St. John's, NL - The Memorial Sea-Hawks defeated the UNB Reds 82-72 On January 20th 2024, at the Fieldhouse.
The Reds won the jump ball but were unable to net a basket off their initial play. The first basket of the game came as a 3 from Sea-Hawks #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet. The first basket for the Reds came as a layup from #1 Marcus Barnes. The teams looked even early in the game with a strong push coming from both sides. Both teams were playing risky, shooting many unsuccessful throws. Heading into the last 5 minutes of the first quarter, the Reds gained a 4 point lead that was quickly extended. 6 minutes into the game, the Reds led 16-7 forcing the Sea-Hawks into a timeout as they have been unable to gain a point in the two minutes prior. The Reds held their strong defensive zone and denied the Sea-Hawks immediate play. The struggling Sea-Hawks began to catch up, cutting the Reds lead to 5 at 18-13. In the last minute of play, Reds #4 Norm Burry dunked it to extend his team's lead. The first quarter ended in a 22-17 lead for the Reds.
Memorial continued to struggle offensively and were unsuccessful in their shots until a long pass by #14 Nicholas Tuff allowed #9 Josh Reimer to net the first basket of the quarter followed by a basket by #24 Jodick Moudiandambu. Both teams were gaining frustration as offense was lacking from both sides. Three minutes in, the Sea-Hawks called a timeout as they began to cut the lead at 28-24 for the visiting team. Both teams began to strengthen their offense and were netting the majority of their shots to quickly increase the score. With 5 minutes to half, the Sea-Hawks cut the lead to 2 once again. Memorial gained their 5th foul of the quarter with a little over 4 minutes left to allow the Reds to extend their lead. They quickly reacted and tied the game at 36 a piece off a jump shot from #24 Jodick Moudiandambu. Go ahead points for Memorial were two successful free throws by #12 Josh Francis. UNB called a timeout after the shift of pace hoping to reverse it. The teams began to trade the lead running an amusing game. Sea-Hawks #7 Jason Thompson ended the scoring in the first half, crawling his team ahead by 1.
At half the score was 42-41 for the home team. Point leader was Reds #15 Norm Burry who netted 14 points. Behind him was teammate #7 Vegas Evans with 9. Four Memorial players were tied on their side with 7 each, #9, #11, #14, and #24.
First basket of the second half was a successful free throw from Reds #24 Javordo Mitchell to tie the game at 42 a piece. The teams continued to trade the lead as each were fighting hard to add to their score. The Reds began to crawl ahead and push frustration upon the Sea-Hawks. This frustration led to a few unsuccessful shot attempts until #9 Josh Reimer netted a 3 to help give his team some voice. A Reds dunk was denied by Sea-Hawks #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet which allowed Reds #3 Brandon Laryea to gain 1 of 2 free throws to regain a 2-point lead that was quickly diminished by the denier with a basket of his own. Heat was growing between the teams as the score remained near. Neither team could find the basket for two minutes until Reds #7 Vegas Evans sunk a 3. The teams displayed a disagreement that resulted in some fouls to each side, putting 5 fouls to each team for this quarter with 2 minutes left. Sea-Hawks #12 Josh Francis hit a buzzer-beater layup to advance his team to a 3 point lead.
The first baskets of the final quarter came from 2 successful foul shots taken by Reds #15 Norm Burry. Sea-Hawks #13 Emmanuel Ring gained a 2 and 1 to put his team up by 4. Reds #2 Eden Otshudi netted two more successful free throws, blocking out the roaring crowd. Memorial kept up a small lead throughout the first half of the last quarter. #13 Emmanuel Ring from the hometown team gained another 2 and 1 to push the Reds into a timeout as they were beginning to fall behind, falling by 5. The Sea-Hawks found consistency and continued to ramp up their lead. Key Sea-Hawks player #14 Nicholas Tuff gained his fifth foul of the game and headed to the bench with hopes his team could continue their run. A dunk by Sea-Hawks #12 Josh Francis gave Memorial a 10 point lead with 3 minutes remaining. With 2 minutes remaining, the Reds desperately called a timeout as they fell down by 9 points. A late game push from the Sea-Hawks allowed them to take the game 82-72.
Game point leader was Reds #15 Norm Burry who left the court with 22 points. Behind him was teammate #7 Vegas Evans. One the Sea-Hawks side, they took the win with points from many players. #11 Flynn Boardman-Raffet and #12 Josh Francis led the team with 14 points each.
The Sea-Hawks return to action on January 26th on the road where they will face the Dalhousie Tigers at 8:00 pm AST. The Reds take on the Cape Breton Capers on Sunday January 28th at 1:00 pm AST. Both games can be watched online at https://austv.ca/ .