Mystics secure two crucial victories over Tommies 80-68

(Halifax, NS) The Mount Saint Vincent Mystics leapfrogged the St. Thomas Tommies into the first seed heading into the final week of the regular season. They defeated them by an 80-68 margin Sunday evening at the A. Garnet Brown Memorial Gymnasium. 

It was a well-rounded attack for the Mystics as Isaiah Cromwell-Wright (Dartmouth, NS), Ben Kearney (New Waterford, NS) and Chase Tynes (Loon Lake, NS) led the way with 16 points. Nate Titus also chipped in with 14 points and 9 rebounds off the bench for the Mystics. 

The Tommies were led by Jeven Eddy (Ajax, ON) as he finished with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Marcus Wilson (Miramichi, NB) finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Caleb Scholten (Fredericton, NB) chipped in with 12 points off the bench for the visitors. 

As the opening quarter started, both teams came out and hit their first shots of the quarter. Marcus Wilson would backdoor cut to the basket and score over his defender. On the next possession, Isaiah Cromwell-Wright would find his teammate Adam Callaghan (Sydney, NS) as he snuck away from his defender for the reverse finish at the basket. A few possessions later, Chase Tynes would find Ben Kearney in transition for the strong finish over his defender. Kearney would continue to drive strong to the basket as his teammate Callaghan could find him for the pass near the basket to put the Mystics up 8-4. Tynes would continue to be aggressive in the quarter as he would attack the basket on consecutive possessions and finished with strong finished over the defender. On the next possession, Cromwell-Wright would rise up from the top of the key and nail a three point shot to give the Mystics a 15-8 lead. The Tommies would respond late in the quarter when Caleb Scholten, Vincent Lyttleton (Markham, ON) and Ceejay Hanson (Manchester, ENG) would all finish strong at the basket to cut the Mystics' lead to 19-15. With a few seconds left in the quarter, Tynes would attack the Tommies' defence for the driving layup. The Mystics would take a 21-15 lead into the second quarter. 

Callaghan would open up the second quarter with a driving floater to extend their lead.  Hanson would instantly respond for the Tommies off an out of bounds pass. As the defence picked up, baskets became hard to come by. The Mystics looked to their bench as Mekhi Paris (Truro, NS) would knock down a three off the assist from Callaghan to put them up 26-17 four minutes into the second. The Tommies would respond with a transition layup as Hanson would rise over his defender on the next possession. Out of a timeout, the Tommies continued to apply pressure when Jeven Eddy would use his strength to battle through his missed attempt, but he would retrieve the offensive rebound and rise up over the defender for the basket to cut the late to five. Looking for an answer, the Mystics leaned on a familiar face as Cromwell-Wright would go on a quick run of his own, knocking down a three and then driving to the basket on the next possession for a tough layup to stretch the lead to eight. The Tommies would call a timeout as they hoped to regroup and cut into the Mystics lead before the half time break. The Mystics would come out the timeout and convert great defence into great offence as Kearney would strip the Tommies and the steal would lead to a transition layup for Titus. Kearney would continue to be an impact player for the Mystics in the quarter as he would continue to bring an intensity to the game, as he would again connect on a driving layup. As the quarter reached the final seconds, it would be Tynes knocking down a three to give the Mystics 40-25 lead into the break. 

Out of the break, the Tommies would get on the scoreboard first when Evan Valanne (Miramichi, NB) would connect on a corner three. The Mystics would instantly respond by a Tynes layup. As the Tommies attempted to make a comeback, they looked to Lyttleton on the right elbow as he connected from range. The Tommies would continue to press the Mystics, and a turnover would lead to an uncontested dunk by Eddy to cut the lead the host's lead to 10. With the momentum completely shifted to the Tommies, they would force the Mystics to call a timeout when Scholten would drive through the traffic for the basket. Tynes would provide a spark for the Mystics out of the timeout as he crashed the offensive glass to lead to another finish over his defender. It would be a back and forth quarter as Scholten would attack the rim again for another layup, while Cromwell-Wright would finish an acrobatic finish off of a Tynes' assist. A few possessions later, Anthony Lecky (Sydney River, NS) would find Cromwell-Wright as he cut to the basket for another finish to increase their lead to 10. In a quarter with many responses, the Tommies would punch back on their next possession when Lyttleton would knocked down another three to keep the game within striking distance. The Mystics would take their nine point lead into the final quarter as they led 59-50. 

Titus would ignite the Mystics offence early in the quarter with two driving layups and a top of the key three to give the Mystics a 15-point lead. The Tommies would respond as Eddy finished strong over his defender. As the quarter continued, the Mystics called on Titus again, knocking down a three to regain the momentum midway through the quarter to give them an 18-point advantage. With less than 3 minutes remaining, Wilson would respond for the Tommies to lessen the gap to 12 as the Mystics led 76-64. The Mystics continued to lean on Titus late in the quarter as he led the fast break where he assisted on Kearney's layup over his defender. The Mystics would end up closing out the game, winning 80-68. 

The Mystics will return to the court next week when they travel to Sackville to face the Mount Allison Mounties on Saturday, February 28th. Tip off is at 4:00pm.