CALGARY – Thomas Cooper's first game as a University of Calgary Dino was certainly one to remember.
The fourth-year transfer put up 29 points and hauled in 11 rebounds to lead the Dinos to a 93-81 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies Thursday night to open the 2015 Calgary Cup tournament in the Jack Simpson Gym.
BOX SCORECooper and the Dinos took advantage of 21 Saskatchewan turnovers, scoring 29 points in transition and 36 in the paint to earn the victory over the previously undefeated Huskies, who knocked off national champion Carleton just one week ago.
The Dinos shot out of the gate, and thanks to a trio of treys by
Josh Owen-Thomas,
Lars Schlueter, and Cooper, the hosts had a 12-point lead midway through the opening frame. Calgary led 24-11 after one thanks to a solid defensive effort and hot shooting in the early stages.
From there, Calgary managed to keep the Huskies leashed and, while the lead was trimmed to as few as three points midway through the fourth quarter, the Dinos always seemed to get the answer they needed on the offensive end to hold Saskatchewan off.
For their part, the Huskies saw a significantly balanced offensive effort with six players ending up in double digits. Jauquin Bennett-Boire led the way with 18 points on the night, while Trevor Severinski and Evan Ostertag put up 12 apiece. Chan De Ciman and Shawn Lathan each scored 11, and Mack Burns accounted for 10 Saskatchewan points in the loss. The Huskies shot 35.4 per cent from the field and were good on 10 of their 30 shots from long range.
Lars Schlueter and rookie
Torrez McKoy each picked up 11 points for the Dinos, while senior
Matt Letkeman picked up eight rebounds to go with seven points on the night. Calgary shot nearly 58 per cent in the second half to finish at 42.5 per cent overall.
Saskatchewan (3-1) will head down the road to face Mount Royal Friday night to wrap up the Calgary Cup, while the Dinos will host the Alberta Golden Bears in the Jack Simpson Gym Friday night. Tip-off for both games is 8 p.m.
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