CALGARY – It's only fitting that two forever rivals will meet in the men's basketball Central Division Final as the Alberta Golden Bears make their second straight trip to this series in the Jack Simpson Gym.
Just as last season, Alberta qualified for the division final with a series win over the Saskatchewan Huskies at home while the Dinos watched the scoreboard during their bye week. The Bears took their semi-final with the Huskies in straight games with 77-66 and 63-54 wins at the Main Gym in Edmonton, and head coach Don Horwood's farewell tour returns to the Jack Simpson Gym this weekend for the final time.
After 26 years on the sidelines with the Bears, Horwood's storied career could come to a close this weekend if the Dinos win the series. The three-time national champion is retiring following the season and will be replaced by Greg Francis next year, and the Bears must win this series to keep their season alive.
It was less of a must-win situation for Alberta last season, when the Dinos dominated this series with 87-78 and 90-66 wins in front of a packed Jack. The Bears got the wild card to the conference Final Four, also in Calgary. The Dinos dropped a heartbreaking semi-final to UBC, ending their chances of qualifying for the CIS Final 8 in Ottawa. Adding insult to injury for the Dinos, Alberta beat Brandon in its semi-final and did qualify for nationals – so despite an overpowering performance in the division final, the Bears moved on while the Dinos stayed home.
The taste of that defeat is still fresh in the Dinos' collective mind, however, and Calgary will have added motivation to end Alberta's season this weekend. The odds of the Bears getting the wild card this year are almost non-existent due to the strength in the Pacific Division, while the sixth-ranked Dinos have something to prove after last season's early exit.
The archrivals split their four-game season series in 2008-09, with each team winning once in the other's gym. Calgary's final game of the regular season was an 86-76 loss to the Bears in Edmonton, and Alberta grabbed a 78-62 win over the Dinos Jan. 3 in the Jack. Calgary's wins came by 84-76 and 99-92 scores.
The Dinos were without Henry Bekkering in the January series, part of the five-game stretch he missed with a neck injury. The fifth-year star was lights out in the season finale in Edmonton, however, scoring 41 in the Dinos' win and 30 in the loss Feb. 6 and 7, respectively. After a short but stellar two-year career with the Dinos, the elder Bekkering plays his final game in the Jack Simpson Gym this weekend. His two-season stint brought fans to their feet countless times with his unmatched athleticism and dynamic play, and he finished fourth in the conference scoring race with 20.2 points per game this season.
His younger brother Ross Bekkering also had a career season, leading Canada West in field goal percentage at .570 while averaging a double-double of 15.4 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Robbie Sihota, who is in his fourth year along with Ross, cracked the top 10 in scoring for Calgary with a 16.5 points-per-game average.
All three of the Dinos' forward trio finished higher in the scoring race than the top Golden Bear, that being C.G. Morrison. The fourth-year guard put up just under 15 points a night for Alberta to finish 19th in the conference, with senior Neb Aleksic finishing 25th with 13.9 ppg – the same average as Calgary sophomore Tyler Fidler.
When Bekkering scored 41 in Calgary's road win two weeks ago, Morrison had 30 on 11-for-13 shooting from the field. His shooting cooled off during the Saskatchewan series, but Harvey Bradford and Scott Leigh were there to pick up the slack. Bradford put up 26 in the first game, with Leigh potting 25 in Game 2. The Bears have several weapons and, while they do not match up well size-wise with the Dinos, they have proven that they can score against Calgary's big men. A good defensive effort from the home side, then, is certainly called for this weekend.
The winner of this best-of-three series advances to the Canada West Final Four, hosted this year by the Pacific Division champion. The top two teams from that event will advance to the Final 8 in Ottawa, with the one national wild card spot a possibility for one of the non-qualifiers. Other division finals this weekend have Regina at Brandon and Trinity Western at UBC.
The Central Division Final goes Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., with Game 3 scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. if necessary in the Jack Simpson Gym. All three games will be webcast live by NUTV through goDINOS.com.
Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance to avoid long lines at the box office on game night. Tickets are available online at www.goDINOS.com, via email at tickets@ucalgary.ca, or by phone at (403) 220-7749.
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