CALGARY – As one fan aptly put it, the University of Calgary Dinos “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory from the jaws of defeat” Friday night in their home opener, falling 80-79 to the Lethbridge Pronghorns at the Jack Simpson Gym.

BOX SCORE

Randy Davis' uncontested three-ball from the corner found nothing but net with just one second left on the clock to give Lethbridge their first victory of the year after the Horns almost let a 20-point lead slip away in the second half. Lethbridge improves to 1-2 in Canada West play, while the Dinos drop to the same 1-2 record.

The finish was as thrilling as they come as the home side made it all the way back from that 20-point halftime deficit. With less than 30 seconds to play, Lethbridge led by four with a pair of free throws upcoming for Calgary. Freshman Matt Letkeman hit both to make it a two-point game, and a steal followed by a dunk by Tyler Fidler tied the affair at 77-77.

Fidler was fouled on the play, and his successful free throw gave the Dinos their first lead of the night at 78-77 with 14 seconds left. Calgary got the stop they needed defensively, and Letkeman went back to the line with just seven ticks on the clock. He missed the first but drained the second to make it a 79-77 Calgary lead.

With the clock ticking down, however, Danhue Lawrence found Davis in the corner in front of the Lethbridge bench, and Davis made no mistake, draining the energy from a raucous crowd of 1,304.

It was a largely successful second half to that point for the Dinos, who fought back after the Horns looked to be in complete control for the opening half.

“We didn't lose this game in the last seven seconds, we lost it in the first 20 minutes,” said Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren. “This team has guts and they're tough, but we need to really start learning to play with urgency from the tip. We had a lot of guys in foul trouble, and we need our veteran guys to be able to lead on the floor.”

Davis and Co. put on a clinic in the opening half, with he and Zack Humphrey scoring nine points apiece as the Horns held the Dinos to just 24 points and took a 44-24 lead into the break.

Fidler led the way for Calgary in the second after playing just seven first-half minutes due to foul trouble. He spent every second of the final 20 minutes on the floor, scoring 19 of his 21 points in the second half as Calgary cut the deficit to just 10 after the third quarter and made it as tight as three with eight minutes left.

The Horns, however, were able to match the Dinos when they really needed to all night – and that success was largely from beyond the arc. Lethbridge nailed seven treys on the game against just three for Calgary. Humphrey had three of those, accounting for all of his scoring on the night, while Davis had a pair –  including the game-winner from the corner.

Davis finished with 19 points to lead Lethbridge, while Lawrence had 16. Julian Spear Chief-Morris, Derek Waldner, and Humphrey chipped in with nine apiece.

Four Dinos hit double digits in scoring: Fidler, Letkeman (13), Youri Annisovets (12), and Dustin Reding (10). Letkeman and Annisovets were particularly effective in the second-half comeback as the Dinos were able to establish some inside play, but in the end they came up one point too short.

Calgary and Lethbridge will do battle once more Saturday night, with tip-off at 8 p.m. MT in the Jack Simpson Gym.

-UC-