1999-00 Season Overview
The 1999-2000 X-Men squad opened the year with great expectations. Coach K had a solid nucleus of returning players led by league MVP Fred Perry, and third year scorer Jordan Croucher. This dynamic duo would be joined by one of the best group of new recruits to hit the Antigonish campus in many years. Leading the way was the take-charge point guard Randy Nohr coming off back to back national championships at Langara College in British Columbia. Another important new face would be Dennie Oliver, an athletic big man transferring from Brandon University after having sat out the previous year. Rounding out the newcomers would be the quick as lightning point guard from Charlotte North Carolina, E.L Adams, guards Billy O’Neill from Halifax and Jonathan Daniels from Ottawa. Paul Ricketts of Toronto, a 6’9" big man, was expected to be a force down the road.
The 1999-2000 team appeared to have all the ingredients of a championship squad. There was the talent, the athleticism, the competitiveness and, it was hoped, the leadership. Now there was just the little matter of playing the games.
The pre-season exhibitions highlighted the potential that this year’s squad would have. The X-Men would sweep their own Pizza Delight StFX Invitational and then walk away with top honours at the Carleton Invitational in Ottawa. Three losses against NCAA Division I schools didn’t dampen the school’s expectations but a regular season home opening loss against St. Mary’s, an old nemesis, brought the team and its fans back to reality – the AUAA was going to be as tough as always to master.
Going into the last regular season game, at home, against SMU, the defending CIAU national champions, X needed a victory to claim first place in their division and a crucial first round bye in the AUAA playoffs. The X-Men were coming off two straight road losses, against UNB and St. Mary’s. The winner of the game would get the bye and would only need two victories in Halifax to claim the AUAA crown.
The X-Men went on to dominate the Huskies, winning 78-62, and completed the regular season with a record of 16 wins against 4 losses. One week later the rejuvenated Blue and White would roll 81-60 over the Acadia Axemen in the semi-finals of the AUAAs setting up a rematch between the best two teams in the league. The defending national champion Huskies would prove their worth, giving the X squad everything they could handle. Taking charge late in the game, the X-Men prevailed 68-62, winning their second AUAA championship in four years, and their third since 1993.
At the 2000 national championships in Halifax, X opened against McMaster, the team they defeated in ’93 for their only national title. As one comes to expect at these championships, the game was close throughout, both teams being led by national team caliber point guards, X’s Randy Nohr and Mac’s Steve Maga. The X-Men prevailed 82-79 led by Nohr who scored 20 points and added 10 assists. The victory set up a semi-final match against the number one ranked team in the country, the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The more experienced X-Men led throughout and held off the hot shooting westerners down the stretch for an 80-75 victory. Dennie Oliver played the entire 40 minutes and hauled down an amazing 20 rebounds against a very good and very big Lethbridge squad. Jordan Croucher was the defensive star holding the CIAU’s player-of-the year Danny Balserston to 4 for 26 shooting from the floor. All that was left was a date with the Brandon Bobcats for a winner take all national championship game.
In the final, hope seemed lost when the X-Men fell behind 60-51 with five and a half minutes remaining. However, "refusing to lose", the X-Men found a way to pull it out, scoring the last ten points of the game to pull off a miracle comeback and capture their second national championship. The season that had started with such promise had ended in stunning fashion – and national honours.
The 1999-2000 team appeared to have all the ingredients of a championship squad. There was the talent, the athleticism, the competitiveness and, it was hoped, the leadership. Now there was just the little matter of playing the games.
The pre-season exhibitions highlighted the potential that this year’s squad would have. The X-Men would sweep their own Pizza Delight StFX Invitational and then walk away with top honours at the Carleton Invitational in Ottawa. Three losses against NCAA Division I schools didn’t dampen the school’s expectations but a regular season home opening loss against St. Mary’s, an old nemesis, brought the team and its fans back to reality – the AUAA was going to be as tough as always to master.
Going into the last regular season game, at home, against SMU, the defending CIAU national champions, X needed a victory to claim first place in their division and a crucial first round bye in the AUAA playoffs. The X-Men were coming off two straight road losses, against UNB and St. Mary’s. The winner of the game would get the bye and would only need two victories in Halifax to claim the AUAA crown.
The X-Men went on to dominate the Huskies, winning 78-62, and completed the regular season with a record of 16 wins against 4 losses. One week later the rejuvenated Blue and White would roll 81-60 over the Acadia Axemen in the semi-finals of the AUAAs setting up a rematch between the best two teams in the league. The defending national champion Huskies would prove their worth, giving the X squad everything they could handle. Taking charge late in the game, the X-Men prevailed 68-62, winning their second AUAA championship in four years, and their third since 1993.
At the 2000 national championships in Halifax, X opened against McMaster, the team they defeated in ’93 for their only national title. As one comes to expect at these championships, the game was close throughout, both teams being led by national team caliber point guards, X’s Randy Nohr and Mac’s Steve Maga. The X-Men prevailed 82-79 led by Nohr who scored 20 points and added 10 assists. The victory set up a semi-final match against the number one ranked team in the country, the Lethbridge Pronghorns. The more experienced X-Men led throughout and held off the hot shooting westerners down the stretch for an 80-75 victory. Dennie Oliver played the entire 40 minutes and hauled down an amazing 20 rebounds against a very good and very big Lethbridge squad. Jordan Croucher was the defensive star holding the CIAU’s player-of-the year Danny Balserston to 4 for 26 shooting from the floor. All that was left was a date with the Brandon Bobcats for a winner take all national championship game.
In the final, hope seemed lost when the X-Men fell behind 60-51 with five and a half minutes remaining. However, "refusing to lose", the X-Men found a way to pull it out, scoring the last ten points of the game to pull off a miracle comeback and capture their second national championship. The season that had started with such promise had ended in stunning fashion – and national honours.
