Getting its first taste of CIS competition, the McMaster men’s basketball team defeated the St. Francis Xavier X-Men of Nova Scotia 98-78 on Friday night at the Burridge Gym.

The X-Men are a traditional powerhouse squad and played at last season’s CIS Final-8 tournament in Halifax.

On this night it was too much of the Marauder long ball for the X-Men, as McMaster knocked down 13 of 29 3-point attempts, just two short of the team record for treys in a single game.

The Marauders won every quarter of the contest, holding a 51-43 lead at the half. 

Joe Rocca and Nathan Pelech did most of the damage from long range, making five and four 3-pointers respectively.  Rocca finished with 28 points for the game, followed by Pelech who added 18.  Rohan Boney continues to impress as a freshman and chipped in 16 off the McMaster bench.  The top shooters for the X-Men were William Donkoh and Shane Coupland, who each scored 15.

McMaster won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding St. F-X 46 to 29. Pelech was the top rebounder in the game with nine, just missing a double-double.

The win is the third straight for the Marauders, having defeated the A-Game Hoops club team and Mohawk College of the OCAA in earlier games.

The Marauders play next at home on Sunday, October 21 when they will welcome another tough AUS opponent, the Cape Breton University Capers.  Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. in the afternoon at the Burridge Gym.