KAMLOOPS, B.C. - In a rematch of the 2015-26 Canada West men's basketball final, the visiting University of Calgary Dinos downed the host Thompson Rivers University WolfPack 84-76.
The game was played Friday (Feb 3) on the Warner Rentals Court at the Tournament Capital Centre.
SYNOPSIS
The Dinos beat the WolfPack in last years championship final. In this game, they led 28-26 after the first quarter but TRU held a four point lead (44-40 at the half).
The WolfPack hit 80 per cent in the first half from three point land (4-5). They were also 80 per cent from the free throw line in that half (4-5).
Calgary was led by Thomas Cooper (5th year, guard, Chattanooga, TN) with 22 points.
TRU's main gunner was fellow American Derek Rhodes (Antioch, California) with 16 points.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
(BEING EDITED-CHECK BACK LATER FOR LINK)
KEY STATS:
Thompson Rivers
Derek Rhodes: 16 points, 2 assists, 2 steals in 32 minutes
Volodymyr Iegorov: 14 points, 10 rebounds (all on defense), 9 assists, 1 block, 1 steal in 39 minutes
Mike Rouault: 11 points, 6 rebounds (3 on either end), in 26 minutes
Madhu McConnell: 10 points, 1 rebound in 32 minutes.
Calgary:
Thomas Cooper: 22 points, 11 rebounds (6 on defense), 3 assists, 1 steal in 36 minutes
Mambi Diawara: 14 points, 2 rebounds (both on defense), 1 assist, 2 steals in 21 minutes
David Kapinga: 10 points, 3 rebounds (both on defense), 1 assist, 1 steal in 26 minutes
TURNOVERS:
TRU 17 Calgary 14
SCORING BY PERIOD
Calgary 28 12 23 21 84
TRU 26 18 21 11 76
RECORDS:
Calgary 13-4 TRU 8-9
QUOTES:
TRU head coach Scott Clark:
On the Contest:
"I thought they were tougher than we were. I don't think that it was shooting. We didn't do a very good job. They scored on seven of the first eight possessions to start the third quarter. That is the ball game. Against a good basketball team-and they are a good basketball team- you can't just melt down. You have to battle every single possession. I thought that stretch killed us."
Calgary head coach DanVanhooren (17th season):
On game:
"Three point shooting was the difference. If you look at them statistically, they shot 29 per cent as a team tonight. At the half, they shot 83 per cent from three. They shot the ball really well. The second thing was that we were outworked for the majority of the first half. They really outworked us. They outrebounded us 26-15 at the half. We had to have a little chat at half time to change the way we were doing things and make sure we were guarding a little differently. Even in the third quarter they hit a bunch of threes. They are a good basketball team. They work hard. I know Coach Clark does a good job with them. They will be a tough out in the playoffs."
UP NEXT:
The two teams will conclude their weekend affair tomorrow (Feb 4) on the Warner Rentals Court at the Tournament Capital Centre. Tip off will be 7 pm. The pre-game show will begin around 6:45pm.
It will be the final home game of the regular season for both WolfPack basketball teams although the men have a chance at hosting either a play-in or quarterfinal series.
