Axemen topple first place Panthers in 96-87 win

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The UPEI Panthers experienced their first loss of the regular season as the hometown Axemen handed a 96-87 loss to the first place Panthers.

Ahead 19-15 after one quarter, the Axemen held onto a 43-39 lead after one half of play despite the 13 first half points from UPEI sharp shooter Tyler Scott (Halifax, N.S.). Scott would grab the honour as the Panthers' Subway Player of the Game with a game high 31 points.

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Trailing the Panthers 68-66 after three quarters, Acadia pushed hard to grab a lead. Spearheaded by Subway Player of the Game Kyle Arseneault's (Fredericton, N.B.) three point basket to bring the Axemen to within three at 75-72, three point specialist Nick De Palma (Bedford, N.S.) tied the game at 75 with 7:15 remaining in the game.

Within three minutes, the game was tied four times until finally the break came on a De Palma drained shot from the three point arc, which gave the Axemen an 86-83 margin that grew to an insurmountable 92-85 Acadia lead with 43 seconds remaining in the game. Four sunk De Palma free throws in the last 30 seconds guaranteed the win over the first place Panthers.

First year head coach Kevin Duffie was happy with not only the team's offensive output but also the group's defensive effort when presented with foul trouble in the closing quarter. 

"A Good team win. We got some great play from AJ Simmonds and Thomas Johnston when we were in foul trouble", said Duffie. "We were able to get back on defense in transition consistently and got defensive rebounds when we needed them. Very happy with the group effort."

Arseneault posted an Axemen high 25 points that included nine for thirteen from the floor and six key three point baskets. De Palma posted an impressive five three pointers, while senior forward Shaquille Smith (North Preston, N.S.) had a strong game with 15 points, four rebounds, three steals and five assists. Erik Nissen (Quispamsis, N.B.) helped with six rebounds and 12 points despite playing 23 minutes due to four person fouls accumulated by the mid-third quarter. Ben Miller (Winnipeg, Man.) added 12 points.

Panther Brad States (Bathurst, N.B.) had seven rebounds and 15 points in the loss while teammates Zachary Usherwood (Burnaby, B.C.) and Lorenzo Parker (New Minas, N.S.) each had 10 points.

The Axemen capitalized on UPEI turnovers with 21 points off of turnovers compared to the Panther's nine.

Acadia improves to 4-2 while the Panthers will have to grapple with their first loss but continue to sit on top of the AUS standings with a 5-1 record. Both teams will hit the court tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. for the rubber match.