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CALGARY – Making his first appearance on the floor since Nov. 12, point guard Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson arrived just in time for the University of Calgary Dinos, recording a double-double as Calgary upended No. 4 Saskatchewan 83-79 Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

Ogungbemi-Jackson, the second-year Winnipegger, played with a well-bandaged left thumb but still managed to lead all players with 21 points on the night, adding a team-high 11 rebounds, five steals, and three assists as Calgary improved to 4-7 on the season while handing the Huskies their fourth loss of the campaign. Saskatchewan heads into Saturday's rematch at 6-4.

With the return of his point guard and the long-awaited presence of fifth-year transfer forward Boris Bakovic, Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren got his first glimpse at the team he always thought he would have in the 2011-12 season.

“We said from the beginning that we have a good basketball team, but nobody's seen it yet,” said the 12th-year Calgary bench boss. “This is a huge game for us to gain that confidence and have our guys move on in the season with a more quality thought process.

“Jarred is a quality player. He can defend, and it helps us a ton when he's able to do what he did tonight. Quite honestly, for him to be out as long as he has and to come back like this is incredible. I couldn't be more thrilled for his success.”

Early on the game was a track meet, without a single whistle through the first four and a half minutes. When the dust settled after an explosive opening quarter, the teams had combined for 46 points with Calgary holding a 25-21 lead.

A two-point Calgary advantage at the half became a two-point edge for the Huskies after 30 minutes, and the game was decided in the final two minutes. The Dinos were able to hold the Huskies to just a pair of Jamelle Barrett free throws in the last two minutes of the game, and Ogungbemi-Jackson scored the game-winning points after recording back-to-back offensive rebounds before finally putting it away himself with 80 seconds to go. The diminutive point guard then sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with just nine seconds left.

Tyler Fidler picked up 19 points and seven rebounds in a solid outing for Calgary, while Bakovic scored 17 in his third game back from a knee injury. Dustin Reding also cracked double digits for the Dinos with 11 points.

The Huskies, who at times looked like they could score at will, were led in scoring by Peter Lomuro – but it was fifth-year forward Michael Lieffers who was Saskatchewan's best player on the night. He shot 8-of-13 from the field for 18 points, collecting 15 rebounds – more than double the total of his closest teammate – in the process. The starting five scored all but six of the Huskies' 79 points on the night, and all were in double digits: Lomoru, Lieffers, Barrett (13), Matthew Forbes (13), and Duncan Jones (10).

Both teams had similar shooting percentages from the field in the mid-40s, but the Dinos easily won the battle at the line with 17 of 20 free throws good against just 11 for Saskatchewan in the same number of opportunities. The Huskies held the overall rebounding edge at 44-37.

Unlike their pre-Christmas upset win over UBC – which came in their most recent home game before Friday night – the Dinos now face the challenge of repeating the feat in the series closer Saturday night.

“It's going to be tough for sure, but the one benefit we have is a lot of guys on our bench that have played major minutes all year. We have a lot of depth, and we can wheel them in and out of the line-up tomorrow and hopefully keep our energy higher.”

Tip-off for the rematch goes at 8 p.m. MT in the Jack, with the game broadcast live on CanadaWest.tv.

-UC-