Ngala leads Tigers to win over Panthers

By Thomas Becker, UPEI Athletics

The Panthers (6-11) dropped their fifth consecutive game Saturday night, as the Dalhousie Tigers handed them a 79-61 loss while also making their road to a playoff spot that much more challenging with only three games remaining. 

UPEI stood toe-to-toe with one of the conference's best teams in the first half but struggled in the second, where they were outscored 39-26. Malcolm Christie was a big reason his Tigers (10-7) pulled away, as the third-year guard scored all 20 of his points in the second half. 

Tiger point guard Nginyu Ngala led all scorers with 24 points, while also adding four rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Jayden Parker also reached double figures with 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. 

Kamari Scott was UPEI's high-point man with 16 points, while Cameron Brown added 10 off the bench. 

It was a tightly contested game early on, as each basket was hard to come by. After a Parker layup gave Dalhousie a 15-12 lead, the Panthers ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 20-15. Owen Smith closed it with mid-range jumper and an acrobatic lay-in at the buzzer. 

Dalhousie would tie it at 22-22 on three made free throws from Spencer Riar, but once again, the Panthers had an answer. A Smith triple, followed by layups from Daniel Gonzalez Longarela and Jace Colley pulled UPEI in front 29-24. 

Moments later, Gabriel Marcotulio connected on a triple to tie it at 34 apiece before Ngala put them ahead with a layup. Ngala had 15 at the break, as Dalhousie led 40-35. 

After holding Christie scoreless in the first half, the sharpshooting guard found his rhythm midway through the third quarter when the Tigers started to run away with the game. Up 46-44 at the 5:11 mark, Christie scored 10 of his team's next 12 points to make it 58-44. Through three quarters, Dalhousie led 60-44. 

Christie and Ngala carried their strong play into the fourth, where they combined for 17 of their team's 19 fourth-quarter points on 7-of-10 shooting. Ngala opened up a 24-point lead—Dalhousie's largest of the night—on a layup with 3:45 remaining in the game. At that point, the Panthers waved the white flag as head coach Darrell Glenn pulled his starters. 

UPEI will host the Memorial Sea-Hawks for two games next weekend, while the Tigers travel to Cape Breton to take on the Capers.