The UNB Saint John Seawolves took on the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus (Dal AC) Rams for their first home game of the regular season this weekend. The game, which was played out at the G. Forbes Elliot Athletics Centre, was the third game for the Wolves, who came off a tough 115-65 loss at the hands of the Holland College Hurricanes the day before.
“For us, we had a tough trip yesterday to Holland College. That was 14 hours on the bus,” said head coach Peter Vincent after Sunday’s game. “Getting off the bus last night wasn’t fun because of how badly things went for us yesterday.”
This game started out strong for the Wolves, as a quick shot to start the game gave them an early 2-0 lead. Peter Delapaz, #4 for the Rams, responded with a shot of his own. An early foul by Seawolves’ player Sam Anstey (St. Andrews, NB) gave the Rams a 4-2 advantage within the span of two minutes.
Both teams exchanged shots and flew back and forth down the floor. Unable to capitalize on many of their shots, the Seawolves allowed the Rams to respond with several baskets of their own.
At the five minute mark, UNB Saint John trailed the Rams 13-9. A couple of three-pointers from Dalhousie’s #8, Neel Amin, brought some excitement into the team and allowed them to continue widening the lead. Vincent called a time-out shortly after, hoping to bring some energy back into his team.
Unfortunately, UNB Saint John found themselves unable to find the target. Shots would not fall, and the first quarter ended with a score of 27-18 for the visitors.
The second quarter started out slowly for both teams, neither of whom could hit a shot. A three-pointer by #3 Keshaun Skeir (Halifax, NS) brought the Seawolves back, but it was quickly counteracted by a three-pointer from Dalhousie.
The Rams kept shooting from behind the arc, and continued to hit a majority of their shots.
Midway through the second quarter, the score was 41-28 for the visiting Rams.
Several fouls were called throughout the second quarter and this helped to give the Wolves some of their momentum back. Dalhousie, who only dressed seven players, began to tone down the defense to try and escape any foul trouble.
The Seawolves were eventually able to slowly climb their way back, paced mainly by Anstey, as he had several close finishes under the basket. Afterward, the Seawolves were within four points from the lead, but a well shot three-pointer from the Rams’ Amin pushed them back.
Both teams exchanged shots back and forth, and the half ended with the Rams holding the lead with a score of 54-46.
A couple of scrappy shots from the Seawolves brought them back within two points to start the second half. However, a couple of quick baskets from Delapaz pushed the Rams back into the lead.
With five minutes left in the third quarter, the Rams held their close lead over the Wolves with a score of 68-58. Both teams continued to exchange shots back and forth, and a big three-pointer from Seawolves’ #13 Steve Ryan (Mount Pearl, NL), brought them back into action. They continued their streak and tied the game up at 75-75 with one minute left in the third. A basket from Anstey gave the Seawolves their first lead since the beginning of the game.
The fourth quarter started out strong for both teams and Anstey was able to continue his hot streak, extending the Seawolves’ lead to 85-80.
The Rams found themselves unable to respond to many of these shots, and the lead widened after a foul on the visiting team. A time-out was called by Dalhousie’s head coach Rick Plato with just under three minutes left, in hopes of rejuvenating his team. Ultimately, he was unable to rouse the troops, and the game ended with a score of 97-88 for the Seawolves.
Amin and Delapaz led both teams with 25 points each, and Anstey contributed 22 points for the Seawolves.
The Seawolves have now improved to 1-2 on the season. With the loss, the Rams have dropped to 0-3.
UNB Saint John will take this weekend off, returning to play on November 25th against the University of King’s College Blue Devils. Tip off is scheduled for 4:00pm in Halifax.
Games can be streamed online at acaatv.ca.
