The Acadia Axemen made the most of their return to the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Men's Basketball Championship.
After qualifying for their first AUS Championship since 2018, the No. 3 seeded Axemen outlasted the UPEI Panthers 84-74 on Sunday afternoon, winning the programs league-leading 18thbanner in front of a raucous crowd at the Scotiabank Centre, and first since 2012.
In the interest of clarity, Acadia played in the 2022 edition of the event, but since it followed the cancellation of the previous season due to COVID, all eight teams in the league were allowed to participate.
UPEI on the other hand, are unable to repeat as champs after beating STFX in last year's championship final.
Sunday's final started out with both teams flying up and down the court, trading baskets early. Gabe Davignon (Whites Lakes, NS) and Briawne Wilson (Toronto, ON) each scored six points in the first period, while UPEI's Owen Smith (Harvey, NB) had six of his own.
By the time the first quarter was over, Acadia held a slim 19-17 lead.
The second quarter saw more of the same with five lead changes between the teams.
Wilson added five more in the quarter, and while Davignon slowed down, Kyle Munro (Timberlea, NS) picked up the slack scoring seven of his own.
It was also in the second quarter that an alarming trend began for the Panthers. One that would doom them for the remainder of the game - missed free throws.
They would go just 11-for-19 from the charity stripe in the opening half and finish the game just 18-for-34.
Despite that, the Panthers held a narrow 37-35 lead going into halftime.
In the third quarter, UPEI guard Kyree Thompson (North Preston, NS) and Acadia guard Ryan Regault (Scarborough, ON) took over the game.
Thompson scored 14 of his team's 21 points in the quarter slashing to the basket and hitting a couple of threes. Regault the same, scoring 13 of his team's 26 points - including a buzzer-beating three to put Acadia back on top 61-58 heading into the fourth.
In the final 10 minutes, Regault continued his brilliance. He scored seven points, including going a perfect 5-for-5 from the line, to help extend his team's lead to double digits and close out the win.
Regault finished the game with 22 points to be named Player of the Game. During the post-game celebration, he was also awarded the event's Most Valuable Player award as well as being named a tournament all-star.
Wilson added 18 points and six rebounds in the win for Acadia.
Thompson finished with 23 points for the Panthers.
Acadia now earns a guaranteed spot in the U SPORTS Men's Basketball Final 8, set to take place March 6-8 at the University of Calgary. The last AUS men's team to capture the coveted W.P. McGee Trophy was STFX back in 2001.
