Mounties men’s and women’s basketball go down to the wire in wins over MSVU Mystics
On Sunday afternoon, the men’s and women’s basketball teams were in action in their season openers against the Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics. Both teams won their games, with scores of 84-81 for the men’s and 72-67 for the women’s.
Michael Otoo scored the first points of the season for the men on a pull up jumper early in the first. The Mounties showed good pace and ball movement, taking an early eight-point lead after the first quarter. Good interior defense and timely three-point shooting helped the Mounties build their lead. The second quarter was played pretty evenly, with both teams going on runs with the Mounties maintaining their eight-point lead heading into the half. The Mystics started the second half out strong, cutting the lead to five early in the third quarter. The Mounties responded with a deep three by Sam Prowse, helping them regain their eight-point lead. The lead hovered around eight points for most of the quarter until the Mystics were able to score a few unanswered baskets cutting the lead to four at the end of the third.
Early in the fourth, the Mystics took their first lead, but it was short-lived as Sam Prowse continued to make clutch shots hitting a three-pointer to return the lead to the Mounties. Late in the third, three-pointers by Bradley Fuller and Prowse extended the lead to nine with two minutes left, and the Mounties never relinquished it again. Good free-throw shooting at the end of the game sealed the victory 84-81.
The Mounties were led by Prowse with 25 points and seven rebounds. Bradley Fuller had 19 points and two steals, along with Brad Sanford contributing 16 points. Off the bench, Jeshua Becker brought a lot of energy replacing Alex Chisholm, who had unfortunate foul trouble all game.
The women’s basketball Mounties spread the offense around, with everyone contributing in their win over the Mystics. The game came down to the last minute with good poise by all players on the field and clutch free throws helping the women clinch the victory. The game was very back-and-forth, with both teams having leads as large as 11 at certain points in the game. The Mounties relied on a strong second half after being down 32-27 at halftime, outscoring the Mystics 45-35 in the second half. The Mounties were led by Maddyson MacDonald, who scored 14 points, Kiersten Mangold, with 13 points and four rebounds, and Lauren Chitty, with 14 points off the bench.
The next games for the men and women are Sunday, Nov. 4 in the Mt. A athletic centre.
