Quebec City, QC – Sometimes you have nights where it all either works for you or doesn’t work for your opponent and in their 68-51 win the Dalhousie Tigers somehow managed to have both on Friday.
The AUS Champions made their return to the U SPORTS Men’s Final 8 as the fifth seed after finishing in fifth in 2022 in Edmonton. Coincidentally a team they beat in that tournament, the Brock Badgers was the team that matched up against them in the last quarterfinal at Laval.
The Badgers entered the week in the #4 seed as OUA Finalists after being on the other end of the Cole Syllas buzzer-beater a week ago. On the surface this seemed like an even matchup, but even the best laid plans can go for not, and by the time Brock finally got things back on track it was just too late.
The first half for the Badgers was simply something from nightmares. 12.5% from the fieild in the first quarter and 27.3% in the second quarter but a combined 0/11 from three-point range. All told the Badgers had just 13 points at halftime.
Things were different on the otherside of the court though. Thanks to a strong start from Malcolm Christie who picked up 12 of his team-high 26 points in the first half, Dalhousie built a 27 point lead at halftime 40-13.
Things started to shift in the third quarter, although they never really felt close what was a 25 point lead became a 20 point lead and then briefly a 15 point lead as the Tigers seemed to let up the gas.
When you’re up by that much I think it’s just human nature tendency to let up a little bit,” Tigers coach Rick Plato said. “Brock’s a good team, they play with a lot of pride they didn’t give up their athletics as hell, and they can get to the basket and they chipped away and chipped away.”
“At the national tournament you’re not gonna hold a team to 13 points in a half and expect to do the same thing in the second half”
The Badgers never really threatened but Plato still stood by the Dalhousie bench bellowing instructions to fix every mistake, if not for in-game then for the semifinal aganst the Laval Rouge et Or.
Despite the raucous crowd for Laval clearly befuddling the Victoria Vikes in the quarterfinal, Plato isn’t concerned.
“It’s all about getting to the medals,” Plato said. “It’s gonna be a blast tomorrow night because we got laval and this is place is gonna be jam packed.”
For the Tigers, playing AUS Championships in a packed Scotiabank Centre has them used to the noise that a full crowd brings, the only thing that’ll take getting used to is the booing.
“Our conference championships in Halifax there’s about 7500 people so we’re used to playing in front of big crowds but usually they’re for us,” Plato said.
“Now we’re the bad guys, but hey it’s gonna be a blast”