Halifax, NS – The UPEI Panthers are heading to the AUS championship game after posting a 105-88 semifinal victory over the STFX X-Men Saturday evening at Scotiabank Centre.
The Panthers put up a dominant 63 points in the first half and built up a lead the X-Men could not overcome.
StFX head coach Tyrell Vernon noted, "The biggest thing today was defensive identity. We've been building it all season long and today it reared its head a little bit. Our deficiencies were glaring today and our veterans Justin [Andrew] and Jamie [White] don't have any other games to bring that back for us, but the other guys do."
Both teams came ready to play in a fast-paced first quarter, trading baskets end to end. The Panthers held a 16-11 lead midway through the quarter and were hot from three-point range.
UPEI went on a 9-0 run to go up by 12 points with just over a minute to play. They held onto a 12-point lead after the quarter, 31-19.
Elijah Miller scored 12 for UPEI in the opening quarter and Dakelle Brooks went three-for-three from beyond the arc for nine points. Dondre Reddick scored five for X in the first.
The Panthers continued their sharp three-point shooting early in the second quarter. They widened their lead to 15 points, 46-31 midway through the quarter.
The X-Men struggled on both sides of the ball as they were challenged with lapses in defense and could not mount a consistent offensive attack.
The Panthers, on the other hand, had a potent offense and were up by 20 points with two and a half minutes to play and held a 63-42 advantage at halftime.
UPEI was 50% in field goal shooting in the first half as Miller tallied 22 points and Brooks had 15. David Muenkat led the X-Men with 10 points and nine rebounds though the Panthers outrebounded the X-Men 22-17 in the first 20 minutes.
The X-Men tried to spark their offense in the third quarter as Avan Nava sank a pair of three's and Muenkat attempted to fire up his teammates during a timeout.
Turnovers proved costly for the X-Men however, as UPEI took advantage of X miscues and made them pay on the scoreboard.
The X-Men outscored the Panthers 23-19 in the third quarter but trailed 82-65 after three.
STFX went on a 10-0 run to close the gap to 85-75 three minutes into the fourth quarter as they tried to spark a comeback. Justin Andrew had a pair of treys for the X-Men.
The Panthers slowed the pace of the game to maintain their lead. They were up 99-85 with three minutes left to play.
The deficit was too much to overcome for the X-Men and the Panthers closed out the 105-88 win, punching their ticket to the AUS championship game.
Subway player of the game Miller finished with a game-high 34 points and eight rebounds and nine assists.
Brooks netted 22 points and Glen Cox scored 15 and had six rebounds,
Muenkat was the top X-Men scorer with 29 points, and had a double-double night with 16 rebounds. Avan Nava scored 13 for X, while Justin Andrew and Dondre Reddick each contributed 10.
The Panthers will now face the top seeded Dalhousie Tigers in the AUS championship game Sunday at 4:00 pm.
Reflecting on the difficult loss, Coach Vernon noted, "It's something they have to learn from and understand that defense is what wins in this league," he continued. "It's an eye opener for them but we have to look at it as a process. Tomorrow is another day but we have to be better for next season."
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Courtesy Krista McKenna, STFX Athletics