#7 Alberta 77 #3 Saskatchewan 71

Huskies-Bears Stats

by Matt Gutsch, U of Alberta Sports Information

EDMONTON - Fifth-year guard Daniel Ferguson scored 19 points to lead the No.7 ranked University of Alberta Golden Bears’ basketball team to a 77-71 upset win over the No.3 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at the Saville Community Sport Centre in Edmonton.

Ferguson connected on a pair of three-pointers, and was perfect from the free-throw line to pace Alberta.  Jordan Baker, a third-year guard from Edmonton, had 18 points, four rebounds and four assists in the win, while Todd Bergen-Henengouwen had 16 points, including some clutch buckets late in the fourth, and six rebounds.

The Huskies, winners of the 2010 CIS championship, were led by veteran Nolan Brudehl, who had a game high 20 points and eight rebounds, while Peter Lomuro chipped in with 13 points.  Jamelle Barrett and Michael Lieffers each added 10 points in the loss.

Alberta improves to 2-1 on the season with the win, while the Huskies drop to 1-1.  The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 8:00 p.m., a game that can viewed live on www.canadawest.tv.

bears.ualberta.ca

Trinity Western 78 Winnipeg 77

Wesmen-Spartans Stats

by Mark Janzen, Spartans Sports Info Assistant

LANGLEY, BC – The Trinity Western men’s basketball got its first win of the Canada West season as they hung on for a 78-77 win over Winnipeg Friday at the Langley Events Centre.

In what was a turnover and foul-plagued game, the Spartans built a 14-point third quarter advantage and then, after a scrappy Wesmen side got back in the contest, managed to escape with a win after Winnipeg’s Dominque Brown missed a jumper at the buzzer.

The Spartans, who were playing without injured Kyle Coston, were led by Tristan Smith, who had 22 points and eight assists, Calvin Westbrook, who had 21 points, and Sean Peter, who had 18 points and nine rebounds.

Winnipeg’s Brown led the Wesmen in scoring with 21 points while Travis Krahn had 15 points and Brayden Duff added 12 points.

The win improves the Spartans record to 1-2 on the year while Winnipeg falls to 1-2.

With 15 seconds left, Winnipeg’s Kelvin Smith knocked down a three-pointer to make it 78-77 for Trinity Western but the visitors couldn’t complete the comeback as Brown’s jumper missed at the horn.

On Saturday the Spartans will host Manitoba at 7:00 p.m. while Winnipeg will travel to Fraser Valley to play the Cascades at 7:00 p.m.

TWU Athletics

#5 UBC 91 Brandon 55

Bobcats-T'Birds Stats

by Lee Dorner, UBC Sports Info Assistant

VANCOUVER - The new-look UBC Thunderbirds opened the conference season with an impressive 91-55 win over the Brandon Bobcats on Friday on the strength of 38 points from their rookies, including a game-high 19 from freshman guard Malcolm Williams.

Fifth-year centre Balraj Bains finished with three blocks in the game along with a game-high 10 rebounds and nine points. UBC rookie Nakai Lukyen scored 12 points, including a monster dunk to put the exclamation point on UBC's home opener in the fourth quarter.

Nathan Yu scored 15 for UBC in his first start at point guard. Tommy Nixon added 12 points and Graham Bath had 11.

Ali-Mounir Benabdelhak led the Bobcats with 12 points and tied Alex Klocek for the team rebounding lead with five boards.

The Bobcats fall to 1-2 on the year, while the win sees UBC start 1-0.

Next up for the 'Birds are the Regina Cougars. Those sides clash on Saturday at War Memorial Gym. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

GoThunderbirds.ca

#8 Fraser Valley 101 Manitoba 76

Bisons-Cascades Stats

by David Kent, Fraser Valley Sports Information

ABBOTSFORD, BC - The Fraser Valley Cascades men’s basketball team defeated the University of Manitoba Bisons, 101-76, at the Envision Athletic Centre to improve their Canada West regular season conference record to 2-1.

