VANCOUVER – Robbie Sihota and Ross Bekkering just weren't quite ready for their CIS careers to come to an end.

The fifth-year post duo proved to be just too much for the Simon Fraser Clan in the first Canada West semi-final Friday night at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver, leading the Calgary Dinos to an 82-69 victory. The win advances Calgary to the conference final Saturday night, but more importantly it books the Dinos a ticket to the CIS Final 8 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa March 19-21 – the first time since 1980 that Calgary will attend back-to-back national championships.

BOX SCORE

Both players put up 22s in statistical categories, with Bekkering posting a respectable 22 points to lead all players on the night. But it was Sihota's 22 that stands out: a Canada West playoff record 22 rebounds. Just one off the school single-game record and in a tie for the fifth-best outing in conference history, Sihota's dominance on the glass was a key factor in limiting Simon Fraser's second-chance opportunities.

“Robbie was the man tonight,” enthused Calgary head coach Dan Vanhooren. “He came to do his job tonight, and he did it very well. Even when he wasn't scoring he was contributing, and he put up one of the best double-doubles I've ever seen – 19 points and 22 rebounds.”

He was also responsible for what was arguably the biggest play of the game late in the third quarter. After a Sean Burke three-pointer with 30 seconds left in the frame cut Calgary's lead to just two points, Sihota nailed a three with just one second on the clock at the other end while being fouled, and he completed the four-point play to make it a six point Dinos advantage heading into the final quarter, giving his side a huge momentum swing in the process. It was his second four-point play of the post-season after recording one in the quarterfinal series against Lethbridge last weekend.

The Dinos came out with guns blazing early, perhaps taking advantage of some nerves on the Simon Fraser side. Calgary led 24-8 through the first nine minutes of the game and maintained their advantage for almost the entire game, but couldn't put the pesky Clan away until the dying minutes.

Burke drew the Clan to within six points midway through the fourth, but his side was unable to slow down the Dinos in the paint the rest of the way. Tyler Fidler had two big dunks for Calgary late in the frame, and Jamie McLeod hooked up with Bekkering for a slick alley-oop to add an exclamation mark as the Dinos pulled away in the final minutes.

Bekkering poured in 12 first quarter points on 5-for-6 shooting, leading the Dinos on an 18-2 run to spot them a big early lead. He put up his 22 points in just 27 minutes, as foul trouble cut into his playing time.

Freshman point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson played one of the best games of his career, scoring 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 38 minutes on the floor.

“Jarred played like a senior tonight,” said Vanhooren. “Everybody contributed tonight, and our team just flat-out came to play.”

The first half rebound battle was essentially a two-man show, especially at Calgary's defensive end. Sihota had 10 of his 13 first-half rebounds on defence, while the Clan's Eric Burrell fought him every step of the way, pulling down five offensive boards before halftime. Burrell led the Clan with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The win puts Calgary through to Saturday's Canada West championship game, setting up a possible rematch of last year's title game if the top-ranked T-Birds beat Saskatchewan tonight. Calgary won that game, but lost to the T-Birds during the CIS tournament.

"We've got a great rivalry going with UBC right now," said Vanhooren. "The guys are prepared for this, and having been here last year, certainly that experience helps these guys. We have a lot of those guys back this year so with the environment, pressure and that one-game-and-done feeling, they aren't focused too much on outcomes. They're still focused on the process and they did a good job of that tonight."

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