OTTAWA (CIS) – Fifth-year guard Chris Dyck of Winnipeg scored a tournament-high 34 points to lead the No. 3-seeded UBC Thunderbirds to a 79-74 win over the No. 2 Calgary Dinos in the first semi-final of the 2009 CIS men's basketball championship, Saturday evening, at Scotiabank Place.
Championship website: www.universitysport.ca/e/final8/2009
BOX SCORE
The T-Birds avenged an 80-76 loss to Calgary in the Canada West final played two weeks ago to advance to the CIS championship game for the first time since 1987, when they lost 74-66 to Brandon with current head coach Kevin Hanson playing point guard.
Crowned W.P. McGee trophy champion in 1970 and 1972, UBC will face either No. 1 Carleton or No. 4 Western Ontario Sunday at 4 p.m., live on The Score Television Network and SSN Canada (webcast).
“That was 22 years and about 60 pounds ago,” said Hanson about the '87 final. “It's been a long time but I'm still hoping I can take some of the experience from that game and share it with the guys.”
“This has been a long time coming for us, it's just a great win for our program,” added Hanson, who had seen his team lose in the opening round in each of its past CIS tournament five appearances over the last six years. “Chris played just unbelievable, full credit to him.”
The Dinos were looking to advance to the title match for the second time in team history. Calgary lost 95-83 to Windsor in the 1966 final.
“It was a great game and unfortunately the result is not what we had hoped for,” said Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren. “This was a great battle between two good teams, and good teams will bring the best out of each other.”
Dyck, who had a game-high 23 points in a losing cause two weeks ago against Calgary, scored 17 points in each half in the national semi-final on his way to UBC game-MVP honours. He shot 10-of-20 from the floor, including 4-of-9 from three-point range, and was good on 10-of-11 free-throw attempts, including a perfect 8-of-8 in the final 92 seconds of the contest.
“For some reason I just knew I would have a good game,” said Dyck, who was held to four points in 16 minutes of court time on Friday in UBC's 78-54 quarterfinal win over No. 6 Dalhousie. “The shots started falling early for me today, it helped me get into the game.”
Six-foot-seven forward Matt Rachar (Burnaby, B.C.), also a fifth-year senior playing in his final weekend as a T-Bird, tallied 13 points and six rebounds in the win, while guard Josh Whyte (Calgary) had 11 points.
The Dinos were paced by guard Tyler Fidler (Calgary), who scored 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the floor in 30 minutes of play, before fouling out with 1:32 left in regulation. The six-foot-nine sophomore was named UC player of the match.
Six-foot-eight forward Ross Bekkering (Taber, Alta.), with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and forward Robbie Sihota (Calgary), with 12 points and 11 boards, both had double-doubles in the loss. Bekkering's older brother, Henry, finished with 18 points including a pair of spectacular dunks.
UBC held a one-point edge after the opening quarter, 21-20, after sinking five of 11 attempts from three-point range including a pair apiece by Dyck and forward Brent Malish (Langley, B.C.), who both had eight points after 10 minutes.
Fidler did most of the damage for Calgary in the first stanza tallying 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor.
The Dinos opened the second frame on a 5-0 run. UBC came back to tie the affair twice, at 25-25 and 30-30, and regained the lead midway through the period on a pair of Kyle Watson (Richmond, B.C.) free throws.
The score would be tied twice more before the halftime break, at 40-40 and 42-42, before Dyck sent the T-Birds to the locker room with a three-pointer with 18 seconds left on the clock.
Dyck had nine points in the second quarter to go into the half with 17 on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Fidler had 12 points after 20 minutes while Henry Bekkering had 10. The two combined for a spectacular alley-oop that got the crowd on its feet three minutes before the intermission.
UBC was shooting an even 50.0 percent at the break (17-34) including 46.7% (7-15) from long distance, while Calgary was hitting at a 38.5% rate (15-39), making only one of 10 three-pointers.
Dyck didn't waste any time to reach the 20-point mark, opening the second half with his fourth three-pointer of the night. He hit the 25-point plateau and gave the T-Birds a 13-point cushion, at 61-48, when he scored on an aggressive drive to the basket and added a foul shot with 93 seconds left in the third frame.
UBC outscored Calgary 16-8 in the third for a 60-51 lead after 30 minutes.
The Dinos remained within striking distance through the final quarter and freshman guard Andy Rochon (Mundelein, Ill.) made it a five-point affair, at 70-65, when he scored on an acrobatic play with two minutes remaining.
Ross Bekkering closed the gap to 73-70 with a thunderous dunk with just over one minute left and, after Dyck missed on a layup, brother Henry hit a jumper with 54.6 seconds on the clock to make it 73-72.
With 34.5 seconds left, the elder Bekkering was called on a blocking foul on Dyck, who hit both ensuing free throws to restore a three-point UBC advantage.
Sihota missed a potential game-tying three-pointer but Dino rookie Dominyc Coward (Airdrie, Alta.) scored on a two-point shot moments later to make it 75-74.
Dyck was fouled with 14.5 seconds remaining and once again hit both free throws. Calgary drove the ball down the court and took another shot at tying the match, but this time it was Ross Bekkering who missed from beyond the arc. Dyck rounded out the scoring with two more foul shots with 3.5 seconds to go.
UBC held on despite shooting only 27.3 percent from the floor in the second half (9-33), which dropped the T-Birds to 38.8% for the game (26-67).
GAME NOTES: The UBC-Calgary semi-final marked the first meeting in history at nationals between the Canada West rivals… It was the first CIS semi-final between Western teams since Alberta faced Brandon in 1999…
STAT LEADERS
UBC
Points: Chris Dyck (34), Matt Rachar (13), Josh Whyte (11)
Rebounds: Kyle Watson (8), Matt Rachar (6), Brent Malish (5)
Assists: Chris Dyck (3), Josh Whyte (2)
Player of the game: Chris Dyck
Calgary
Points: Tyler Fidler (23), Henry Bekkering (18), Ross Bekkering (12), Robbie Sihota (12)
Rebounds: Ross Bekkering (12), Robbie Sihota (11), Dominyc Coward (5)
Assists: 4 players with 2
Player of the game: Tyler Fidler
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL)
Friday, March 13
Quarterfinal #1: No. 2 Calgary 76, No. 7 Concordia 67
Quarterfinal #2: No. 3 UBC 78, No. 6 Dalhousie 54
Quarterfinal #3: No. 4 Western Ontario 75, No. 5 Ottawa 48
Quarterfinal #4: No. 1 Carleton 94, No. 8 St. Francis Xavier 57
Saturday, March 14
Consolation #1: No. 7 Concordia 72, No. 6 Dalhousie 61
Consolation #2: No. 5 Ottawa 85, No. 8 St. Francis Xavier 63
Semifinal #1: No. 3 UBC 79, No. 2 Calgary 74
20:00 Semifinal #2: No. 4 Western Ontario vs. No. 1 Carleton (The Score)
Sunday, March 15
13:30 5th-place consolation final: No. 7 Concordia vs. No. 5 Ottawa
16:00 Final: No. 3 UBC vs. TBD (The Score)
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