Huskies upset third-seeded Panthers in AUS quarter-final action

(HALIFAX, N.S.) – The sixth-seeded Saint Mary's Huskies upset the third-seeded UPEI Panthers Friday night in front of 4,172 fans at the Halifax Metro Centre in the second quarter-final of the 2013 Subway AUS men's basketball championship.

With the win, the Huskies advance to tomorrow evenings Subway AUS semi-final matchup against the CIS ranked No. 5 Acadian Axemen.

Huskies fourth-year forward Harry Ezenibe was named the Subway Player of the game as he tallied 10 points and 16 rebounds for the victors.

UPEI freshman Mandrez Downey had a game-high 20 points in a losing effort.

The first quarter saw both teams have trouble capitalizing on their opportunities as the Huskies barely outscored the Panthers 17-16.

Saint Mary's was led by fourth-year forward Riley Halpin who scored back-to-back three-pointers early in the frame which proved to be pivotal in the Huskies attack.

The second quarter was very similar to the first as it proved to be very low scoring as both defenses were leaving nothing to be desired.

Halpin, 11 points, and Downey, 10 points,  were the two players who seemed to find the most success on the score sheet as they paced their teams through the first half. The Huskies held a slim 29-27 lead over the Panthers after 20 minutes.

Both teams continued to play disciplined basketball as the game was still low scoring after the first few minutes of the third quarter.

Halifax native and second year guard Jeremy McAvoy provided the offense for the Huskies the rest of the quarter tallying 9 points while Ezenibe brought the fans out of their seats with an electrifying dunk at the end of the quarter.

The Huskies were up 51-43 leading up to the fourth quarter.

The Panthers left everything on the table in the fourth quarter as they pressured the Huskies relentlessly.

Though they outscored the Huskies 23-15 in the quarter, the Panthers were unable to shut down Huskies fifth-year guard Miguel Pink as he nailed three three-pointers to send the Huskies home with a 67-66 victory.

Halpin was a major contributor in the Huskies offense as he notched a game-high four three-pointers and 16 points to go along with 7 rebounds.

The Panthers were led by AUS rookie of the year Deontay Smith who collected 16 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

The Huskies will take on the second place Acadia Axemen Saturday evening at 8:15pm in semifinal action, while the StFX X-Men will face the CIS No. 2-ranked Cape Breton Capers at 6:00pm.

Source: Jamie Kelly, AUS
Photo courtesy of Nick Pearce