LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Needing a win to have a shot at the post-season, the Lethbridge Pronghorns got an ugly one Saturday night, coming out on top of a poorly-played outing on both sides with a 58-56 win over the fifth-ranked Calgary Dinos at the 1st Choice Savings Centre.
BOX SCORE
The loss drops the Dinos' 2009-10 conference record to 15-5, but more importantly improved Lethbridge's mark to 10-10, setting up a wild card showdown with the Victoria Vikes for the final playoff spot in Canada West – and the honour of visiting the Dinos for a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series Feb. 26-28 in the Jack Simpson Gym.
On a set of eight criteria, the Horns and Vikes will be evaluated and ranked, with the winner emerging as the wild card entry to the postseason. Early indications, however, show the teams may emerge tied on the eight ranking points, which would send the decision to a vote by the non-playoff coaches in Canada West: Trinity Western, Thompson Rivers, Brandon, Manitoba, and Winnipeg.
The full wild card system is outlined in Sections 6 d) and 6 e) of the
Canada West Playing Regulations.
So, while the Pronghorns must wait to hear their fate and the Dinos must pause as their playoff opponent is determined, both teams will look to improve on a sub-par outing Saturday night – especially the Dinos.
Calgary managed to shoot just 23.9 per cent from the field to score a season-low 56 points, with only five field goals in the entire second half. The Horns played tenacious defense and the Dinos found themselves in foul trouble, with fifth-year senior
Ross Bekkering fouling out with more than five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter – his first disqualification of the season on a night where he was easily the Dinos' best shooter, going 4-for-6 from the field. Uncharacteristically, however, Bekkering did not make a single trip to the free throw line on the evening.
Despite their decidedly weak shooting from the field, the Dinos still had an opportunity to win the game as the clock ticked toward a dramatic ending. Former Dino Jeff Price stepped up to the free throw line with the Horns up by two with 3.5 seconds on the clock, and an opportunity to put the game out of reach. Price only made one of two, giving the Dinos 3.5 seconds to get the ball 92 feet to the Horns basket and a chance to force overtime.
After the inbound pass, Dinos point guard Jaime McLeod found himself with the ball, and launched a prayer from three-point land. The buzzer sounded as the ball hit the ground well short of the mark. The rowdy Horns fans were quelled by a flurry of whistles, indicating a Horns foul, which would send McLeod to the line with a second chance to tie the game.
After McLeod calmly sank the first of three, the second attempt bounced short off the front rim to give Lethbridge the victory and life in the playoff race.
Both teams struggled offensively all night, with the Horns only hitting 33.9 per cent from the field.
Randy Davis led the Horns scorers with 16 points, while Danhue Lawrence and Price were the only other double-digit scorers for the Horns at 12 apiece.
Robbie Sihota went just 3-for-16 from the field but made up for that with a perfect 8-for-8 effort at the charity stripe, leading the Dinos with 15 points and 14 rebounds on the night. Playing the final regular season game of his career, Sihota finishes as the number five scorer in school history, just two points back of fourth place Ian Minnifee with 1,440. Bekkering finishes his career sixth on the all-time scoring list with 1,424 points after his eight-point effort Saturday.
Freshman point guard
Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson added a dozen points on the night for the Dinos, while
Tyler Fidler potted 10.
With their record even at 10-10, the Horns will await the decision from Canada West on the wildcard berth, which could be announced as early as Sunday.
Calgary will host either the Vikes or the Horns Feb. 26-28 in the Jack for the right to advance to the Canada West Final Four to be held a week later.
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