Sea-Hawks get X-ed out again

The Memorial Sea-Hawks played much better Monday, but the final result was never in doubt as the St. Francis Xavier X-Men beat the home side 78-57 for a sweep of their two-game Atlantic universities men's basketball series at the Field House.

The result means the the X-Men, who won 97-67 Sunday, remain unbeaten (7-0) in AUS conference play, while MUN fell to 1-7.

Monday's game was similar to Sunday's.

Memorial went four minutes without a basket while St. Francis went on a 9-0 run late in the second quarter to take control and carry a seven-point lead (38-31) into the second half. While the host team was able to hang around for the first half, the X-Men, as they did in the series opener, pulled away in the third quarter and coasted over the final 10 minutes.

"We usually try to pounce on teams in the third quarter, get a gap and end it from there," said Corner Brook native Chad Warren, who scored nine points for St. FX both Sunday and Monday.

"We play deep. We play a lot of guys. So we use a lot of full court pressure to create turnovers and usually wear the opposition down."

The undefeated X-Men, the third-ranked team in the country, take on the Cape Breton Capers (6-1) late next month in what will likely be a conference first-place showdown.

"That will be interesting," said Warren. "That will probably decide the top of the standings."

The six-foot-five third-year forward out of Corner Brook Regional high said he thought about going to MUN before deciding to go to St. FX.

"Staying home and playing at Memorial University was definitely an option," said Warren. "But when I really broke it all down, St. Francis seemed like the best fit for me. I love it there."

MUN coach Peter Benoite credited his team with an improved effort Monday.

"Our defence was better, but we just didn't score today," he said. "We had stretches where we just couldn't put he ball in the basket. So that makes it tough if you play that way.

"They (the X-Men) are third in the country for a reason," noted Benoite. "They've got a lot a weapons and you really can't leave anyone open. They are big inside. They are a tough team for anyone to match-up with."

MUN got off to a rousing start when Mark Woodland opened the scoring with a three-pointer and the home team only trailed St. FX by a single point after the first quarter, but it was pretty much down hill for the Sea-Hawks after that.

Robbie Habib netted 16 points for Memorial and Steve Earles scored 12, despite early foul trouble.

jbrowne@thetelegram.com