CALGARY – A third-quarter explosion by the home side broke a tight game wide open Friday night, pacing the University of Calgary Dinos to an 89-65 win over the Big Sky's Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in the Jack Simpson Gym.

BOX SCORE

Seeing their first action in the 2010 Battle of the Border tournament, the Dinos took a one-point halftime advantage and rained threes on the Lumberjacks in the third. Calgary outscored NAU 33-12 in the frame on the strength of solid performances from sophomore point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and shooter Andrew McGuinness, along with a monster outing from Tyler Fidler.

“We shot the ball really well, and we did a good job getting open shots,” said head coach Dan Vanhooren after improving his record to 2-2 against the NCAA Division I Big Sky conference. “But honestly, I think the whole game was about our defensive energy. Our kids work hard, and that's what we'll be preaching all year. We're young and we're going to have to outwork some teams, and it's really nice to see that I have a group of guys that is willing to do that.”

After cruising to a pair of triple-digit offensive outings in their first two games at the event, the Lumberjacks were stymied by Calgary's defence and never really got it together offensively. NAU managed just 19 points in the second and third quarters combined.

Where the Lumberjacks struggled, the Dinos couldn't miss. Shots fell from everywhere on the floor as Calgary shot a lights-out 71.4 per cent in the second half. The trio of Ogungbemi-Jackson, Fidler, and McGuinness combined for 35 points in the final 20 minutes to finish with 21, 19, and 16 respectively. Fidler was a force on the glass, hauling in 14 rebounds including a baker's dozen of the defensive variety.

“Those guys are special players,” said Vanhooren. “You knew that when Fidler knew he was going to be 'the guy,' he was going to be a little more aggressive and we'd be able to run some stuff for him. It's good to see things that are working to make those guys more effective.”

Dustin Reding chipped in with seven points, while SAIT transfer Keenan Milburn nailed both of this three-point attempts on the night to finish with six.

Both teams suffered from the turnover bug, with Calgary committing 25 against NAU's 20. The Jacks were led by Josh Lepley's 10 points, while Cameron Jones had a quiet nine after putting up 21 and 18 in his first two games of the five-game series.

The Dinos and Lumberjacks will do battle once more Saturday night, with tip-off at 7 p.m. back in The Jack – and Vanhooren expects a vastly different NAU team.

“We seemed to struggle with their pressure tonight, and I think their defensive pressure will step up tomorrow,” he predicted. “Tomorrow's game will be about making sure we take care of the basketball. I honestly don't care about the outcome one way or the other, I just want us to really work hard tomorrow and maybe improve our execution offensively.”

-UC-