The No. 1-seeded Concordia Stingers suffered a heart-breaking first round lost to the Saint Mary’s Huskies at the CIS national championship in Halifax this afternoon.
The eighth-seeded Huskies scrapped their way to a 63-62 victory.
While Saint Mary’s was pesky and determined throughout the match, the Stingers had trouble shaking off the jitters.
“They played great,” said veteran Stinger Patrick Perrotte. “It seemed like they wanted the ball more than us.”
Concordia had trouble establishing any sort of rhythm. The Stingers missed many opportunities particularly from the free-throw line where they went six for 13.
“We didn’t play as well as we could,” said Concordia head coach John Dore. “This game is about tempo and Saint Mary’s controlled the tempo. They took us out of the game.”
Concordia shot 41 per cent from the field and 46.2 from the line. While Saint Mary’s field goal average was 38. 3. They were 68.8 per cent from the line.
Stinger leading scorers were Dwayne and Damian Buckley with 11 points each. Veteran forward Patrick Perrotte had 10 points.
Concordia will play in the consolation semifinal tomorrow morning at 11:30 Atlantic time.
