Basketball Capers to hit the road to face Huskies

The Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers basketball teams will be on the road this weekend in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) action.

They will travel to Halifax for back-to-back match-ups with the Saint Mary's Huskies on Friday, Jan. 19 and Saturday, Jan. 20.

Tip-off for the women's and men's games are 6 and 8 p.m., respectively, on both nights, at The Tower on the Saint Mary's campus in the south end of the provincial capital.

"We have to try and limit their scoring and take away open shots. They are a very dynamic team and have tremendous shooters and scorers," Caper women's head coach Fabian McKenzie said, when asked about keys to success against the defending conference champions.

He added, "We have to slow them down and force them to take tough shots, while finding ways to get more scoring throughout our lineup."

In early November, the sides split a pair of contests at Sullivan Fieldhouse, with the Capers capturing the opener 84-67.

In that victory, All-Canadian forward Kiyara Letlow fashioned a monster double-double, finishing with 31 points and 21 rebounds.

Hailey MacLeod, with 13, Darah Fleurgin (12) and Amanda Cruickshank (10) also scored in double digits as part the Caper offense.

In the re-match on that weekend, the Huskies cruised to an 80-52 win.

Letlow finished with a double-double – 13 points and 15 rebounds – while Chermensa van la Parra added a team-high 16 points.

The Huskies come into the weekend with an 8-3 record, which places them second in the conference standings behind the UNB Reds (11-1), while the Capers (5-7) are in fifth spot.

As for how the Capers are playing – what they are doing well, and where they need to improve – McKenzie described his group as a "typical young team," one that has "some good moments and some not so good moments."

"While we have to stick with the old adage, 'get better every day,' we really have to focus on getting better on each possession; each quarter, each half and each game. We are still finding our identity as we travel through a gruelling part of the season," he explained.

On the men's side, the Capers are part of a logjam in a highly-competitive AUS regular season. They are one of five teams – with a 6-6 mark – that trail the first place STFX X-Men, the 2023 conference champions and USPORTS silver-medal winners.

"SMU has been playing great lately. They have high-end talent in the AUS, and have been improving over the course of the season," CBU head coach Matt Skinn said of the Huskies.

Led by Jayrell Diggs, the fourth-leading scorer in the AUS at 18.5 points per game, the Huskies are on a three-game winning streak that has improved their record to 5-6.

"He is one of the best scorers in the conference and, with his ability to take and make deep contested threes – as well as finish around the basket, we are going to have to be at our best on the defensive end," Skinn offered of dealing with the junior guard from East Preston, Nova Scotia.

Noting that the Huskies are "scoring the ball well," the CBU head coach said, "We will have our hands full as their confidence is high."

The Capers swept the early season match-ups with the Huskies on the Sydney campus.

In the opening 88-78 win, first-year CBU guard Shakael Pryce – who ranks third in the conference at 19.8 points per game – led the way with 29 points, six rebounds, six steals and five assists.

Four other Capers hit double figures, including starters Tyson Cato (15), Justus Peuser (12) and Mitchell Mersereau (11), along with Stefan Anisko – off the bench – who finished with 16 points.

Cato completed a double-double performance with 14 rebounds, while chipping in four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

CBU completed the weekend sweep with a convincing 98-70 triumph.

Cato led a balanced scoring attack – with 16 points – while Pryce (15), Mersereau (15), Peuser (14), Anisko (11) and Aaron Cunningham (11) also hit double digits.

More broadly, as the season approaches the home stretch, Skinn offered that the Capers' defense "has to improve."

"We need to be able to string together a few stops. We play fast, so the points per game isn't as concerning as holding our opponents to a low field goal percentage, making sure we finish plays with rebounding and, hopefully, creating some turnovers with our pressure," he explained.

The Capers will return to their home court at Sullivan Fieldhouse on Friday, Jan. 26, when they host the rival STFX X-Women and X-Men, at 6 and 8 p.m., respectively.

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