CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team survived a late charge from the Mount Royal University Cougars for a 103-101 victory Saturday night at Kenyon Court, completing a weekend sweep of their cross-town rivals.
The win moves the Dinos record to 3-1, while Mount Royal drop to 2-2 for the season.
The Dinos got off to a quick start, jumping out hot from beyond the arc by hitting eight of nine three-point attempts in the first quarter. Mrigendra Dhaliwal scored 12 of his 17 points in the opening 10 minutes, including three threes, as Calgary took a 38-29 lead after the first quarter.
Mount Royal chipped away in the second quarter, outscoring the Dinos 26-18 behind Jacob McLellan, who had 25 points by halftime. Gabe Vig scored six points in the quarter, including two threes, to help Calgary take a 56-55 lead into the break. The Cougars went ahead 77-76 after a third quarter in which Oliver Nadeau scored eight points for the Dinos.
The fourth quarter went back and forth. Jose Alba's three-pointer tied the game 88-88 with 4:23 to play, but Zane MacFarlane answered with a three-pointer, and Dhaliwal followed with a three and a layup to put Calgary up 96-93. MacFarlane scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth, including a three-pointer with 1:35 left that extended their lead to four points. Daniel Chijoke made a pair of free throws with 1:11 to go for a 103-98 lead. Alba hit a three-pointer with 51 seconds left to cut the margin to two, but Nadeau came up with a steal with 15 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Calgary made 15 three-pointers on 46.9 per cent shooting from deep and went 20-of-24 at the free-throw line, and spread the scoring out, with five players reaching double figures. Chijoke added 19 points and 10 rebounds, six of them offensive, and blocked three shots. Nadeau finished with 17 points and Dhaliwal with 17 and three assists. Vig had 12 points on four three-pointers.
McLellan led all scorers with 32 points for Mount Royal. Alba added 23 points and Sam Barnie scored 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting.
The Dinos will return to action Friday, Nov. 20 when they host the Brandon University Bobcats at Jack Simpson Gymnasium. Tipoff is 8 p.m. Tickets are available at GoDinos.com/Tickets.
Mount Royal will host the Victoria Vikes on Friday, Nov. 13.
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