The second-seed University of Calgary Dinos took on the sixth-seeded University of PEI Panthers in a heated men’s basketball semifinal matchup at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre on Friday night, where the Dinos emerged victorious with a lopsided 87–54 win.
Both teams came out with high intensity to kick off the first quarter, everyone having their sights set on a spot in the national final.
Kamari Scott of the Panthers opened the scoring with a contested high-glass layup. U Sports Player of the Year Nate Petrone of the Dinos came right back with a contested layup of his own, setting the tone for this grit-and-grind gold medal contention game.
The Dinos started to find their stride toward the latter half of the first quarter, thanks to a few kick-out three-pointers, ending the first 10 minutes of play up 28–17. Petrone was a catalyst for the Dinos’ offence, comfortably dropping 12 points and 4 assists.
Daniel Baumanis ignited the Dinos' offence in the second quarter with a wide-open three-pointer. UPEI leaned on agile guards Scott and Kyree Thompson for offence, but the Dinos’ defence was formidable as they extended their lead to 39–25 halfway through the second.
The Panthers found a little momentum toward the end of the second, but the Dinos continued to capitalize on their shot selection, shooting 46.2 per cent from the field and 38.5 per cent from beyond the arc. The Panthers struggled to find the net, shooting 35.1 per cent from the field with no three-pointers. The Dinos maintained the lead, closing the half on top 46–33.
The teams went bucket-for-bucket to kick off the third quarter, continuing the quick pace from the first half. However, Petrone kicked it up a notch toward the end of the third, showcasing his ability as a playmaker and elite scorer, widening the lead to 64–45 to close the quarter.
In the fourth, the Panthers ran a five-out offence with hopes of creating three-point chances to close the gap. However, the Dinos built on their previous momentum and ran away with it, ending UPEI’s hopes at a Cinderella run with a 87–54 win.
“I know that they pulled off an upset. We knew that they were a good team. We just have that underdog mentality and we’re going to keep rolling with that,” said Petrone in an interview with The Ubyssey.
Fueled by the rowdy energy from the travelling Calgary fans, Petrone led the court with a 30-point double-double alongside 8 assists.
“Calgary took over BC. They die for us, we die for them. It’s unbelievable — unbelievable support,” said Petrone.
The Dinos now set their sights on the national championship final matchup against the University of Victoria Vikes on Sunday, March 16, at 1 p.m. in the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, where they will look to capture their second national championship title in program history.
This article is part of our 2025 Final 8 coverage. Follow us at @UbysseySports on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, as well as @theubyssey on TikTok, to follow our U Sports basketball coverage starting March 12.
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