Badgers repel Axemen 74-59 in RBC Brock Men's Basketball Classic

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - The Brock University men's basketball team beat the Acadia Axemen 74-59 Friday night at the Bob Davis Gymnasium in both team's opening game of the 2011 RBC Brock Men's Basketball Classic.

Brock jumped out to 27-8 lead after one quarter thanks to a 12-point contribution from junior guard Didi Mukendi (St. Catharines, Ont.), and six three-point shot completions from the team.

Acadia displayed a strong inside presence in the second quarter and, with 12 points from sophomore forward Lauchlan Gale (Ottawa, Ont.), they outscored Brock 22-11 and narrowed the lead to 38-30 at the half.

The visitors from Wolfville, NS, outscored Brock 6-2 to start the third quarter, but Badgers freshman guard Jay Fast (St. Catharines, Ont.) hit two-straight three pointers to end the Acadia run while sparking his teammates and re-energizing the packed gymnasium. Badgers senior forward Mark Gibson (Toronto, Ont.) scored the last nine third-quarter points for Brock as they took a 12-point lead they never relinquished in their 74-59 victory.

Gibson finished with a double-double night after grabbing 10 rebounds and netting a game-high 20 points. The 6-foot-6 big man also swatted three blocks. Mukendi was 3-for-4 from downtown and ended up with 19 points. Senior guard Andrew Kraus (Markham, Ont.) scored five points and dished out seven assists.

Acadia was led by Gale with 16 points and seven rebounds. Niagara Falls native Justin Boutilier registered 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Anthony Ashe (Stittsville, Ont.) added 10 points.

Brock was 10-for-25 (40%) from the three-point line and 26-for-63 (41.3%) from the field. Acadia went 3-for-9 (33.3%) from the three-point line and were 21-for-55 (38.2%) overall. Acadia had a 33-31 edge in the rebound department.

The Badgers will play the Saskatchewan Huskies (1-0) on Saturday at 4 p.m. during the second day of action in the 2011 RBC Brock Men's Basketball Classic at the Bob Davis Gymnasium.