St. John's, NL – The Memorial Sea-Hawks downed the visiting UNB Reds 99-97 on Friday night in a high-scoring, crowd pleasing spectacle.
The Reds won the jump ball and also gained the first point of the game off a free throw by #15 Norm Burry. The Sea-Hawks gained the next two baskets by #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet and #0 Ivan Tsafack to gain the lead. The Reds quickly came back and before halfway through the first quarter, were up 10-6. The Sea-Hawks then managed to gain 3 straight baskets to gain the lead off a layup by #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet. Both teams held strong defence and not many baskets were made in the next few minutes. The Sea-Hawks held the lead but the Reds narrowed it. UNB's #7 Vegas Evans gained a late 3 and 1 to pull his team ahead 19-18.
UNB's #2 Eden Otshudi opened the scoring in the second quarter with a 2 to lengthen his team's lead. Sea-Hawks #13 Emmanuel Ring gained a 3 with a quick 5 points from a 3-pointer and a dunk by #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet. The Sea-Hawks gained an 8-point lead with immense help from Boardman-Raffet which forced the Reds into a timeout after an out-of-bounds call. Immediately after the time-out, the Reds held strong defense and forced a travel call to the Sea-Hawks. Halfway through the second quarter, Sea-Hawks #8 Cameron Stanford netted a 3 to up his team's lead, followed by 2 and 1 by #4 Jodick Moudiandambu. Memorial continued to add to their lead throughout the quarter keeping the Reds pinned away. At 44-33 for the Sea-Hawks, the Reds called a timeout. Reds #1 Marcus Barnes reacted to the timeout with a layup but the Sea-Hawks then responded with a hype dunk by #12 Josh Francis to keep momentum. The Reds found some consistency and took control of the scoring, cutting the Sea-Hawks lead to 7. A late 3 by Reds #15 Norm Burry cut the lead even further to 49-45.
At half, point leaders were Sea-Hawks #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet with 12 and Reds #15 Norm Burry with 11.
The Reds opened the points in the second half with a layup by #24 Javordo Mitchell. #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet got the first second-half points for his side. Boardman-Raffet gained another quick 3 baskets off an impressive steal after his first layup. Some quick fouls on each side slowed the game and caused frustration from both sides. Throughout the fouls, Memorial was able to keep the lead, and heading into halfway through the third, they led 64-57 after a dunk by #14 Nicholas Tuff. Boardman-Raffet continued to dominate the game's offense. The Reds continued to fight to narrow their opponent's lead relying on #1 Marcus Barnes who took control of his team's offense. The third quarter ended in a 76-73 lead for Memorial with the Reds close behind.
The fourth quarter was opened by a dunk from Reds #3 Brandon Laryea who then immediately got a technical. Reds #24 Javordo Mitchell responded with a dunk of his own to tie the game at 77 a piece. #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet netted two foul throws to regain the lead but the Reds counteracted with two successful foul throws of their own. The teams stayed near on the scoreboard creating an intense atmosphere. Memorial called a timeout with just under 5 minutes left while ahead 91-88 in hopes of stretching their lead and tighten their defense. The Reds call a timeout with just under 3 minutes left in the game as they were down 94-91.
Sea-Hawks #7 Jason Thompson beat down the score clock and netted an awkwardly angles shot while the Reds were quick to get one back. Both teams accumulated 5 fouls in the last minute. With the score 96-95 for the Sea-Hawks, in a scramble, the Reds attempted multiple shots but could not net one. They gained possession for a throw in and called a timeout to ensure a plan. With 14 seconds left, #3 Brandon Laryea netted a jump shot that forced Memorial into a panicked timeout. With 3 seconds left, Sea-Hawks #14 Nicholas Tuff nets a crowd raising 3 pointer. The Reds called a last-resort timeout to try and take the game but were unsuccessful and the Sea-Hawks take the game 99-97.
Game point leaders were Sea-Hawks #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet who netted an impressive 30 points. Behind him was teammate #13 Emmanuel Ring with 24. For the Reds, #15 Norm Burry led with 21 points followed by #2 Eden Otshudi with 19.
The Sea-Hawks and Reds return to action tomorrow here at the fieldhouse at 8:00 pm NST. The game can be watched online at https://austv.ca/ .