Panthers squeeze out win in closing seconds of game vs Axemen

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – For the fourth time in the last five games, a young Axemen squad has allowed a lead after three quarters evaporate to a narrow loss. Tonight, Acadia came back from deficits several times against the UPEI Panthers and showed a strong third quarter to eventually fall short in the closing minute in a 73-68 loss.

Trailing the Panthers 17-14 after one quarter, Acadia slipped further in the closing of the opening half.

Jonas Kessler contributed 12 points in the second quarter to give UPEI a 35-26 halftime lead, but it was Panther Elijah Miller's nine points in the third quarter combined with Glen Cox's 8 points in the closing frame that "broke the camel's back".

Alex Muise's three-point basket in the closing three and half minutes of the final quarter gave the Axemen a 68-62 lead. Cox tied the game at 68 on two free throws with 1:40 remaining in the game.

A Cox layup assisted by Elijah Miller gave the Panthers a 70-68 lead followed by a Miller jump shot solidified the win as UPEI added a free throw in the closing seconds for the 73-68 win.

"It was a tough loss. We put ourselves in the position to be up in the end, and we did that, but couldn't hold on to the lead. Some of the things we talked about pre-game were offensive rebounding. We had ten today, which was better than normal. We talked about slowing down Scott and Miller and they combined for 16, so we did well there. We spoke about winning the rebounding battle and we were plus seven, so we did well there, but we just couldn't close it in the end," said Acadia's Alex Muise who was named the Acadia Player of the Game.

Muise had a game-high 22 points that included nine rebounds. Eli Kraushar added 16 points and Brett Speedy came off the bench for 10 points.

On the winning side, Elijah Miller was named the Subway Player of the Game with 16 points which included an eventual winning jump shot in the closing seconds. Glen Cox posted 15 points and Jonas Kessler who had the hot hand in the second quarter finished with 13.

In team stats, the Panthers posted 52.6% from the floor and were 40% from long range. The Axemen recorded a 40.6% field goal percentage and won the rebounding battle with 35 compared to the Panthers' 28.

UPEI's largest lead of nine points came in the closing of the second quarter, while the Axemen had their largest lead of eight points at the 6:06 mark of the opening frame.

UPEI's bench added 30 points to the game-winning 73 points, while the Axemen had 14 from the bench - 10 from Speedy.

Acadia drop to 1-6  and UPEI improves to 4-3.

The Axemen close out the first half of the season before the Holiday Break against the first place Dalhousie Tigers next Saturday night, while the Panthers head to Saint Mary's tomorrow night.