Panthers end two-game skid with 95-87 win over Saint Mary's

HALIFAX, NS—Saint Mary's guard Shae Linton-Brown poured in a career high 32 points, but the UPEI Panthers had the last laugh, defeating the Huskies 95-87 on Friday night at the Homburg Centre in Halifax. 

The Panthers got off to a hot start, with guard Elijah Miller (Toronto, ON) and forward Abilash Surendran (Malvern, ON) scoring five points each to give the visitors an early 10-4 advantage. 

The Huskies chipped into the lead, largely thanks to the play of Shae Linton-Brown (Toronto, ON), who scored 10 points in the first quarter alone, but back-to-back lay-ins from Surendran and Kamari Scott (Malton, ON), put the visitors up 23-17.  

That's when the Huskies got going in transition, with three straight lay-ups from guards Linton-Brown, Jayrell Diggs (East Preston, NS) and Aidan MacDonald (Timberlea, NS), tying it up at 23-23, and a Scott jumper put the Panthers up 25-23 after the first quarter. 

The second quarter saw Panthers guard Isaiah Ankra (North York, ON) come off the bench to make a huge impact, scoring 15 points on 5/6 shooting, including 3/4 from beyond the arc. An Ankra lay-in gave the Panthers their largest lead of the night, 49-31 with 3:29 remaining in the first half. 

The Huskies responded with back-to-back lay-ins from Linton-Brown and a three-pointer by reserve forward Kenny Ngassoue (Scarborough, ON), and the Panthers took a 52-41 lead into the locker room.  

The Panthers were led by Ankra's 15 points, all coming in the second quarter, while Miller and Surendran chipped in nine points each in the first half. 

Linton-Brown led all scorers with 16 first half points, while Diggs chipped in nine for the Huskies. 

The third quarter saw the Panthers holding on to a double digit lead, with a lay-up by Scott putting them back up 60-48 midway through the quarter. That's when Linton-Brown and Mitchell got going in transition, scoring back-to-back lay-ins, with Mitchell adding an and-one free-throw to cut the lead to 60-53.  

The great transition play continued for the Huskies, with McDonald and Diggs getting back-to-back steals and scores with the latter cutting it to a two-point game, 63-61, as the Huskies went on a 13-3 run, and the Panthers took a 65-64 lead into the final quarter. 

Early in the fourth quarter, a block by Linton-Brown led to a three by Diggs, and the Huskies took a 71-66 lead, their largest lead of the night. 

With the Huskies up 78-74 late, the Panthers guards took over; a three by Ankra, followed by a lay-in by Miller restored their lead 79-78, and after a Linton-Brown lay-in, Miller scored seven straight points to open up a 88-80 advantage for the Panthers with just under two minutes remaining. A Kamari Scott and-one put the Panthers up 91-80 with just over a minute remaining. 

The Huskies would piece together one last comeback effort, as Linton-Brown and Mitchell combined to score seven points in 20 seconds of game time to cut the lead to four. But Miller was able to break down their pressure late, with the All-Canadian guard scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter alone, and the Panthers held on to a 95-87 win. 

Panthers guard Elijah Miller was named Subway Player of the Game with 22 points, six rebounds and two assists. The third year guard shot a perfect 4/4 from the free-throw line and still has not missed (39/39) from the free-throw line this season, and ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (18.6 points per game) and second in assists (5.5 assists per game). 

Scott poured in 19 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Ankra scored 19 off the bench, and Surendran (14 points) and Dakelle Brooks (13 points) also scored in double-figures for the Panthers. 

Shae Linton-Brown led the Huskies with a U SPORTS Career high 32 points, and added seven rebounds. Jayrell Diggs scored 19, and Dontae Mitchell added 18 points and three steals for the Huskies. 

The Panthers win improved their record to 6-2 on the season. They'll be back in action tomorrow, as they take on the Dalhousie Tigers at 8 p.m. 

The Huskies loss dropped their record to 5-4 on the campaign heading into the December break. They'll resume the regular season on January 6th and 7th taking on the UNB REDS in Fredericton, with their next home games scheduled for January 21st and 22nd as they'll host the Memorial Sea-Hawks.  

RECAP BY: Allan April, SMU Huskies Athletics / PHOTOS COURTESY: SMU Huskies Athletics