ACAA Powers Collide, MSVU Knocks Off King’s College Behind Luke Reynolds Double-Double
NPH TOP PERFORMERS
MSVU
- Luke Reynolds- 13 points, 17 rebounds
- Ryan Smith- 15 points, 5 rebounds
KINGS
- Eamon Morrisey- 14 points, 4 rebounds
- JD Howlett- 13 points, 11 rebounds
BEDFORD,NS–The Top two teams in the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association squared off for their first meeting of the year at Mount Saint Vincent University with MSVU prevailing 64-55.
Todd Williams of MSVU saw this as a big game as the Mystics see a much improved Kings College team as a primary competitor to challenge them for a seventh consecutive ACAA Conference Championship.
The game opened with a flurry of play as both teams showed good athletism and quickness and an emphasis on making a statement on the defensive end of the floor.
Eamon Morrissey, the ninth-ranked scorer in the country opened the scoring with a long jumper and two possessions later nailed a three to give Kings a 5-0 lead.
The intensity on D continued throughout the first half as the teams exchanged baskets. The Mystics took their first lead halfway through the second quarter 22-20 on a 3 by Todd Williams. Williams also closed the half on a completed and 1 off a sweet dish from center Luke Reynolds to make the half time score 32-26.
The second half started the same way the first half did, and that’s with tough D. However the good D was helped by poor offensive decisions by both teams which I believe that everyone was playing mentally rushed as the players individually tried to match the intensity of the game.
MSVU maintained its lead through the second half despite the improved play of Kings forward Riley Chisholm who had 10 points each of which seemed to come at crucial times. Kings leading scorer JD Howlett (22.3ppg ranks fourth nationally) showed flashes but could not maintain any consistency as him and former high school teammate Luke Reynolds banged it out in the block.
With about six minutes remaining Luke Reynolds stepped out and knocked down a huge three to stop a Blue Devils run and make the score 50-45.
The mystics extended the lead to 10 by being the first team to demonstrate a little consistent team play and ball movement via the pass with Graham Carter on the receiving end with three clutch baseline jumpers. This allowed the Mystics to take the game 64-55 and an 8-0 league record into the Christmas Break.
Williams summed the game up as “it was a very sloppy game where both teams played hard, we played together and we played hard to scrap out a win against a very good and much improved Kings team”.
