VANCOUVER – On the strength of a
Brett Layton double-double, the University of Calgary Dinos completed the weekend sweep of the UBC Thunderbirds defeating them 80-70 on Saturday night at War Memorial Gymnasium.
Layton, followed up a quiet outing on Friday with an involved Saturday effort that saw the fourth-year big man pour in 19 points while adding 14 boards.
"We found Brett spots to get him the ball which were harder to double team," said Dinos head coach
Dan Vanhooren post game. "He's such a force, that if he has the ball, it just opens up shots on the perimeter."
Along with Layton, the Dinos also received good games from
Ezeoha Santiago, 20 points, and
Mason Foreman, 18 points and 11 rebounds in the victory. For the T-Birds, it was Jadon Cohee, leading the way with 20 points and seven rebounds while Grant Sheppard and Zack Moore each chipped in with 13 points.
The Dinos dominated the first quarter, thanks to the play of forward
Mason Foreman who had 10 points in the opening frame, going perfect from the paint and the free throw line, while also hitting a three-pointer.
The Dinos continued their strong play but couldn't hold off the surging T-Birds who were able to erase that six-point deficit with a Taylor Browne three, followed by a Jadon Cohee and-one. Cohee was then fouled shooting a three-pointer and proceeded to hit two of three free throws. The Dinos would then extend their lead back to five, but it was a three from Moore just before the buzzer to bring the 'Birds back within two, trailing 38-36 at the half.
The third quarter was a back and forth affair as the team's exchanged buckets. The Dinos found themselves on the right side of things, up 58-53 heading into the final quarter.
The final quarter didn't provide the fireworks that were on display 24 hours earlier as the Dinos extended their lead thanks to a Santiago three en route to sealing the victory.
"It's huge," Vanhoorn said of his team taking the two games this weekend. "For us to get two wins is a really big complement to our efforts this weekend."
The Thunderbirds are back in action next weekend as they head north to Prince George to take on the UNBC Timberwolves while the Dinos welcome the Brandon Bobcats to Calgary for their home opener.
