CALGARY – Mrigendra Dhaliwal scored 27 points off the bench and Zane MacFarlane added 26 as the University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team beat the Mount Royal University Cougars 102-92 on Friday night.
The win improves the Dinos record to 2-1, while the Cougars suffered their first defeat of the Canada West season to drop to 2-1.
The Dinos shot 50 per cent from the field and made 14 of 31 three-pointers, building an early cushion and then answering every push from Mount Royal.
Calgary came out hot, hitting six of its 11 three-point attempts in the first quarter to build a lead 33-19. Oliver Nadeau made two of those threes, and MacFarlane's fast-break layup helped set the tone. The Dinos took a 61-46 lead into halftime.
Mount Royal fought back in the third quarter, with Jacob McLellan scoring 10 of his 24 points in the period. The Cougars tied the game 64-64 and briefly took a 65-64 lead, but Dhaliwal responded with 12 third-quarter points, including three three-pointers. Calgary closed the quarter on a 13-4 run to lead 80-71.
The Cougars got within five early in the fourth, but the Dinos stayed composed at the free-throw line, going 12-of-15 in the final quarter. Kace Archuleta hit five of six from the line in the period, and Dhaliwal added seven more points as Calgary pushed the lead back to 13 inside the final three minutes.
MacFarlane also had four assists. Archuleta finished with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Daniel Chijoke had 12 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks. Nadeau added 12 points, and Beckett Johnson came off the bench for three steals. Calgary forced 15 turnovers and turned them into 26 points, and had an 11-2 edge in fast-break points.
Mount Royal controlled the paint, outscoring the Dinos 58-38 there. Noah Barlow had 12 points off the bench for the Cougars, and Sam Barnie finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
The two teams are set to play out a rematch on Saturday, Nov 7. with a tip-off tme of 7:00pm. The game can be seen on Canada West TV, powered by BioSteel.
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