The Tommies basketball teams had a strong showing at home Sunday afternoon.
The St. Thomas University women’s squad downed the University of Kings College Blue Devils 72-59 before the Tommies men beat UKC 84-62 on Nov. 27 at Lady Beaverbrook Gym.
With the win, the STU women improved to 3-2 on the season, and they’re now tied with the Mount Allison University Mounties (3-2) for third place in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association.
Sunday’s victory was the second of the year for the Tommies men (2-4), and it put STU in a three-way tie with UKC and the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves for fifth place in the ACAA.
Tommies men dominate Blue Devils
The Tommies enjoyed an eight-point run to get on the board in the first couple minutes before ending the frame with a five-point lead.
Sam Drummond widened that lead by an extra point on a freethrow early in the second before the Blue Devils began chipping away.
Not to be outdone, Brendan Balcom made a three-point jump shot to tie it up two minutes in before Jeremy Speller answered with two foul shots and Dylan Gallant got a three-pointer to restore STU’s cushion.
Although UKC kept it close for the rest of the half, the Tommies didn’t look back from their offensive onslaught and headed into halftime with a 41-30 advantage.
The Tommies continued to distance themselves from the Blue Devils during the third and fourth quarters.
Despite STU remaining in the driver’s seat, UKC began trying to push the Tommies off the road in the fourth quarter, but the game was already well out of the Blue Devils’ reach.
Gallant led the Tommies with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Mitch Claybourn added 16 points, while Travis Valanne chipped in with 13.
STU women hold off UKC in barn burner
The Tommies held the Blue Devils to a 16-11 lead after a hard-fought first quarter, and the second proved to be even tighter.
After a back-and-forth second stanza, STU pulled to within a point at halftime after Carissa McTague made a layup right before the buzzer at the 20-minute mark.
Isabella Kellerman made a jump shot for the Blue Devils early in the third to put UKC in control, but the Tommies answered in almost no time and pulled ahead almost two minutes in.
The Blue Devils stayed within shouting distance of the Tommies from there, and the lead shifted from one side to another until UKC forward Christina Brown knotted it at 46 points apiece at the third buzzer.
The Blue Devils’ refusal to give the Tommies anything easy continued in quarter four.
Much like the previous frame, the final one frequently went one way then another before the Tommies gained some wiggle room in the last six minutes and put the contest out of sight for UKC.
McTague and Sara Banks each had 13 points for STU, while Jessica Patenaude chipped in with 12 points and Becca MacNeil netted 11 points for the Tommies.
Christina Brown paced UKC with 11 points, while Candace Reynolds and Madison Bennett notched 10 points apiece.
Mallory Thomas recorded nine points and five rebounds from the UKC bench.
The Tommies host the Crandall University Chargers Friday, Dec. 2, with the women tipping off at 6 p.m. and the men playing at 8 p.m.
STU then faces UNBSJ on Sunday, with the women beginning at 2 p.m. and the men starting at 4 p.m.
