CAPERS RALLY TO KNOCK OFF HAWKS

HALIFAX (CIS) - The seventh-seeded Cape Breton Capers outscored the No. 10 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks 33-20 in the second half en route to a 62-53 win in the opening game of the 2006 Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's basketball Final 10 at the Metro Centre in Halifax.

Championship web site: http://www.cisport.ca/e/championships/m_basketball/2006

Win the victory, the Capers advance to Friday's quarter-final round where they will face the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (3 p.m. Atlantic Time). Cape Breton, looking for its first W.P. McGee Trophy, is making its first appearance at the nationals since reaching the semi-finals back in 1995.

Laurier, participating at the CIS tournament for the first time since 1978, is winless at the nationals since 1969. The Hawks will play for ninth place on Friday morning.

The final score doesn't reflect how close the contest really was, as the Capers ended the game on a 13-3 run in the final five minutes to run away with the win.

Trailing 33-29 at the half after shooting a dismal 34.6 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, the Atlantic conference finalists turned it up a notch in the second frame hitting on 45.8 percent of their attempts.

Third-year forward Eric Breland of Cooksville, Md., led the comeback with 10 second-half points to finish with a team-high 12 points.

Fourth-year centre Jarrett Timmons (11 points) of Lower Sackville, N.S., and guards Corey Hargrove (10) of Baltimore and Paul Blake (10) of Toronto also reached double digits in scoring for the winning side. Blake added eight rebounds.

\"We did this all year,\" commented Breland, who earned player-of-the-game honours for the Capers. \"We're more of a second-half team. I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but we have the ability to turn it on when we need to.\"

Fourth-year post Bert Riviere of Brampton, Ont. led all players in the game with 15 points in only 19 minutes of play, and was named player of the match for Laurier. 6-foot-7, fifth-year post Andrew MacKay added nine points for the Hawks, all on three-point shooting in the first half, but was only 3-for-14 from the floor on the night, including 3-for-10 from long distance.

Cape Breton held Laurier to 25.9 percent shooting (7-for-27) in the final 20 minutes, including 1-for-10 from three-point range. For the game, the Hawks were 5-for-23 from beyond the arc.

\"I'm half disappointed,\" said Laurier head coach Peter Campbell. \"We played like a 10th-seed, which is what we were. But I don't think we played as well as we're capable of.\"

Cape Breton jumped to a quick 6-0 lead as Laurier failed to score on its first five possessions, but saw the Hawks come back with a 19-8 run that made it 19-14 for the OUA West finalists at the midway point of the first period.

Laurier opened its biggest lead of the frame with 5:30 to go when MacKay hit his third three-pointer of the night to make it 31-25.

Back from the break, the Capers finally regained the advantage, 36-35, at the 3:34 mark. The lead went back and forth for the next 10 minutes and Cape Breton was trailing 50-49 when a Breland jumper and a three-pointer by Tywann McKoy of Baltimore sent the seventh seeds ahead for good, at 55-50.

STAT LEADERS

No. 7 Cape Breton 29-33:62
No. 10 Wilfrid Laurier 33-20:53

Cape Breton
Points - Eric Breland (12), Jarrett Timmons (11)
Rebounds - Eric Breland (4), Ryan Keliher (4)
Assists - Ryan Keliher (2), Corey Hargrove (2)
Minutes - Paul Blake (39)

Player of the game: Eric Breland

Wilfrid Laurier
Points - Bert Riviere (15), Andrew MacKay (11)
Rebounds - Andrew MacKay (6), Omar Miles (6)
Assists - Omar Miles (4)
Minutes - Omar Miles (34)

Player of the game: Bert Riviere

SEEDING, SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times LOCAL / Atlantic Time)

1. Victoria Vikes
2. UBC Thunderbirds
3. Carleton Ravens
4. StFX X-Men
5. McMaster Marauders
6. UQAM Citadins
7. Cape Breton Capers
8. York Lions
9. Saskatchewan Huskies
10. Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks

Thursday, March 16
Game #1: Cape Breton 62, Wilfrid Laurier 53
20:00 Game #2: Saskatchewan (9) vs. York (8)

Friday, March 17
11:00 Consolation (9th place): Wilfrid Laurier (10) vs. Loser Game #2
13:00 Quarter-final #1: UQAM (6) vs. Carleton (3)
15:00 Quarter-final #2: Cape Breton (7) vs. UBC (2)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: McMaster (5) vs. StFX (4)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: Winner Game #2 vs. Victoria (1) (Live on The Score)

Saturday, March 18
11:30 Consolation #1
13:30 Consolation #2
18:30 Semi-final #1 (Live on The Score)
21:00 Semi-final #2 (Live on The Score)

Sunday, March 19
13:00 Consolation final (5th place)
16:00 Championship final (Live on The Score)

- CIS -

(Source: Michel Belanger, CIS Communications Manager.)