanged eye-opening, brilliant one-handed finishes at the rim to start the second quarter. The atmosphere in the McCormack Gymnasium, filled with accentuated applauses, chants and chatter in the stands, showed what might be best described as a Nationals preview.

Rookie Ryan Norris of the Mounties, embodying the team-first mentality undoubtedly perpetuated by Coach Steve Chapman, himself possessing a seemingly stoic state of mind on the

sideline, took two hard fouls to allow the Mounties to go up big with free points from the line. However, the score remained tight at 30-29, nearing the halfway mark of this game.

The UKC Coach encouraged the open three throughout, instead of the contested drive into the lane, which benefited his squad greatly and reversed the opening 8-point deficit into a 3-point lead. However, a Munroe block and a Chapman timeout may have been precisely what the Mounties needed to counter the Blue Devils' surge.

Down 38-36 with 2:15 to go in the half, Norris sent Isaya on a fast break, taking the left lane and slamming home a dunk to bring the Mounties and their supporters to their feet. Armstrong, though, having logged heavy minutes already in this one, took away any hope of a Mounties' late-half run with a fast break conversion of his own.

With the third quarter underway, Munroe wasted no time getting the Mounties going with back-to-back field goals, closely followed by another Isaya slam dunk; each of these two Mounties stars has been electric throughout. And just in time for a Mounties 9-2 opening-quarter run, Ellison drove for the "and-1," hitting his free throw and catching fire with a clean three from the arch.

Showing up big for his team, Rashawn Ferguson swatted away a Blue Devils attempt from mid-range, receiving a swarm of cheers from his bench as the rejection forced UKC to take a timeout. Armstrong, on the other hand, arguably UKC's most dynamic offensive threat of this Sunday afternoon contest, continued to impress with his one-handed signature layups. Isaya took note of this potential momentum building for the opposition, intercepting a UKC pass and transitioning into the fast break opportunity. These two have been the storyline today.

Despite UKC and Mount A's low rankings in the ACAA standings, this 3-point margin, at 60-57 in favour of the Mounties, demonstrates the high competition levels each team has maintained throughout the season. The Mounties will need to rise to the occasion and up their intensity come March. They seemed to waste no time in doing so today.

To start the final quarter, Rowen drained a pace-setting 3-pointer, followed by another from Munroe, giving the Mounties a 7-point advantage with less than 10 minutes remaining. On a team where Ellison has largely dominated headlines, everyone has had to contribute today. This showcase has exemplified a "next-man-up" mentality for the Mounties, and no player has risen to the challenge more so than Munroe.

The star guard from Moncton, NB, and a former Team New Brunswick athlete at Canada Games, continued his breakout game, sinking another 3-pointer and capitalizing on 1⁄2 free throws on an ensuing drive. The Mounties lead 74-59 with just under 6:30 remaining. The Blue Devils had no response late.

A late UKC collapse seemingly put this match out of reach for the Halifax team. A late 20-point deficit proved to be insurmountable for the Blue Devils.

The final: 87-72 for Mount A.

The Mounties next take on UNB on January 20 in Saint John at 8:00pm and will host the Saint Thomas Tommies seven days later on the 27th at home.

Recap courtesy of Ben Broadbent