CALGARY - The University of Calgary Dinos opened up the 2013 Calgary Cup on Oct. 10 at Jack Simpson Gym with three games on the schedule.
In the men's game, the Dinos took on the McMaster Marauders for the 8 p.m. game.
Calgary got off to a great start, going 8-0 including two three-pointers from Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson. The Marauders didn't close the gap until the end of the first, when they got within three points at 25-22. Joe Rocca led the Marauders with seven points after the first.
In the second quarter, both teams were playing tight defence, but it was Dino Josh Turner who sunk some three pointers mid-way to strengthen Calgary's lead to seven points. The half ended 34-31 with Turner leading all scorers with 11 points. Both teams allowed just nine points to be scored on either end.
The Dinos got off to a hot start in the 3rd quarter and eventually took an eleven point lead. Matt Letkeman had a huge third quarter for the Dinos as he reached eight points on the night, but the lead was due to a number of Calgary contributors. Jhony Verrone ended the third with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Calgary the 62-52 lead.
In the fourth, McMaster put on the pressure and came up with some big points to once again close the gap on Calgary's lead. Throughout the quarter the two teams would battle it out, but the Dinos were able to hold onto the lead, albeit sometimes within a point or two, right until the end. The final score was 76-72 in favour of the Dinos.
Each team had four players hit double digits on the night. For the Dinos, Josh Turner led with 17 points, followed by Ogungbemi-Jackson with 13, Philip Barndt with 11 and Letkeman with another 10.
The Marauders were led by game-high scorer Joe Rocca who had 19 points. Nathan McCarthy was right behind him with 18, followed by Leon Alexander with 12 and Taylor Black with another 10.
Calgary will host the Cape Breton Capers in Day 2 of the Calgary Cup 8 p.m. while the Marauders will head to Mount Royal to play the Cougars, also at 8 p.m.
In the first game of the Calgary women's teams season, the Dinos were defeated by the Mount Royal Cougars 67-57.
Early in the contest, the Cougars took an early lead with three three-pointers in a row to go ahead 14-9 with two of them coming from Nikki Golding halfway through the first. The quarter ended 23-13 in favour of the visiting team with Danica Rybachuk already in double digits with ten points.
In the second, it wouldn't get much better for the Dinos as Tamara Jarrett picked up her third foul before the half was over. Calgary trailed Mount Royal 35-27.
The offence finally picked up for the Dinos in the third quarter when they cut the lead down to one, forcing the Cougars to call a timeout. Some free throws from Erika Romanow put the Dinos ahead for the first time in the game at 38-37. With three minutes left the game remained tied at 44-44 with point guard Kristi Shiels making plays and sinking baskets. Despite the Dinos outscoring the Cougars, Mount Royal managed to pull away with a six point lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, the Dinos were unable to get within the lead again as Mount Royal continued to gain momentum and ran with it. The game ended with a score of 67-57.
Shiels was the only Dino to reach double digits in the contest with a game-high 22 points. Jarrett had eight points and seven rebounds.
For the Cougars, Rybachuk had a team-high 21 points and Carrie Campbell picked up the only double-double of the game with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
The Dinos host the Alberta Pandas at 6 p.m. tomorrow while the Cougars head back to their home gym to play the visiting York Lions at 8 p.m.
The Alberta Golden Bears and the Cape Breton Capers were the first teams to open up the tournament at the University of Calgary.
The Bears took an early 19-11 lead after the first quarter, dominating the Capers on both ends of the court. Before the half was over, Jordan Baker had 12 points on the board and Alberta took a 16 point lead at 39-23.
In the third quarter, the Bears didn't let up as they pulled away to a 66-32 lead with Joel Friesen getting into double digits with 10 points on the board. The final 10 minutes saw the Bears get their second string playing time and the final score was 84-47.
Four Bears earned double digits on the night including Baker with a game-high 16, and Friesen, Mamadou Gueye and Todd Bergen-Henengouwen all adding 10 of their own. Gueye grabbed a game-high 8 rebounds in the contest.
For the Capers, Shacier Locke had a game-high nine points while Sean McCormick added seven rebounds.
Alberta will play Westminister College at 4 p.m. at the Jack.
