Both Memorial University Sea-Hawks basketball teams wrap up the first half of their 2017-18 Atlantic University Sport season this weekend with a pair of games each against the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.
The AUS enters its exam/Christmas break after weekend play. Both Sea-Hawks’ teams resume their season Jan. 6-7.
The women’s squad carry a 4-2 record into the weekend series, while the men’s team is coming off its first win of the season last Sunday, an 80-76 decision over St. Francis Xavier.
The Lady Birds swept the X-Women last weekend at the Field House, their second straight sweep of games after losing their season-opening series at Acadia.
The Varsity Reds are also 4-2, and are tied with the Sea-Hawks for third place in the standings.
UNB has lost two of its last three games after coming off a four-game win streak.
MUN’s Sydney Stewart is off to a great start to the season, averaging 17.8 points, good for second place in the AUS scoring race. Teammate Brooklyn Wright is 12th in conference scoring with 12.7 per per game.
Grace Wade is UNB’s top point-getter, averaging 11.6 points, good for 14th place in the conference.
While the women are in the thick of it within the AUS, Memorial’s men’s team is struggling at a 1-5 clip, which spells bad news given the Sea-Hawks are slated to play a 6-0 Varsity Reds team today and Sunday at UNB.
The Varsity Reds are the highest-scoring team in the AUS, while Memorial has the second-fewest points; UNB is second in total rebounds and MUN is last.
Somehow, the Sea-Hawks must find a way to shut down UNB star Javon Masters of Kitchener, Ont., who leads the AUS with a nifty 27.7 points per game average.
Daniel Gordon, who finally came off the bench last weekend to start, is Memorial’s top scorer with 17.3 points per game, good enough for eighth spot in the conference. Nathan Barker of Massey Drive on the province’s west coast is averaging 16.8 points, good for 10th in the AUS.
