CALGARY – Brett Layton etched his name in the record books Thursday night as the University of Calgary Dinos cruised to a 100-72 win over the Mount Royal Cougars in the Jack Simpson Gym.
Layton, who played the first two years of his career down the road at Mount Royal, picked up six offensive rebounds in the contest to set a new single-season Canada West record with 105 on the campaign, four better than Myron Dean (Manitoba) put up in the 22-game 2008-09 season. Additionally, the fourth-year law student set a program single-season rebounding record with 272 on the season, breaking the mark of 261 that Steve Atkin set in 1981 and has stood for nearly 40 years.
In just 20 minutes on the floor, Layton scored 17 and added 13 rebounds as the Dinos improved to 17-2 on the season with a masterclass over their crosstown rivals.
The Cougars started the first quarter to go up by one early in what was their only lead of the game. After trailing for only 19 seconds the Dinos pressed hard to outshoot the away team from both within the paint and beyond the paint. With MRU struggling to rebound throughout the quarter, the Dinos were around every corner with Layton setting the tone for the game at both ends of the court.
"We have a few big guys in there, and I think that causes a lot of rebounding issues from an MRU perspective," noted Dinos head coach
Dan Vanhooren.
Starting off the second quarter was Layton with a steal to bring his scoring total to nine – more than the entire Cougars roster up until that point. While the Cougars tried to fight back against the hot-shooting Dinos, they came up short and remained outshot by eight on the quarter to close out the first half 53-26.
Third-year
Mason Foreman opened up the third for the Dinos by reaching double-double status within the first 30 seconds of play. The Dinos once again outpaced the Cougars as the away team struggled to make their shots and go on any runs. The final quarter was a different story as the Cougars outshot the home team 27-24 as the Dinos struggled with their passing. While the Cougars outpaced the Dinos at both ends of the court, they were unable to conquer the monstrous deficit laid out for them through the first 30 minutes of play. After trailing for only 19 seconds the entire game the Dinos closed out their final home game of the regular season 100-72.
In addition to Layton's 17 points,
Ezeoha Santiago added 24 to the Dinos' effort alongside
Mason Foreman's 19.
"What most people don't know is that Brett is a wonderful leader in the locker room and he's a terrific man," shared Vanhooren. "At this stage he's relaxed, he plays well, and he's a great rebounder. He's obviously quick off his feet and with his size that causes a lot of problems for a lot of teams."
On the Cougars side it was first-year Dylan Lutes who led the charge with 13 points alongside Matthew Guinto's 12 and Quinn Taylor's 10.
The crosstown rivals will face off again on Saturday to close out the regular season. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at MRU's Kenyon Court, live on CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op.
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