The Concordia Stingers won the 43rd annual Concordia-Nike Men’s Basketball Tournament with an exciting 102-101 overtime victory over the perennial powerhouse St. Francis Xavier X-Men on Saturday night.
Damian Buckley, the Stingers’ all-Canadian point guard, led his team with 21 points, nine assists and four steals. Also figuring prominently were veteran guard Dwayne Buckley with 22 points and eight rebounds, and second-year man Decee Krah with 23 points, including five three-pointers.
The X-Men’s leading scorer was Christian Upshaw with 27 points.
Concordia shot 57.1 per cent from the field, while St. FX shot 52.9 per cent. The X-Men out rebounded the Stingers 39-28.
The Stingers advanced to the championship game with an 81-75 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns. St. Francis Xavier rolled over the Ryerson Rams 101-71 in its opening game.
Damian Buckley was named tournament MVP. Dwayne Buckley and rookie Evens Laroche were all-stars. Rounding out the elite squad were Upshaw, Ryerson’s Boris Bakovic and Lethbridge’s Danhue Lawrence.
