Fredericton, NB – The Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics completed their magical run in the playoffs by defeating the St. Thomas University Tommies in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association's final on Sunday afternoon. The Mystics won by a score of 69-67.
The Mystics had to come through adversity in the playoffs to reach the final. They won their play-in game, then went on to win the next three games on the road, including the final.
"Just a lot of gratitude; this season had a lot of adversity and for us to take the toughest road to get to the final and stay together I think says a lot about our character," Mystics coach, Danny De Palma, said after his team's victory.
The St. Thomas crowd was treated to an electrifying final. The two teams left everything on the floor and the energy was high from the first minute.
The Tommies controlled the first half of the match. The Tommies' main scorers in the first half were Geoffrey Lavoie (Ottawa, ON) and Gayo Isaya (Fredericton, NB), who had 8 and 11 points, respectively. Lavoie finished the game with 13 points and Isaya 15 points. STU led at the end of the half by 33-28.
In the second half, MSVU came to life. Their main contributors were Will Spaulding (Halifax, NS) and Mo Abukar (Halifax, NS). Spaulding finished the game with a double-double, which comprised of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Abukar was the main scorer in the second half as he finished with 17 points, eight of which came in the 4th quarter. They were both able to knock down their free-throws, which proved to be the decider, as they went 11 of 12 combined.
The game was on a knife-edge at the end when Vincent Lyttleton (Markham, ON) hit a clutch, three-point shot to tie the game at 67-67. Abukar then dished an assist to Dawson Berze-Butts (Sydney Mines, NS), who made a layup and gave the Mystics the lead. STU went down the other end and almost sent the game to overtime but the shot hit the rim and bounced out as time expired, confirming the victory for MSVU.
"It took us a while to match their intensity but once we did I thought our seniors really stepped up and our point-guard, Will Spaulding, really carried us with the control," De Palma said.
St Thomas coach, John Hickey, was very proud of his team and encouraged them to keep their heads held high and said that they will all learn from this experience. "We're proud of our guys, they battled hard and they care so much so it is hard to feel this way," Hickey said.
Hickey also spoke highly of the MSVU team. He said, "Mount Saint Vincent played well, they've been rolling right now and they worked hard and they will represent the ACAA very well."
The Mystics will head to Humber College in Toronto, ON for the CCAA Men's Basketball Championships where they will be joined by the Capilano Blues, VIU Mariners, PUC Pilots, the SAIT Trojans, another OCAA member and the winner of the RSEQ.
Recap: Brandon Salick