EDMONTON – Leading by 10 early in the first quarter, the wheels came off the Golden Bears over the final three quarters in a 81-70 season-opening loss to the Calgary Dinos. 

Alberta led 13-3 after a hot start, but quickly coughed up their lead before the first quarter was up. In total, Calgary drew 22 personal fouls, resulting in 20 made free throws on 23 attempts in the win. By comparison, Alberta went 7-13 from the charity stripe.

As he consistently has, Nate Petrone torched the Bears defence with a game-high 24 points, on 8-10 shooting, making all six of his free throws. Noah Wharton added 19 points for the visitors, who made 42% of their shots on Friday night. 

Logan Powell led Alberta with 14 points, with all of his made shots coming from beyond the arc. Isaac Simon added 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, coming up just short of a triple-double. While the stat line between the teams was remarkably similar in shooting percentage, rebounds and assists, the Bears were uncharacteristically undisciplined. Head coach Barnaby Craddock was ejected with back-to-back technical fouls in the first quarter, with Powell also adding a tech in the third. 

The loss sees Alberta open conference play with a 0-1 record, while the Dinos stay perfect (3-0) to begin 2024-25. 

The ejection seemed to spark Calgary, who immediately went on a 6-0 run to take a 20-17 lead after the first quarter. Wharton had nine of his 19 in the first quarter, combining for 26 points with Petrone at the half. Calgary added seven three's in the first two quarters, going a perfect 11-11 from the line as they took a 48-36 lead into the locker room. 

Trading shots and chances, the Bears were never able to overcome the 12-point lead they spotted the visitors. Simon struggled with his shot in the second half, finishing the game with five makes on 14 attempts. After a stellar first quarter in which he scored six, Ethan Egert cooled off in the second, finishing the game with 11 points. 

Every mini run the Bears had was quickly ended by a Calgary bucket, with a handful coming late in the shot clock, including a pair of buzzer beaters. 

The two rivals will meet again tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. at Saville Community Sports Centre. 

-UC-