BOX SCORE CALGARY – Leading by 11 with just over three minutes to play, the Calgary Dinos looked to have a quality early-season win in the bag – but Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson's layup with 3:03 to play would be the Dinos' last points as the Alberta Golden Bears scored 12 straight to open their weekend series with a 77-76 come-from-behind win.

The Dinos couldn't find any organization offensively in the final three minutes, while Bears stars Jordan Baker and Ken Otieno scored five apiece in the dying moments – and a pair of free throws by Otieno with just 14 seconds left put the Bears over the top. The Dinos had a couple of chances with the last possession, but a wide-open look for Ogungbemi-Jackson didn't fall and the Bears escaped with the win to improve to 3-0 on the year. Calgary drops to 1-2.

It was a night where the teams took turns dominating quarters, Calgary the odd and Alberta the even. The home side captured the first and third stanzas by a combined 44-26, while the Bears responded in the second and fourth with a 51-32 edge.

The loss overshadowed an impressive outing for Dinos forward Thijin Moses, who shot 11-17 from the field, 4-8 from three, and picked up 28 points and 10 rebounds along with a trio of blocks. He got some help off the bench from Daryus Sconiers, who had his best outing in a Calgary uniform with his 12-point effort in just 13 minutes on the floor. But in the end, it was a virtuoso performance from Baker that carried the depleted Golden Bears to victory.

Baker, the All-Canadian, scored 24 points and hauled in nine rebounds on the night. Critically, he went to the line 11 times – more than double the trips of his closest teammate and five times that of any Dinos player – and cashed in eight times. His teammates balanced that offensive output, with Youssef Ouahrig shooting an efficient 6-7 from the field, with four of those buckets coming from beyond the arc, to pick up 17 points. Otieno finished with 16, while Todd Bergen-Henengouwen scored 10 – including a key wide-open lay-up that pulled the Bears within one with less than 90 seconds to play.

Ogungbemi-Jackson's 10-point night rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Dinos.

Calgary shot an impressive 47 per cent from the field, while the Bears were nearly as efficient at 46.9. Alberta held a slight edge on the glass at 43-38, and the Bears were whistled just 13 times on the night while the Dinos picked up 21 fouls.

Calgary and Alberta face off once more Friday night in the rematch, slated for 8 p.m. in the Jack Simpson Gym and streamed live at cgy.CanadaWest.tv.

-UC-