BOX SCORE CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos notched a big win Friday night, hanging on to emerge with an 88-84 victory over the No. 7-ranked University of the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.

Led by another big night from Thijin Moses, who earned his third double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds, the Dinos came out on top of a strange game that saw both teams take big leads, then give them up, then gain them back. And for Fraser Valley, the loss overshadows the best scoring performance in the conference this season – Sam Freeman played every minute of the game and scored 41 points – nearly half his team's total.

The win improves Calgary's record to 6-7 and keeps their playoff hopes alive tied for fifth in the Prairie Division, while Fraser Valley falls to 7-6 and into third place in the Pacific Division.

The key to the Dinos' success was the ability to neutralize Freeman down the stretch, with only six of his 41 points coming in the fourth quarter and the Cascades in serious foul trouble. Calgary was able to put up 28 points in the final frame and led by as many as 12 with just two minutes to go – but the Cascades would cut that lead to a deuce, have two cracks at the game-winning trey, and still came up empty.

Calgary led 21-14 after 10 minutes, but Freeman and the Cascades dominated the second. It started with a three-ball by Freeman just seconds into the period, the first of his impressive 23 points in the frame. In less than a minute the seven-point deficit had evaporated, and by the 6:34 mark the Cascades had completed an 14-0 run to start the second and had a seven-point lead of their own. It would remain a seven-point affair, 46-39, at the half.

The Dinos closed the gap to just a deuce after the third quarter when Jasdeep Gill hit a buzzer-beating three to set up the wild finish. Just over three minutes into the fourth, Moses hit back-to-back jumpers from outside the arc to turn a four-point UFV lead into a two-point Calgary advantage. The Dinos continued to stretch that lead to as many as 12, punctuating it with a monster dunk by Matt Letkeman on a nice feed by Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson with two minutes to go.

Fraser Valley stormed back from there and cut the lead to two, then got a defensive stop with less than 30 seconds to play. With two starters fouled out, Nathan Kendall missed a wide-open jumper to tie. Freeman hauled in the rebound and fed rookie Manjodh Dulay for a naked three, which bounced in and out of the hoop and into the waiting hands of Moses with 10 seconds to play. Ogungbemi-Jackson sealed the win with a pair of free throws.

Ogungbemi-Jackson played 39 minutes an put in 20 points, while freshman Gill had an efficient night with 14 points in 19 minutes, shooting 5-for-9 from the field.

Kevon Parchment and Kendall chipped in with 13 and 12, respectively, for the Cascades behind Freeman.

Fraser Valley heads south to face the Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday night, while the Dinos play host to the Trinity Western Spartans. Tip-off goes at 7 p.m. MT in the Jack Simpson Gym.

-UC-