Fredericton, NB- The St. Thomas University men's basketball team fell to Mount Saint Vincent Mystics in an 80-87 defeat Saturday. The team made an exhausting comeback in the fourth quarter to bring it to a three-point game but they could not close the gap completely. The Tommies remain 3rd in the ACAA but are now tied with MSVU, both with 9-5 records.
The first half for the Tommies was slow. Head coach, John Hickey said, "we just didn't have the consistent desperation it requires to win a basketball game."
The first half ended with a 50-30 lead to MSVU. The Tommies found 32 pts in the 4th quarter to distinguish the gap, but it was not enough.
The leading scorer for the Tommies was Joel Harris with 15 pts and 8 rebounds, followed by Geoff Lavoie with 14 pts, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, then Ted Braden with 13 pts. Hickey said that not one of his players stood out today, they were "very similar right across the board, most did not have the energy".
"We managed to find some energy and we crawled it back", says Hickey, but it was not enough to win the game. "We have a game at home tomorrow that we need to win, it's going to come from going out with that aggression and that desperation and not leaving it till the 4th quarter to win by 20 pts".
Top scorers for the Mystics were Brody Blakney with 16 points and 6 rebounds and Tario Sands with 14 pts and 7 rebounds. Redford Ingram also had 14 points. They shot 46.4% from the field and 75% from the free throw line.
The Tommies meet the University of Kings College tomorrow at 2pm.