The UPEI Panthers came out cold Saturday and could not recover, losing 92-80 to the St. F.X. X-Men in Atlantic University Sport men’s basketball action.
The host X-Men opened on a 10-2 run and increased the lead to 29-17 at the end of the first quarter. St. F.X. led 78-49 going to the fourth while the Panthers closed on a 31-19 run in the fourth.
It is the fourth-straight loss for the injury-riddled Panthers.
Deontay Smith led the Panthers with 27 points, seven rebounds, five steals, four assists and a block. Joe Kendrick added 14 points.
Jeremy Dunn had 21 points to lead St. F.X. as all five starters scored more than 11 points. St. F.X. hit half of its 70 shots and connected on nine of its 22 from downtown.
St. F.X. improved to 7-7 while UPEI falls to 8-6. Because of the conference four-point games, the teams are in a three-way tie for third place with Dalhousie at 20 points.
UPEI host UNB Friday at 8 p.m. in a four-point contest.
In Saturday’s other game Acadia beat Memorial 105-88. The teams play again Sunday in St. John’s while UNB plays Saint Mary’s in Halifax.
