Panthers shock X-Men in AUS semifinal

Halifax, NS – The fifth seeded UPEI Panthers shocked the top seeded STFX X-Men with a 77-62 upset in the Atlantic University Sport semifinal game Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre.

After a 17-3 season, the first place X-Men fail to advance to the AUS final, and the Panthers will have a chance to defend their conference title.

The Panthers held U SPORTS leading scorer and AUS MVP DJ Jackson to only seven points in the game.

UPEI outscored STFX 44-26 in the paint and converted 18 points off 20 STFX turnovers, compared to STFX only netting four points off turnovers.

After STFX's Nic Niare scored the opening basket of the game, the Panthers went on a 10-point run to take an early 10-2 lead. After an X-Men time out, the Blue and White stormed back with a 12-point run to erase the deficit and go ahead 14-10.

The first quarter ended with the Panthers holding a 17-15 edge.

The teams traded baskets throughout the second frame, keeping the score close and they were deadlocked at 31 points apiece at halftime.

It was a low scoring half, particularly for the first place X-Men who led the conference with an 89.0 PPG scoring average.

Jackson scored seven points for the X-Men in the opening half, while Abilash Surendran netted seven for the Panthers.

The game remained close to start the second half. Panthers forward Sam Dyck drained a three-pointer to give them a seven-point lead, 41-34.

UPEI continued to hold onto a slight lead throughout the third quarter. The X-Men charged back late in the frame, thanks in part to Koat Thomas who scored seven points.

Nicolas Gonzalez Longarela answered back with consecutive baskets for the Panthers to close out the quarter and put his team up 53-47 heading into the fourth.

The Panthers offense took off and they built up an 11-point lead, 60-49 four minutes into the final quarter.

Thomas continued to spark the X offense but the Panthers answered back and they held a seven-point lead, 66-57 with three minutes to go.

The X-Men struggled from beyond the arc, shooting only 3 of 18 from three-point range.

UPEI went on a nine-point run late in the quarter to take a commanding 14-point lead with only a minute and a half to play and closed out the game with the 77-62 win.

Thomas finished with 21 points and seven rebounds for STFX. Tariq Armstrong scored 11 off the bench.

UPEI's Surendran earned Boston Pizza Player of the Game honours, leading the Panthers with 20 points and seven rebounds.

UPEI will await their opponent for Sunday's 4:00 pm championship game, facing either Acadia or UNB.

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Recap courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Athletics