Fredericton, NB – The St. Thomas University Tommies were crowned Ken Gould Invitational champions following an 80-78 victory over the Mount Allison University Mounties.
The Tommies were led on offence once again by Almin Dervisevic (Ottawa, ON) who scored 23 points for the third straight game in the tournament, while Gayo Isaya (Fredericton, NB) had 18. Igor Radic came off the bench to lead the Mounties with 16, with Sam Pierson chipping in with 15.
The game got underway with some intense defensive pressure from both sides, forcing their way to a 15-15 tie after 10 minutes of play.
The second frame would see the Mounties open up a lead of 27-15 before the Tommies would storm their way back, closing the quarter on a 20-3 run to be up 35-30 at halftime, and by the end of the third quarter their lead would be up to 55-48.
That's when the Mounties would make their move.
"I thought we were pretty good defensively for the first three quarters," said Tommies' head coach, John Hickey, after the victory. "I thought the fourth quarter we lost our focus. When adversity shows we need to focus on what our jobs are. When the game got tight, we focused on things we couldn't control."
The two teams would go punch for punch in the final frame, resulting in three separate ties including 20 seconds left when Pierson would sink a pair of free throws to tie the game at 78. That's when Dervisevic would make his final mark on the game. With 10 seconds left he had a quick give and go with Owen Amos (Miramichi, NB), dribbled to the baseline, took contact from James French before rising and fading away and as he tumbled to the ground the ball bounced off the rim and then the back board before falling in for the eventual game winner.
It won't take long for the Mounties to seek their revenge as these two teams will face each other on October 29th to open the ACAA regular season, with the game scheduled for 8:00pm at the Lady Beaverbrook Gymnasium.
Tournament MVP
Almin Dervisevic – Saint Thomas Tommies
Tournament All-Stars
Almin Dervisevic – Saint Thomas Tommies
Gayo Isaya – Saint Thomas Tommies
Minwoo Park – Mount Allison Mounties
Emmanuel Octavious – Mount Allison Mounties
Ariston Boutsoki – Cegep Sainte Foy Dynamiques
Joel McCrossin – Mount Saint Vincent Mystics