Tigers roll to 94-81 ‘W’ over Panthers

The Tigers’ men’s basketball team picked up a big four-point ‘W’ 94-81 over the U.P.E.I Panthers in their final game at the Dalplex for the 2015-16 season on Saturday, Feb. 20.

With the win the Tigers are 13-6 on the season and sit in first place in the AUS with 38PTS, four more than the second-place Panthers, and have secured a first round bye in the playoffs.

The game was back and forth early on as the two teams traded points. A Sven Stammberger three gave the Tigers the lead 14-12 with 4:41 left in the first quarter.

From there, it was all Panthers for the rest of the first as they ended the frame with a 19-14 lead.

In the second quarter, the Panthers were able to stretch their lead to 13 at 29-16 before the cardiac cats started to claw their way back.

Alex Petronis hit back to back threes for the Tigers. Then Matt McVeigh hit consecutive threes of his own sandwiched around a Lorenzo Parker jumper for the Panthers and the lead was down to five at 33-28 with 3:45 on the clock in the second.

Jordan Aquino-Serjue made a layup and then hit two free-throws to tie it up at 36-36 and then Petronis drilled another three to give the Tigers the lead 39-36 and they would not trail again. The Tigers won the second 29-20 and took a 43-39 lead into the break.

The third quarter was a high scoring affair as both teams filled it up in the frame. The Tigers took the quarter 29-26 and held a 72-65 lead heading into the fourth.

In the fourth, the Tigers AUS leading defence took over holding the Panthers to 16PTS in the quarter and 81 on the night. The Panthers came into the game averaging 93 plus points per game to lead the AUS.

The Tigers won the fourth 22-16 to take the game 94-81.

McVeigh led the Tigers with 18PTS off the bench. Stammberger added 13PTS, 9AST, 6REB. Aquino-Serjue had 12PTS while Petronis finished with 11. Ritchie Kanza Mata posted a double-double with 10PTS, 14AST to go with 6REB and 2STL. William Yengue had 10PTS while Kashrell Lawrence and Cedric Sanogo each chipped in with 9PTS.

The Tigers travel to Cape Breton to play the Capers on Friday, Feb. 26 in a four-point game to close out the regular season. The AUS championships will be held at the Scotiabank Centre on March 4-6.