Casey Fox is supposed to be the uncertain freshman slowly finding his way with the rebuilding Acadia Axemen.
The Halifax native is not supposed to be scoring 27 points, calmly sinking contested three-pointers with the game on the line, and leading the Axemen to an 87-80 upset victory over the Saint Mary’s Huskies — especially not at The Tower.
But he did just that last night, with his dad, Huskies legend Mickey Fox, looking on from a baseline seat.
Fox has been thrust into a prominent role with the Axemen, who have been forced to retool and bear little resemblance to the team that upset the five-time defending champion Carleton Ravens in last year’s national semifinals.
“It’s a good opportunity,” said Fox, who drained 30 points in an overtime loss to the Huskies last week. “I love to be the man, and it’s me, Peter Leighton and Justin Boutilier taking a lot of the shots right now. It’s exciting and a lot of fun.”
Gone from last year’s Axemen is head coach Les Berry, who resigned and was replaced by Steve Baur. On the court, they’ve lost reigning MVP Leonel Saintil, as well as stars Paulo Santana, Achuil Lual, Shawn Berry and Andrew Kraus.
Fox, a 6-foot-3 guard who is averaging 21.6 points per game in his past five outings, overshadowed Huskies stars Joey Haywood (28 points) and Mark McLaughlin (27 points) last night, and has looked like a seasoned veteran lately.
“We’ve got a couple of new plays that are run for our three man, and right now, I’m playing the three,” said Fox, who leads Atlantic University Sport in three-point makes.
“It’s worked in my favour, and I’ve been getting a lot of shots up.”
The Axemen, 5-9 overall, had lost six of their past seven games before knocking off the Huskies, 8-5.
“We were due,” said Fox, whose dad won a pair of national titles at Saint Mary’s, was a four-time all-Canadian, and was drafted by the Detroit Pistons and Portland Trailblazers.
Fox watched the Axemen shock the country last season by upsetting the Ravens, and he’s excited about the possibility of leading them back to that territory.
“Next year, it’s going to be just as exciting,” Fox said.
“This team can do big things for years to come.”
