Dustin Reding takes it to the hole against UBC Saturday

For one half, the Calgary Dinos looked to be fashioning an upset of the #1 ranked UBC T-Birds, out-scoring the visitors 42 - 27 and controlling the ‘Birds dangerous shooters.  Unfortunately for the Dinos, the second half saw a complete turn-around, as the Pacific leaders bombed away from the outside to catch Calgary at 52, and finish with a 79-71 win, running their record to 13-0.


The deadly duo of point guard Josh Whyte, with 4 assists, and 4 steals, and Blain Labranche, scoring 26 pts. including 4/8 from 3 pt. range, were too much for Calgary.  The UBC offense moved the ball sharply, and opened up great shot opportunities, as they hit 56 % in the second half.
The ‘Birds defense also stiffened considerably, making it difficult for UC to mount any consistent attack.  Calgary turned it over 24 times in the game, with most coming in the final 2 quarters, where the home team was out-scored 52-29.


< Tyler Fidler scores for the Dinos


The T-Birds also won the battle on the boards, led by Brent Malish with 8, and he also tallied 12 points.  The aggressiveness of their defense appeared to rattle the Dinos, who had trouble challenging an effective half-court trap by the ‘Birds.  Calgary got 19 points from Tyler Fidler, 14 from Ross Bekkering, and 13 from Jamie McLeod.  In a game where they could have used the shooting eye of Robbie Sihota, the Dinos had him for only 14 minutes, as he had foul trouble throughout.  Bekkering grabbed 7 rebounds for the Dinos, and Fidler had 6.


Calgary shot 43 % from the floor compared to 47 % for UBC, and the T-Birds cashed 33 % of the their 3 pt. attempts, whereas Calgary could manage only 24 %.  UBC was 18/23 from the foul line  to UC’s 14/18, both teams at 78 %.


The Dinos drop to 11-4, but remain 2 games up on Saskatchewan in the loss column, with the Huskies going down at Fraser Valley..  Next weekend Calgary hosts the Regina Cougars for a pair of Prairie Division games.  The interlocking games between the Divisions are now over, as the teams mix it up with playoff rivals in their own region. 





Canada West Scores ... Saturday ...


  1. ★  at Simon Fraser  79   -  Manitoba 68 ... Chas Kok, 15 pts./10 rebs. and Matt Kuzminski, 16 pts./11 rebs.  led the Clan as they improve to an impressive 11-2 on the season. Manitoba drops to 4-11, losing sight of any playoff chances ... Nathan Dixon scored 19 in the Bisons loss.



  1. ★ at Lethbridge  74  -  Victoria  63 ...  52 % shooting for the ‘Horns, who are now 7-8 ... 13 pts. from Jeff Price, 12 each  from Randy Davis and Derrick Waldner, as U of L out-rebounded UVic 39-30.  Victoria, now at 7-6 after 2 losses in S. Alberta, was led by 16 by Zac Andrus.


  1. ★ at Regina  98  -  Brandon  75 ...  the Cougars (8-6) blew away their old rivals with a scorching 64 % shooting night from the floor, sparked by Jeff Lukomski’s 34 pts., which included 9/13 from 3 pt. range.  The Bobcats, who got 14 from Kyrie Coleman, are now 6-10 and sinking out of playoff contention. 


  1. ★ Alberta  79  at Thompson Rivers  69 ... the Bears (7-9) get a split on their road trip behind 16 from Rob Dewar, 15 from Scott Leigh, and 13 boards by Jordan Baker.  TRU (2-12) were led by the 20 pts. and 14 rebounds of Jeff Friesen.


  1. ★ at  Fraser Valley  80  -  Saskatchewan  77  ...  Sam Freeman scored 23, and Joel Friesen 20, as UFV shot 44 % to only 34 % for U of S.  A big 3rd quarter had the Huskies (8-6) up 4, but the Cascades (8-6) came back, despite Saskatchewan shooting 25/33 free throws  to only   11/15 for the home squad.



  1. ★ at Trinity Western  99  -   Winnipeg   63  ... TWU got 23 from Calvin Westbrook, and out-boarded the Wesmen 51-18.  The Spartans are 8-5, and in a tussle for 3rd in the Pacific.  Winnipeg had 28 pts. from Nick Lother, but they are now  0-15.




Notes ...


  1. • The Mount Royal Cougars beat Medicine Hat 77-58 on Friday in Calgary, but could not travel to the ‘Hat for game 2 Saturday due to dangerous driving conditions.   SAIT bested Red Deer College 87-73 in Calgary Friday  and nipped the Kings in Red Deer Saturday for the weekend sweep.  The Trojans are now 11-3 and Mt. Royal 10-3, with that game to be played with the Rattlers TBA.


  1. • The UC Women’s team (7-8) keeps coming close, but lose their 4th straight game after the holiday break on Friday night ... Victoria 92  -  Calgary  85.  Better luck Saturday vs. UBC, as Ashley Hill scores 25 to lead UC to a 71- 66  win.


  1. • SFU beat Winnipeg 70-60 on Friday night, with 17 pts. from Sean Burke.