QUARTER-FINAL #2 CIS championship: No. 5 Spartans victorious in Final 8 debut

Photo credit Nick Pearce

HALIFAX (CIS) – Playing in their first-ever CIS men’s basketball championship game, the fifth-seeded Trinity Western University Spartans used a dominating opening quarter to upset the No. 4 Lakehead Thunderwolves 82-74 in the second quarter-final matchup of the 2011 Final 8 tournament, Friday afternoon, at the Halifax Metro Centre.
 
Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mbkb
 
The Spartans, who joined CIS in 1999-2000, received the wildcard entry for the tourney after a third-place finish at the Canada West Final Four. They will meet a familiar foe in Saturday’s early national semifinal at 5 p.m. AST.
 
Trinity Western will battle the top-seeded and Canada West champion UBC Thunderbirds, who downed Acadia 96-77 earlier Friday. UBC swept the head-to-head series early in the regular season with 91-69 and 90-77 road wins on Oct. 29-30.
 
“It’s a big win for our program for sure,” said TWU head coach Scott Allen. “We were well prepared, I don’t think we were overly anxious or anything. Playing in Canada West, you get to face the likes of UBC and Saskatchewan on a regular basis. We were ready.”
 
“UBC is going to be a challenge, no question. They’re a very good team. They keep coming at you. They’re relentless.”
 
The Thunderwolves, who upset perennial powerhouse Carleton to claim the first OUA title in team history a week ago, struggled out of the gate and never recovered.
 
Trinity Western was up 20-6 after the opening 10-minute-period, 39-28 at the half, and 56-39 after three quarters.
 
“We lost a couple of big leads this year so it was important for us to play hard until the end,” said Allen. “We kept our composure in the second half.”
 
Kyle Coston, a fourth-year forward from Blaine, Wash., was named player of the game following a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double.
 
First-team all-Canadian forward Jacob Doerksen also scored 20 for the winners. The native of Abbotsford, B.C., a former CIS MVP and rookie of the year, is the only Spartan who had previous CIS championship experience before the contest, reaching the national final with Victoria as a freshman.
 
“We played pretty well,” said Doerksen. “It was a new environment for all the guys and in the circumstances it was a great effort.”
 
Calvin Westbrook of Courtnenay, B.C., and Tyrell Mara of White Rock, B.C., were also in double figures for TWU with 16 and 11 points, respectively. Mara added 10 boards to complete a double-double.
 
Sophomore Ryan Thomson of Oakville, Ont., paced Lakehead with 18 points, while Jamie Searle of Belleville, Ont., had 15.
 
Down by 17 heading into the fourth quarter, the T-Wolves attempted a comeback launching three-pointers after three-pointers.
 
Searle cut the deficit to 12 points (60-48) two minutes into the final frame. He added another long-distance shot with 2:25 remaining to make it a nine-point affair at 75-66, and another three by Thomson made it 75-69 with two minutes to go.
 
But that’s as close as Lakekead would get as the Thunderwolves were forced to foul the rest of the way, and the Spartans hit timely free throws to seal the victory.
 
Lakehead finished with 11 three-pointers in 38 attempts (28.9%) compared to 3-of-16 (18.8%) for TWU, but the Canada West bronze medallists shot 47.7% overall from the floor compared to 39.1% for their opponents.
 
STAT LEADERS
 
Trinity Western
Points: Kyle Coston (20), Jacob Doerksen (20), Calvin Westbrook (16)
Rebounds: Kyle Coston (11), Tyrell Mara (10)
Assists: Tristian Smith (5), Kyle Coston (5)
 
Player of the game: Kyle Coston
 
Lakehead
Points: Ryan Thomson (18), Jamie Searle (15), Venzal Russell (13)
Rebounds: Jamie Searle (6), Venzal Russell (5), Greg Carter (5)
Assists: Venzal Russell (5)
 
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS (All times ATLANTIC TIME)
 
Friday, March 11
 
Quarter-final #1: UBC 96, Acadia 77
15:15 Quarter-final #2: Trinity Western 82, Lakehead 74
18:00 Quarter-final #3: No. 6 Dalhousie vs. No. 3 Saskatchewan (Live on TSN2)
20:15 Quarter-final #4: No. 7 Concordia vs. No. 2 Carleton (Live on TSN2)
 
Saturday, March 12
 
12:00 Consolation #1: Acadia vs.Lakehead
14:15 Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4
17:00 Semifinal #1: UBC vs. Trinity Western (TSN2 – tape delayed to 20:00 AST)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4 (TSN2 – tape delayed to 22:00 AST)
 
Sunday, March 13
 
10:30 Consolation final (5th place)
13:15 Bronze medal game (SSN Canada webcast)
17:00 Championship final (TSN2 – tape delayed to 19:00 AST)
 
-CIS-