CALGARY – Using a dominant fourth quarter to finish off the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack, the No. 3 ranked University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team improved to 6-0 with the 95-68 victory.
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Senior Dinos forward Robbie Sihota led all scorers on Saturday night, draining 27 points, while Sean Garvey led the Wolfpack with 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Beating their opponents by an average margin of victory of 28 points through their first five games of the season, the Dinos were able to keep pace with that clip in beating the Wolfpack by 27 points. However it did not come easy.
Led by Greg Stewart, who managed to make the Dinos hulking lineup look small at a towering 7'2”, Thompson Rivers pulled to within six points in the third quarter after trailing by more than 20. Down by only eight going into the final frame of the evening, the Kamloops squad seemed poised to challenge the #3 team in the nation all the way down to the wire.
However for the second straight evening, the Dinos put any dreams of an upset to rest in the fourth quarter, relying on their depth to out-score their opponents 33-14 in the final stanza. Calgary had to fight off the Fraser Valley Cascades in the second half of their Friday match in order to secure the lopsided victory in the late stages.
Stewart had 14 points and nine rebounds on the evening, and was a presence in the paint for the 'Pack, who managed to out-rebound the Dinos 44-41 - a battle that Calgary does not lose very often. Jeff Friesen also added eight points and eight boards in a complementary role for TRU.
Calgary got the usual strong output from Ross Bekkering, who nearly hit the double-double mark with 18 points and nine rebounds, and got a nice game from third-year swingman Dustin Reding, who poured in 15 points in only 19 minutes.
Point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson had another solid game in his inaugural CIS season, dishing out eight assists to complement his 13 point effort.
Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren is satisfied with how his team played for the majority of Saturday's tilt.
“Aside from that third quarter I was fairly pleased with how we played,” said Vanhooren. “They fought back there in the third, and were able to make it a game for a while until I think our depth and fitness levels took over, which allowed us to finish strong.
“I think that when we take the ball to the basket and get a little more aggressive, that's when we excel. It's not good enough to settle for jump shots when we can get lay-ups and only go to the line 14 times” the coach continued. “But, I'm always happy with a sweep, and now we have to re-focus for a tough opponent on the road.”
The Wolfpack (0-4) will pack up after being swept on a tough Alberta road trip, and head back home in time for a two game series against the Pacific division powerhouse, the UBC Thunderbirds.
The Dinos remain unscathed on the season, and head to Saskatoon next weekend for a two game set with the Saskatchewan Huskies, who dropped to 2-2 after a weekend west coast sweep at the hands of the UBC Thunderbirds and the Victoria Vikes.
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