CALGARY – Head coach Dan Vanhooren earned his spot in Dinos lore Saturday, recording his 300th victory on the Calgary bench in a 99-74 win over the MacEwan Griffins from inside the Jack Simpson Gym.

Vanhooren is the first coach at the University of Calgary to ever amass 300 victories. The accolade adds to the lengthy list of accomplishments that also includes a pair of Canada West Coach of the Year awards, five conference championships, and one U SPORTS national title.

"I really appreciate (the recognition of the 300 wins). I think it's more important that we continue to get some things done and we improve every night, rather than worry about my number of wins," Vanhooren said postgame. "It's fun to say, for sure, but it's almost more of a testament of how long I've been standing here on the sideline."

The win improves the Dinos to 6-0 to start the season - their fourth such start to a conference slate in the past seven seasons. Meanwhile, MacEwan is still searching for win No. 1 after falling to 0-4.

MacEwan shook off Friday's slow start, playing the Dinos even in the opening six minutes of action. Milan Jaksic led the way with eight points for the Griffins in the opening frame. Calgary punched back to bookend the first and second quarters, building a 40-24 lead following a triple from Martynas Sabaliauskas with 5:09 left to play in the second quarter. Sabaliauskas finished the second a perfect 5-5 from the floor with 14 points.

Calgary's hot shooting continued up until the break, with a jumper from Noah Wharton padding the advantage to 23 (55-32) 

"I felt like we played solid defence in the first half and that let us extend the lead," said Wharton.

Despite the lopsided score at the break, the Griffins continued to fight and kept the second-half score tight, finishing just three points back in third-quarter scoring before finishing with a 20-19 edge in the final frame.

Jaksic finished the night with a team-high 18 points for MacEwan as one of four players to score in double figures. Filip Karanovic added 14, while Hugo Alonso and Diego Presingular each chipped in with 12.

Sabaliauskas led all players with 20 points on the night to go with eight rebounds in just 20 minutes on the court. Dylan Lutes finished with 15 points on 5-7 shooting. Nate Petrone and Wharton each tallied 13 points, with Petrone adding a season-high nine assists. Javier Ramos-Yzquierdo also had a nice return to the court, netting 10 points to go with four boards, two assists, one block and one steal.

The offence continues to score at an elite level, but even more impressive Saturday was how they found success. With the three-point line defended well by the Griffins, Calgary relentlessly attacked the hoop, finishing the game with 54 points in the paint.

Up next is a heavyweight showdown for the Dinos as they now travel to Vancouver to take on UBC next weekend in a battle of two of the top teams in all of Canada. Meanwhile, MacEwan's roadtrip continues with a trip east to take on Winnipeg.

-UC-