The CIS ranked No. 8 X-Men were able to hang on and beat the UPEI Panthers 70-69 Sunday afternoon in Antigonish, N.S. in a game that needed overtime to settle the score. Terry Thomas and Jeremy Dunn scored 15 and 14 points, respectively, to pace the X-Men. Thomas also had the game winning basket in overtime to seal the victory.
The teams played to scores of 21-21 and 35-35 after the first and second quarters in a low scoring affair at the StFX Oland Centre. The third quarter saw neither team produce much offense as StFX outscored the visitors by a mere 9-8 margin. The final ten minutes of play were not enough for either team to gain the upper hand. Manock Lual’s jumper with 11 seconds to play evened the game for the Panthers and the X-Men couldn’t convert a basket on their final possession, sending the game to an extra five minute overtime frame as the score stood at 58-58 at the end of regulation.
UPEI took the early lead in the overtime period and were up by four points over the home team. Jeremy Dunn and Jonathan Cooper exchanged three-point buckets as the Panthers held a three-point advantage with only 32 seconds to play. Tyrell Vernon then scored two for StFX after a key steal to bring them to within a point. With 17 seconds on the clock, the Panthers brought the ball down court and a wild scramble led to a Panthers foul on X-Man Shane Coupland, who then sank two free throws to give the X-Men the one point edge. StFX was able to shut down the Panthers and hand on for the 70-69 victory in the final seconds of the overtime period.
The win was an important one as the four points vaulted the X-Men into a first place tie with the Panthers in the AUS standings, each with 32 points.
Terry Thomas had a double-double game for the X-Men with 15 points and 12 rebounds, along with four assists and three steals. Dunn scored 14 points and had four rebounds, while Vernon and Bol Kong each contributed 10 points apiece. Vernon also dished five assists and Kong had a strong game with 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists.
Replying for the Panthers was Jonathan Cooper who scored a game high 22 points, along with eight rebounds. Manock Lual put up 16 points and 10 rebounds for the visitors and also had four assists and three steals in the game. Donathan Moss had a double-double game for UPEI with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Both teams were unable to cash in on several baskets throughout the game, resulting in an uncharacteristically low scoring affair. UPEI shot 34.2% from field goal range, 17.4% from three point range and 83.3% from the free throw line, while the X-Men were 27% in field goal shooting, 17.1% from three point range and 75% in free throws.
The overtime victory improves the X-Men’s record to 12-4 while the Panthers sit at 12-5. Both teams have 32 points and are tied for top spot in the AUS conference. Next on the schedule for StFX is a mid-week game this coming Wednesday night against the third place Cape Breton Capers (10-6) in Sydney, NS. The Panthers next see action on Friday against Acadia (9-6) in Wolfville, NS.