CALGARY – A monster fourth quarter spurred on by 14 fouls by the Regina Cougars lifted the seventh-ranked University of Calgary Dinos to a 96-70 win Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.
BOX SCORE
After seeing a 10-point halftime lead cut to just five after the third quarter, Calgary responded by outscoring its opponents 32-11 in the fourth as Regina stepped up its physical play and three starters fouled out for the Cougars. Several unsportsmanlike fouls were called against both teams in the fourth, with the majority of Calgary's being of the retaliatory variety as bodies flew in the Dinos' offensive end.
“We have good size up front, so we're happy to get into a physical game,” said Calgary coach Dan Vanhooren. “I thought we did a great job, and we didn't do anything stupid. Even the fouls after the whistle that we took were just to protect teammates, and that sends the right message.
“I thought we played composed, we did the right things to protect our team, and down the stretch it showed. We executed better in the fourth against their zone.”
Calgary came out to its second straight slow start, though this one was far shorter than Friday's against Brandon, a 97-87 Dinos win. After spotting the Cougars a four-point lead in the first two minutes, the Dinos righted the ship with two quick free throws from Tyler Fidler, taking a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the evening. Calgary held comfortable 26-17 and 48-38 leads after the first two quarters.
Regina stepped up its defensive play and its offensive rebounding in the third, limiting Calgary to just 16 points against the Cougars' 21 and cutting the deficit to just five heading into the final frame. Calgary went to the free throw line 22 times in the second half, exactly double the trips made by Regina.
Calgary's Tyler Fidler led all players in scoring as the Dinos received good contributions from their entire starting lineup. The defending conference rookie of the year, Fidler went 12-for-15 from the charity stripe on the night, accounting for more than half his points. Henry Bekkering and Ross Bekkering scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, with Ross picking up an even dozen rebounds for the double-double. Robbie Sihota hauled in 10 boards to go with his 13 points on the night.
Jeff Lukomski and Kris Heshka each potted 13 points for Regina, while Paul Schubach added 12 before fouling out with a technical midway through the final quarter. Heshka and Jamal Williams also committed the maximum five fouls for Regina, and their team total was 37 on the night.
Calgary, now 5-1, maintains a two-game lead atop the Central Division after both the Dinos and the Lethbridge Pronghorns swept Great Plains Division foes Brandon and Regina over the weekend. Regina, meanwhile, falls to 2-2 on the young campaign.
The Cougars return home to face Pacific division powerhouses UBC and Victoria next weekend, while Lethbridge pays a visit to Calgary in both teams' first divisional series of the season.
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