CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos homecoming was a coming out party for many new faces, as the men's basketball team cruised to a 105-79 victory over the UFV Cascades. The top five Calgary scorers were all new faces to the Jack Simpson crowd, paced by second-year guard Eli Djordjevic's 22 points on 8-10 shooting. 

UFV sprang out of the gates, leading 20-14 just five minutes in. Making their Dinos debuts, Djordjevic and Cornell transfer Hayden Franson countered with double digits apiece in the 1st quarter to rebuild a seven point Calgary lead. 

"It's always great when you have great teammates around you," said Djordjevic. "My teammates were moving great, making lanes for me to drive and I just happened to be the guy that had the opportunities tonight."  

Calgary extended their lead at the rim in the second quarter, but UFV leveraged timely, and frequent, trips to the free throw line to quietly claw back heading into halftime with the Dinos leading 57-41.

Bennett O'Connor broke out in the 3rd, scoring 17 points in the frame to cut the deficit to nine.

Enter Dinos veteran Aidan Smith. After an uneven start to the game, Smith drilled a momentous three pointer that stymied the Cascades' run and brought the thundering home crowd to its feet. Calgary's newcomers took the reins from there, cruising to the 26-point victory.

"It's exciting to be at home. We always appreciate the hometown support," said Djordjevic postgame. 

Aleksandar Vukovic notched 13 points in the fourth, alongside fellow debut standout Dre Francis, who finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Calgary's new look offence will try for the sweep Saturday night at 6 p.m., with the game once again streamed live on CanadaWestTV presented by BioSteel.

-UC-