Panthers cruise past Acadia after dominant second quarter

By Thomas Becker

The UPEI Panthers delivered a definitive blow to the Acadia Axemen in the second quarter of a lopsided 83-57 win Friday night. 

The Panthers outscored the Axemen 32-9 in the decisive frame and ended any hope of a comeback as they carried a 50-26 lead into halftime. 

UPEI's Sam Chisholm, Elijah Miller and Kamari Scott all figured prominently in the quarter with each finishing in double figures. Chisholm connected on 7-of-10 field goals for a game-high 20 points. Scott recorded 15 points and six rebounds, while Miller collected 13 points and seven assists in just 25 minutes of action. 

"I have to thank my teammates," Chisholm said. "They make it easy on me. They (the opposition) are always keying on our better players and it really makes things easy for me." 

Gabe Davignon was the lone Axeman to reach double figures, finishing with 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. 

Both teams struggled from the field early on resulting in a 6-6 game in the first 5:42 of the game. After Davignon gave Acadia the lead with a three-pointer, the Panthers responded with a 7-0 run to pull ahead 15-9. Chisholm pulled off a spin move for the layup and the and-one, before Miller attacked the basket for back-to-back lay-ins. Through one quarter, UPEI led 18-17. 

The Panthers opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run thanks to triples from Chisholm and Brooks, which extended their lead to 26-17. Already ahead by 13, Miller took over and scored seven straight points with attacks to the rim and the long ball to extend their advantage to 41-23.

The Panthers continued where they left off and opened up a 61-31 advantage behind an 11-5 run to start the third quarter. Isaiah Ankra capped off the run with a three-pointer after four straight layups from his teammates. 

Acadia tried to stop the bleeding with a timeout, but it didn't help as the Panthers continued to score easily. After Cameron Brown threw down a dunk, Scott drilled back-to-back threes to make it 69-33. The Panthers led 74-42 heading into the fourth quarter. 

With the game well in hand, both teams went deep to their bench to close it out, as the Panthers earned their first win of the New Year 83-57. 

"Every time we touched the ball we made something happen whether it was going to the rim or making the extra pass," Chisholm said. 

Both teams will face one another again on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Photo Credit: Janessa Hogan