VANCOUVER – Bryce Harper scored his third touchdown of the game in the first overtime as the University of Calgary Dinos overcame a 24-11 halftime deficit to defeat the UBC Thunderbirds 41-35 Saturday night in Vancouver.

With the victory, the Dinos clinched second place in the conference standings with a 6-2 record and will host a Canada West semifinal for the ninth consecutive year next Saturday at McMahon Stadium. They'll face the Saskatchewan Huskies (5-3) for a trip to the 80th Hardy Cup, live on Shaw TV and CanadaWest.tv beginning at 12 p.m. MT.

UBC, meanwhile, finishes 3-5 but makes the postseason by virtue of their owning the tiebreaker over Manitoba. The Thunderbirds will visit first-place Regina (6-2) in the other semifinal, with the winners set to play for the 80th Hardy Cup Nov. 12.

In the Dinos' first overtime action since Sept. 4, 2009, the defence held UBC to a two-and-out and forced a long Greg Hutchins field goal try, which fell wide right and was run out by Calgary. On the Dinos' ensuing possession, Harper gained all 35 yards on two plays – including the 19-yard winning TD.

It was a thrilling back-and-forth contest that UBC looked to be in full control of at halftime after Ben Cummings had run for 159 yards through the first 30 minutes. But, armed with halftime adjustments on both sides of the ball, the Dinos chipped away at the lead when Harper scored his second of the night midway through the third quarter, and UBC's lead was down to nine heading into the fourth.

The wild final frame began with a 41-yard field goal by Niko DiFonte, followed less than two minutes later by a 28-yard touchdown catch by Austen Hartley as the Dinos took a 28-27 lead. Two possessions later, UBC pivot Michael O'Connor found Cummings over the middle near midfield, and the tailback weaved through the Calgary defence for an impressive 74-yard touchdown. A two-point convert gave UBC a seven-point led with just over six minutes to play.

Inside the three minute warning, the Dinos tied it up when Adam Sinagra read the UBC blitz and lofted it downfield to a wide-open Michael Klukas in the end zone. After another defensive stop, the Dinos had a chance to win it in regulation, but DiFonte's 51-yard field goal attempt fell just short and wide left, and the game headed to overtime.

"We settled down, especially on defence," explained Calgary Head Coach Wayne Harris. "We talked at half time about focusing on one play at a time and not trying to get it all back at once. We made some adjustments on defence and cleaned some things up, other than that one bust.

The win sends the Dinos into a home playoff game for the ninth consecutive season, extending their Canada West record. And importantly, the result ensures that they head into the postseason on a positive note, not a two-game losing streak. 

"All wins are big, but understanding that we stayed committed for a full 60 minutes plus overtime…that's the difference," said Harris. "If you can't stay committed, you're going to fall apart. Our guys have come back in several games this year – there's no quit in this team, they just keep working hard."

Harper finished the game with 145 yards on 23 carries, including a trio of TDs, while Sinagra completed 18 of 29 passes for 261 yards and two majors. His top target was Austen Hartley, who had 131 yards and a TD on eight receptions.

Defensively, Nick Statz led the way with six tackles while Boston Rowe added five, a pair of tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a pass knockdown.

-UC-