The Cascades will host the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday night.

In the second half, UFV played excellent defense holding Manitoba to 37 points as they outscored the Bisons by six to win their home opener by 25 points. Joel Friesen led all Cascades with a game-high 24 point performance. He added three assists and four rebounds in the win. Sam Freeman added 17 points as five different Cascades scored ten or more points.     

Jomar Huertas led all Bisons with 11 points as three different Bisons were in double figures. Kevin Oliver’s six total rebounds was tops on Manitoba.

Cascades Athletics

#9 Victoria 85 Regina 66

Cougars-Vikes Stats

by Andy Watson, Vikes Communications

VICTORIA - The Victoria Vikes men's basketball team lived up to their No. 9 national ranking, dominating the Regina Cougars with an 85-66 win at McKinnon Gymnasium on Friday night.

Ryan MacKinnon led the Vikes with a game-high 26 points along with four rebounds to earn Applebee's Player of the Game honours, while Terrell Evans was effective inside with 14 points and six boards off the bench.

The Vikes host the Brandon Bobcats on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at McKinnon Gymnasium.

Zac Andrus of Vachon Island, Wa., had a terrific 11-point, six-rebound and eight-assist effort for UVic. Paul Gareau led Regina with 23 points and five rebounds in the loss.

Vikes Athletics

Thompson Rivers 96 Calgary 79

WolfPack-Dinos Stats

by Eric Kerkhoven, UC Sports Information

CALGARY – Shooting a blistering percentage from the field, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack devoured the host Calgary Dinos on Friday night by a score of 96-79.

Kevin Pribilsky was the main thorn in the side of the Dinos, racking up 26 points for the ‘Pack, with 12 of those coming from long range. Chas Kok added 19, ripping down eight boards in the process.

Josh Wolfram did his best to bring his Dinos back into it in the third quarter, potting eight of his 16 points, including two emphatic two-handed dunks, in less than two minutes, but the Calgary defence let him down in allowing TRU to match him on each of his buckets. Wolfram, who played 31 minutes, was excellent patrolling the paint, adding nine rebounds to enhance his point total.

Fifth-year forward Tyler Fidler had his struggles shooting for Calgary on Friday, going three for 15 before before fouling out, but came close to nabbing his customary double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.  Josh Owen-Thomas added 14 points for the Dinos, while Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson had nine points and seven rebounds.

Including Pribilsky and Kok, Thompson Rivers had five total players in double digits, as Justin King earned 16 points and nine rebounds, while Brett Parker and Will Ondrik joined the group with 14 and 10, respectively.

Calgary hosts the UBC-Okanagan Heat at home on Saturday, while the WolfPack travel south to face the Lethbridge Pronghorns.

GoDinos.com

Lethbridge 88 UBC Okanagan 61

Heat-Horns Stats

by Eoin Colquhoun, U of Lethbridge Sports Information

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Coming off a pair of close games against the Winnipeg Wesmen last weekend that left the Horns with a 1-1 conference record, the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns men’s basketball team cruised to decisive victory over the UBC-Okanagan Heat 88-61 in their 2011-2012 home opener.

The depth of the Horns bench was key, including a 19-point effort by Dominyc Coward, only recently returning to the hardwood after early-season surgery.  Point guard Daryl Cooper added 14 points while notching 10 assists and 7 rebounds.  Fourth-year post Derek Waldner pitched in another 14 points while pulling down 10 boards. 

For the Heat, third-year guard Yassine Ghomari logged 22 points on the scoresheet, while Mack Roth added 10.

The Horns will meet the Thompson Rivers on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. The WolfPack may prove to be a stronger foe than the Heat, coming off a 96-79 victory over the University of Calgary Dinos tonight.  UBCO will move north to meet the Dinos on Saturday in Calgary.  The games will be broadcast on www.canadawest.tv. 

Pronghorns Athletics