Diggs drops 30 in final home game, but REDS defeat Huskies 87-83 in OT

HALIFAX, NS – Saint Mary's guard Jayrell Diggs poured in 30 points in his final regular season home game as a Husky, but the UNB REDS came back to take down the Huskies 87-83 in overtime in Atlantic University Sport men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Homburg Centre.

It was Senior Day for the Huskies as they honoured three graduating seniors – Jonah Crowther, Jayrell Diggs and Devawn White – ahead of their final regular season home game at Saint Mary's.

The REDS started strong, opening up a quick 12-4 lead, thanks in part to seven points from forward Brandon Laryea (Crawley, UK). But the Huskies battled back, with a trio of three-pointers from guards Jahsemar Olembe (Kitchener, ON), Diego Ramos (Waterloo, ON) and Devawn White (Montreal, QC), with White's three cutting the lead to 20-16 after 10 minutes of play.

The Huskies opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run from guards Jayrell Diggs (East Preston, NS) and Jasha'jaun Downey (North Preston, NS) putting them ahead 21-20. The two teams exchanged leads until the REDS went on a run, with a putback lay-in from Connor Landell (St. Catharines, ON) giving UNB their largest lead of the day, 40-28. But SMU finished the quarter on a four point run to cut the lead to 40-32 heading into halftime.

Jasha'jaun Downey paced the Huskies with 12 first half points, while Eden Otshudi poured in 10 for UNB.

The third quarter was the Jayrell Diggs show, as he poured in 14 of his game-high 30 points in the frame, including shooting a perfect 4/4 from beyond the arc. Diggs' third three of the quarter gave the Huskies their first lead of the game, 51-48, but another Landell lay-in cut the lead to one through three quarters of play.

The fourth quarter was another exciting back-and-forth between these evenly matched opponents. A Jasha'jaun Downey and-one gave SMU their largest lead of the night, 63-57, but the REDS stormed back, with three-pointers from Marcus Barnes (Kitchener, ON) and Mark Tobin (Mount Pearl, NL) tying the game at 65-65.

Diggs continued his hot shooting, hitting another three, but the REDS were also hot from beyond the arc, shooting 4/5 in the frame, with a Laryea three putting them ahead 73-70 late. The teams exchanged several free-throws, before a Downey lay-up with seven seconds remaining tied the score at 75-75. Downey then stole the ball and attempted a half-court shot that looked on track, but bounced off the back rim and out, forcing overtime for the second straight game.

In overtime, a dunk from Huskies big man Alex Christie (Kamloops, BC) brought the crowd to their feet, putting the Huskies ahead 79-75. A pair of free-throws from Downey restored the Huskies four point lead but then Marcus Barnes took over, as the REDS star guard poured in eight points in the quarter, including a dagger three to put the REDS ahead for good, 84-83 with 33 seconds remaining. Diggs missed a pair of shots and Barnes hit three more free-throws to ice the REDS 87-83 win.

Despite the loss, Jayrell Diggs was named Player of the Game scoring a season-high 30 points, including five threes, and adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Diggs now has 217 career regular season three-pointers made, third all-time in AUS history, and just three makes behind the all-time record holder, former UPEI Panther Scott Morrison (220 3PM).

Marcus Barnes led the REDS with 26 points – including 16 in the fourth quarter and overtime – and added seven rebounds and five assists. All five REDS starters scored in double figures, with Eden Otshudi scoring 19, Brandon Laryea adding 16, and Mark Tobin and Conner Landell each scoring 12, with Landell adding 18 four his second straight double-double.

The Huskies also received 22 points and seven rebounds from Jasha'jaun Downey, 12 points and eight rebounds from Devawn White, and an important seven points, eight rebounds and two blocks off the bench from centre Alex Christie.

The REDS improve to 13-6 on the season, good for second in the conference, heading into their regular season finale, as they'll host the top ranked STFX X-Men (15-3) on Saturday, Feb. 14 in Fredericton, N.B.

The Huskies loss drops their record to 4-14, eliminating them from playoff contention. Saint Mary's will finish the season on the road, visiting the Memorial Sea-Hawks (6-12) on Friday, Feb. 13 and Saturday, Feb. 14, with both games scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. AT.

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Eduardo Ibarra / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics