Alberta handles St. FX for the Right to Challenge for the National Championship

NPH Top Performers

Alberta

• Daniel Ferguson – 31 points, 6 rebounds, 40 minutes
• Jordan Baker – 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 37 minutes
• Sahr Saffa – 18 points, 31 minutes

St. FX

• Terry Thomas – 22 points, 10 rebounds, 36 minutes
• Jeremy Dunn – 21 points, 5 rebounds, 30 minutes
• Bol Kong – 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 29 minuts

Halifax, NS–Despite the vibrant home crowd, the Alberta Golden Bears defeated the St. FX X-Men 91-83, with hot shooting from Daniel Ferguson, Jordan Baker and Sahr Saffa.

St. FX came out with a fast start and fed off the intensity of the home crowd fans which packed the metro centre, nearly 6’000 strong. Bol Kong and Terry Thomas got the show started for the X-Men inspiring  an 8-2 run over Alberta in the first few minutes.

Daniel Ferguson had seen enough and started doing what he does best, knocking down ridiculous three point shots from NBA range.  By the end of the first quarter, Ferguson had racked up three long bombs and the Golden Bears had taken the lead back from the X-Men.

Alberta continued their hot shooting in the beginning of the second quarter.  Jordan Baker and Ferguson both connected from three, extending their lead to nine.

The X-Men would not give up that easy, and used the crowd to rally back into the game. With a team attack, St. FX went on an 11-2 run and had tied the game up at 28.

In the run, Terry Thomas showed his skills and was able to throw down a jaw dropping dunk to the delight of the Metro Centre.  The X-Men would continue their strong play and would take the lead for a brief moment.

The Golden Bears closed out the half with the lead thanks to Sahr Saffa, who connected on two three pointers in the final minutes of the half to give them a 43-38 lead going into halftime.

At halftime, the Golden Bears were operating with extreme offensive efficiency.  Daniel Ferguson had 16 points, along with Baker and Saffa chipping in 11 and 10 points respectively.

Ferguson would not be contained as he continued to shoot from all over the court; he would add nine points in the third quarter.  Alberta managed to keep St. FX from building any steam and led 64-57 with one quarter to play.

In the final quarter of play, the big players stepped up and made some big shots. Jeremy Dunn opened the quarter with a timely three pointer to cut the Alberta lead to four.  Each time the X-Men would get closer to getting the deficit within a possession, the Golden Bears would answer.  Sahr Saffa hit a big three pointer midway through the quarter which gave Alberta an eight point lead.

Saffa talked about his solid shooting “Defenses focused so much on Daniel and Jordan and getting to our post,  and I just happen to be that outside shooter who caught fire on a hot day I guess.”

In the final minutes of the game, Dunn and Thomas fouled out.  The X-Men would not quit, and continued to battle until the clock wound down, but Alberta had an answer for every shot made.

With the victory, Alberta will face Carleton for the National Championship, as they try to de-throne the defending champion.  St. FX will face Fraser Valley in the bronze medal game.

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