Dinos Upset Win Sparked By ‘O-J’

at Calgary Dinos 83  Saskatchewan Huskies 79  - Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson returned to the Calgary Dinos line-up with a vengeance Friday night, scoring 21 points including 2 free throws with 8 seconds left, which iced it for the home team. Missing for 8 weeks with a hand injury, ‘O-J’ was one of the essential ingredients missing as the Dinos fought to keep their  heads above water in League play, and his role in this big win is proof of his value to  Calgary.

  <<< Tyler Fidler hit for 19 points in the Dinos win over the Huskies

The Huskies applied more defensive pressure in the 2nd half, denying Ogungbemi-Jackson the ball on the inbounds, and they caught and passed Calgary in the early part of the 4th quarter.  This was O-J’s night however, as he was everywhere, grabbing 11 rebounds, and slipping through the defense leading the Dinos to a 25 point final stanza, and their 4th win against 7 losses in Canada West.

The Huskies got 18 pts./15 rebounds from Michael Lieffers, their 5th year post man, and 19 from the speedy Lomuro, mostly  off a blistering fast break.  Barrett (13 pts./ 7 rebs./7 assists) and a hot-shooting rookie, Matt Forbes, (13 pts.) were also in double figures for Saskatchewan, who drop out of 1st place with a 6-4 record.  Calgary outshot Saskatchewan 17/20 to11/20 from the foul line, while the Huskies had 44 rebounds to Calgary’s 37.

The teams go at it again on Saturday at 8 pm with the game live on Canada West TV.

Other Canada West Results - Friday

at Alberta Golden Bears 91   Lethbridge 83   - the Bears go to 7-4 in edging  the Pronghorns behind 25 points and 10 rebounds from Jordan Baker.  U of A had 5 players in double figures - Daniel Ferguson, 15, Robert Dewar 13, Lyndon Taylor, 14, and Matthew Cardoza, 10.  Dom Coward had a big night for the ‘Horns, who drop to 5-6, as he matched Baker, scoring 25 and claiming 10 boards.

   at Winnipeg Wesmen 66  Brandon Bobcats  61 - the Ws turn the tables on Brandon with a huge 12 point, 14 rebs./ 8 assists from guard Andrew Cunningham.  Helping the home team’s cause was Mark McNee with 17, and Travis Krahn with 11 pts/ 17 rebs.  Brandon got 20 from Donovan Gayle, and 16 from Michael Smith, plus 10 boards apiece by Ali Mounir and Jordan Reaves. Winnipeg goes to 3-9, while Brandon drops to 5-7.

  at Manitoba Bisons 116 Regina Cougars 87 -  Thundering Herd !  The Bisons (7-4) unloaded all the guns on Regina led by 23 points, 9 rebs. by Kevin Oliver.  U of M also had Stephen Walton with 17 pts and 7 helpers, Xavier Smith hitting 14 pts., and Jonar Huertas and Tanner Draward at 12 each. Regina, now 3-7, had 17 points and10 boards from Connor Burns.

Trinity Western Spartans 83 at  UBC-O Heat 77 - The Spartans led all the way, and held off a strong finish by UBC-O to claim their 5th win vs. 6 losses.  Kyle Coston scored 20, while Calvin Westbrook and Sean Peter had 19 each for TWU.  Yassine Ghomari scored 33 for the Heat, and added 9 boards, and Simon Pelland notched 23 points.  UBC-O is now 2-9 on the year.

UBC T-Birds at Thompson Rivers WolfPack - UBC’s Doug Plumb scored 23 in leading the ‘Birds to a 7-2 mark, as he was helped by 15 from rookie Malcolm Williams, with the team shooting 52% on the night including 10/20 from 3 pt. range.  TRU got 14 pts and 9 rebounds from Justin King, 13 from Akeem Pierre,   but Chas Kok their 2nd leading scorer had only 9 points as the WolfPack (5-6)  shot just 31 % vs UBC’s aggressive D .

at Victoria Vikes  79   Fraser Valley Cascades 70 - The league leading Vikes are at 9-2, but have lost 2 of 3, both on their home court.  Fraser Valley recovers from a home loss to Lethbridge and moves to 7-4 sparked by 18 points and 6 boards by Kyle Grewal, 17 pts. from Joel Friesen, and 15 by Sam Freeman.  Victoria, who shot just 36% against a tight UFV defense, got 19 from Mike Berg and 17 from Michael Acheampong.

Notes ...

1. • In the Winnipeg home game tonight vs. Brandon, viewers on Canada West-TV were treated to a ‘standard Manitoba accent‘  from a calm, informative Dave Crook, former Wesmen and U of L Pronghorn coach ... ‘Crookie’ partners with a very good play-by-play man, whose name we were unable to catch.  Very good presentation from TSN radio 1290-Winnipeg.
   

1. • A cameo appearance  in a Canada West game (Dinos-Huskies) tonight for Calgary ref Michael Weiland,  who is still working games in the NBA Development League, in places like Sioux Falls, SD, Boise, ID,  Bakersfield, CA, and Reno, NV, with hopes of making it to the ‘big show’ in the future.  Meanwhile, Weiland still refs games in Canada West, when his schedule allows.
   

1. • In their 1st game back after the Holiday break, the Nijmagen Magixx of the Netherlands Pro League had the services of both Henry and Ross Bekkering, as they defeated League leaders, Den Bosch, 84-82.   Henry scored 19 points, while Ross, returning after a 6 week absence with an injured hand, hit for 7 points and had 9 rebounds.
   

1. • The UC Athletic Department is selling advance tickets for the 2012 CIS Women’s Final 8 Championship Tournament, to be held at the Jack Simpson Gym in Calgary from March 17-19.  Tickets for the championship are on sale now, with early bird pricing in effect until Jan. 31. They can be purchased at any Dinos basketball home game for the remainder of the season, and online at www.goDINOS.com/ticketweb.