ABBOTSFORD, B.C. - A huge opening quarter led the University of Calgary Dinos to an 86-58 victory over the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in Canada West men's basketball action Friday at Envision Athletic Centre.

BOX SCORE

Calgary out-scored Fraser Valley 33-16 in the first quarter, and 16-10 in the second quarter for a mammoth 49-26 lead at the half.

“They're a strong, talented team and they came out of the gate with an intensity we couldn't match. Credit them for playing a good game of basketball,” said Cascades head coach Barnaby Craddock after the 28-point defeat on home court. “We're going to have to learn to compete with efforts like that and up our intensity and performance.”

Calgary shot 52 per cent from the floor compared to Fraser Valley's 36 percent. The Dinos out-rebounded Fraser Valley 32-18 in the defensive zone, and 49-30 in total.

Robbie Sihota led Calgary with 27 points and eight boards, while Ross Bekkering and Henry Bekkering each added 16 points.

The Cascades had only two players in double figures. Chris Laurie went five-for-10 from the floor and hit a trio of three-pointers for 13 points, while Sam Freeman was four-for-seven from the floor for 10 points.

“They came ready to compete at a higher level than we did. They're a strong team that's going to have its way in the paint with a lot of teams,” added Craddock. “The biggest difference in the game was their fire and their hunger to play hard for 40 minutes. We didn't match that on this night and we need to learn to bring our intensity up to the level they showed tonight.”

Calgary improved its record to 2-1, and travels to Kamloops to play the WolfPack at TRU Saturday.

The Cascades, who swept games with Thompson Rivers on opening weekend, fell to 2-1 on the season.

UFV will host the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday at 8 p.m. at Envision Athletic Centre. Calgary finishes a four-game road swing with a trip to Kamloops to play the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Saturday night.

-30-