CALGARY – After a sluggish start, the University of Calgary Dinos scored 27 in the fourth quarter en route to a 78-63 quarter-final win over the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.
Mason Foreman scored 21 and picked up 12 rebounds to lead the Dinos, moving them just one win away from the conference final and a fifth consecutive national tournament – a hurdle they will look to leap Saturday night when they take on the UBC Thunderbirds in a Canada West semifinal. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in the Jack Simpson Gym, live on CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op.
With the Cascades coming into this weekend on a high note after defeating the Winnipeg Wesmen in first-round playoff action, it was the home team who was looking to stifle the visitors' energy and move one step closer to retaining their Canada West title. Coming out to play early, the Cascades – who aren't afraid of shots from outside the arc – pushed hard in the paint against the Dinos to match the home team's energy. After driving early, the Cascades momentum was stifled by the Dinos who went on to build an eight-point lead heading into the second quarter.
After failing to keep their energy up through the first quarter the Cascades swung things in their favour to outscore the home team 22-11 through the second. UFV continually double- and triple-teamed Calgary big man
Brett Layton to limit his effectiveness both scoring and rebounding, and the Cascades were rewarded with a 33-30 lead at halftime.
Coming into the second half with a deficit, the Dinos picked things up to fight back, taking a six-point edge in the frame to head into the fourth 51-48. The final quarter saw the Dinos capitalize on a number of Cascades mistakes, and Calgary closed out the quarter to once again outscore the Cascades and stamp their ticket to Saturday night's semifinal.
"We played with low energy for quite a while and I don't want to give any of the guys any excuses – it's playoffs and we need to come out with energy," said Dinos head coach
Dan Vanhooren. "We haven't played for a while, maybe that's what it is, maybe it's just them playing a little tentative."
In addition to Foreman's 21, freshman
Noah Wharton added 14 in his first game back after missing four with injury.
Simon Kutzschmar and Layton added 10 and 8 points, respectively. On the Cascades side it was Sukhjot Bains who led the way with 15 points, followed closely by Sukhraj Bains who added 12 to the Cascades' effort.
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