(CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I.) - The UPEI Panthers were firing on all cylinders defeating the Saint Mary's Huskies 118-109 at the Chi-Wan Young Sports Centre in front of 800 fans in a Friday night shoot-out.
It was another typical start to a UPEI game, as both teams came out shooting. A total of 53 shots were taken in the opening frame with UPEI taking a 34-24 lead into the second quarter.
The Panthers looked to attack early, getting to the free throw line 14 times converting on 79 per cent of their attempts.
The quarter was owned by UPEI's Brad States (Bathurst, N.B.) who pulled in eight rebounds and hit two shots from long range en route to a 12-point quarter.
The shots kept coming in the second quarter with SMU and UPEI each taking 21 attempts in yet another high-scoring period.
Despite shooting 46 per cent from the field, the Huskies found themselves trailing 58-47 at halftime. Brian Rouse (Mississauga, Ont.) and Kemar Alleyne (Scarborough, Ont.) were the high scorers for SMU with 12 and 10 respectively. Brad States and Geoff Doane (St. Margaret's Bay, N.S.) led the Panthers with 14 points apiece.
The up tempo pace continued in the second half as UPEI widened their lead to 17 by the end of the quarter on 61 per cent shooting.
Neither team showed any signs of slowing down and it seemed hard to believe that they could keep it up for another 10 minutes with UPEI leading 91-74 heading to the fourth quarter.
Rouse and Alleyne continued to lead the way for SMU with 17 points each. Tyler Scott (Halifax, N.S.) led a balanced attack for the Panthers with 12 third-quarter points.
The final quarter did not disappoint in entertainment value, as UPEI was unable to completely close the door on Saint Mary's.
Marquis Clayton (Halifax, N.S.) came off the bench to lead the comeback with 11 fourth-quarter points, nine from long range. The Huskies would get within single digits in the final minutes.
UPEI countered with two baseline threes, putting an end to the Huskies' late comeback and winning the thriller 118-109.
The Huskies' top performers were Brian Rouse with 25 points on 10-for-15 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Osman Barrie (Ottawa, Ont.) chipped in for 14 points and 15 rebounds, seven coming on the offensive end. Four other Huskies tallied double-digit points in the loss.
Tyler Scott had a double-double of his own with a 20-point, 12-rebound performance while Geoff Doane was big off the bench adding five helpers to go with his 24 points for the Panthers.
The night belonged to UPEI's Brad States, leading all scorers on 58 per cent shooting, with 28 points, including three of four from distance. He also added 10 rebounds and three steals earning him Subway player of the game honours.
UPEI (10-2) battles the UNB Varsity Reds (9-3) with first place in the AUS standings on the line Saturday night in Charlottetown at 8 p.m.
Saint Mary's (5-6) will try to get back to .500 when they face StFX (4-8) Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. in Antigonish, N.S.
Source: Jonathan Lane for UPEI Sports Communications