Despite a 27-point effort from league-leading scorer Jeremy Dunn, the StFX X-Men dropped an 88-78 road decision to the UPEI Panthers Saturday night in AUS basketball action.

The fifth-year senior added nine rebounds and two steals for the X-Men, who trailed 47-34 at halftime.

Rodrigo Madera, with 13 points and 14 rebounds, recorded a double-double for the blue and white.

Tyrell Vernon, with 13, Jordan Clarke (12) and Will Donkoh (11), also hit double digits for the X-Men.

Joe Kendrick led a balanced Panther attack with 18 points, while Mandrez Downey and Geoff Doane added 16 points apiece.

With 12, Jermaine Duke and Deontay Smith also hit double figures for UPEI. Doane led the Panthers with 16 rebounds.

Friday night, in Charlottetown, the X-Men coughed up an 11-point lead after three quarters in a 98-91 loss to the Panthers.
In the fourth-quarter, the home side held a 31-13 scoring advantage.

Vernon led five X-Men in double figures with 26 points, while adding six assists, five rebounds and one steal.

Donkoh and Dunn scored 18 points apiece for the blue and white, while Jordan Clarke and Rodrigo Madera added 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Madera, with nine rebounds, led the X-Men, who were out-rebounded 43-33 by the Panthers.

Doane, with 27, was one of three Panthers with 20-plus points in the win.

Smith and Lorenzo Parker added 25 and 21 points, respectively. Doane completed a double-double with 14 rebounds. Kendrick led the Panthers (11-7) with eight assists.         

The X-Men (7-11) wrap up the regular season with home games versus the Dalhousie Tigers (Feb. 20) and Saint Mary’s Huskies (Feb. 23). Tip-off for both games is 6 p.m. at Oland Centre.

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